First Day of Month
Runs the job at midnight on the 1st day of every month. This is the standard monthly cron schedule used for billing cycle tasks, monthly reports, data archival, and subscription renewals. The day-of-month field is set to 1 to target the first day.
0 0 1 * * What is the cron expression for First Day of Month?
The cron expression for First Day of Month is 0 0 1 * *. This five-field cron schedule uses the format minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week. Runs the job at midnight on the 1st day of every month. This is the standard monthly cron schedule used for billing cycle tasks, monthly reports, data archival, and subscription renewals. The day-of-month field is set to 1 to target the first day. Common use cases include monthly billing and monthly reports.
Field Breakdown
Example Next Run Times
- 1.
2026-05-01 00:00 - 2.
2026-06-01 00:00 - 3.
2026-07-01 00:00 - 4.
2026-08-01 00:00 - 5.
2026-09-01 00:00
Common Use Cases
- ✓ Monthly billing
- ✓ Monthly reports
- ✓ Data archival
- ✓ Subscription renewals
Frequently Asked Questions
Is @monthly the same as this?
Yes, the @monthly shorthand is equivalent to 0 0 1 * *, running at midnight on the first day of every month.
How do I run on the first business day of the month?
Cron cannot directly express 'first business day.' You would need to schedule it for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, then add logic in your script to check if today is actually the first weekday of the month.
What if I need to run on the 15th instead?
Change the day-of-month field from 1 to 15: 0 0 15 * *.