What is the cron expression for every 5 minutes?

The cron expression to run every 5 minutes is */5 * * * * — this runs at minutes 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 of every hour, every day.

What does */5 mean in cron?

*/5 means 'every 5 units'. In the minutes field, */5 means every 5 minutes: at 0, 5, 10, 15... up to 55. The * means 'all values' and /5 means 'every 5th one'.

What is the AWS EventBridge cron for every 5 minutes?

AWS EventBridge uses a 6-field format. Every 5 minutes in EventBridge is: cron(0/5 * * * ? *)

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Cron Expression: Every 5 Minutes

The answer, explained, with ready-to-use snippets.

Cron Expression

*/5 * * * *

Runs at minutes 0, 5, 10, 15 … 55 — every hour, every day

What Does /5 * * * Mean?

Field	Value	Meaning
*/5	Minute	Every 5 minutes (0, 5, 10 … 55)
*	Hour	Every hour (0–23)
*	Day of month	Every day
*	Month	Every month
*	Day of week	Any day of week

Common Variations

* * * * *Every 1 minute

*/5 * * * *Every 5 minutes ← you are here

*/10 * * * *Every 10 minutes

*/15 * * * *Every 15 minutes

*/30 * * * *Every 30 minutes

Platform-Specific Snippets

AWS EventBridge

cron(0/5 * * * ? *)

Note: AWS uses 6 fields and requires ? in day-of-week. Standard */5 becomes 0/5.

Kubernetes CronJob

apiVersion: batch/v1
kind: CronJob
metadata:
  name: every-5-minutes
spec:
  schedule: "*/5 * * * *"
  jobTemplate:
    spec:
      template:
        spec:
          restartPolicy: OnFailure
          containers:
          - name: job
            image: your-image:latest

GitHub Actions

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '*/5 * * * *'

⚠️ GitHub Actions minimum schedule is 5 minutes. Shorter intervals are ignored.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does */5 * * * * run exactly every 5 minutes from when I start it?

No. Cron runs at fixed clock times, not relative to when the job started. */5 * * * * runs at :00, :05, :10, :15 … regardless of when you deploy. If you deploy at 12:03, the first run is at 12:05.

How many times does */5 * * * * run per day?

288 times per day. That's 12 runs per hour × 24 hours = 288 total runs.

What's the difference between */5 and 0/5 in cron?

In standard Unix cron, */5 and 0/5 are identical — both mean "every 5 minutes starting at 0". AWS EventBridge only supports 0/5 syntax (not */5), so use 0/5 in AWS contexts.

Can I run every 5 minutes only during business hours?

Yes: */5 9-17 * * 1-5 runs every 5 minutes from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Need a different interval?

Use the CronRead generator — type plain English and get the cron expression instantly.

Open Cron Generator →

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