Cron Syntax

Cron syntax is used to schedule tasks to run at specific times or intervals. A cron expression consists of five fields, representing different time units, plus an optional sixth field for the year:

1. Minute (0-59)
2. Hour (0-23)
3. Day of Month (1-31)
4. Month (1-12 or Jan-Dec)
5. Day of Week (0-6 or Sun-Sat)
6. Year (optional, e.g., 2023)

Each field can contain:

• A specific value (e.g., 5 for the 5th minute)
• A range (e.g., 1-5 for minutes 1 through 5)
• A list (e.g., 1,15,30 for minutes 1, 15, and 30)
• A step value (e.g., /15 for every 15 minutes)
• Wildcard “ to represent all possible values in that field.

Creating Custom Cron Expressions:

To create a custom cron expression, you need to define the schedule by specifying the desired values in each field. For example:

• Every day at midnight: 0 0 * * *
• Every Monday at 8 AM: 0 8 * * 1
• Every 15 minutes: /15 * * * *

This flexibility allows you to schedule tasks with precision according to your needs.