Every Hour
Runs the job once per hour, at the top of every hour (minute 0). This is one of the most common cron schedules for periodic maintenance tasks. The explicit 0 in the minute field means it runs at exactly :00, not at a random minute within the hour.
0 * * * * What is the cron expression for Every Hour?
The cron expression for Every Hour is 0 * * * *. This five-field cron schedule uses the format minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week. Runs the job once per hour, at the top of every hour (minute 0). This is one of the most common cron schedules for periodic maintenance tasks. The explicit 0 in the minute field means it runs at exactly :00, not at a random minute within the hour. Common use cases include hourly backups and analytics aggregation.
Field Breakdown
Example Next Run Times
- 1.
2026-04-05 13:00 - 2.
2026-04-05 14:00 - 3.
2026-04-05 15:00 - 4.
2026-04-05 16:00 - 5.
2026-04-05 17:00
Common Use Cases
- ✓ Hourly backups
- ✓ Analytics aggregation
- ✓ API rate limit reset checks
- ✓ Log file compression
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between 0 * * * * and * * * * *?
0 * * * * runs once per hour at minute 0. * * * * * runs every minute. The 0 fixes the minute field to a specific value instead of using the wildcard.
Why run at minute 0 and not a random minute?
Running at minute 0 is predictable and makes debugging easier. However, if many jobs run at :00, consider staggering to a different minute (like 0 5 * * * * for minute 5) to distribute load.
How many times does this run per day?
It runs exactly 24 times per day — once at the top of every hour.