Cron Every Hour
Setting the minute field to 0 and all other fields to * runs the job at minute 0 of every hour — once per hour, 24 times per day.
Cron Expression
0 * * * *Field Breakdown
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | At minute 0 (top of the hour) |
| Hour | * | Every hour (0-23) |
| Day of Month | * | Every day (1-31) |
| Month | * | Every month (1-12) |
| Day of Week | * | Every day of the week (0-6) |
Variations
0 * * * *Every hour at :0030 * * * *Every hour at :300 9-17 * * *Every hour during business hours only0 */2 * * *Every 2 hours at :00Common Use Cases
- Hourly data pipeline runs
- CDN cache purging
- Hourly email digest processing
- Database maintenance (VACUUM, ANALYZE)
- Rotating log files
Tips & Best Practices
Use 0 * * * * (not */60 * * * *) — they are equivalent but 0 is the standard convention.
Many jobs schedule at the top of the hour. Offset to :15 or :30 to reduce contention.
Hourly is a good default when you don't need real-time freshness but want same-day data.