Weekly Cron Expressions - Day of Week Scheduling

Master weekly cron scheduling with day-of-week patterns. Schedule jobs on specific days, weekdays only, weekends, or custom day combinations using ready-to-use cron syntax.

Try Any Weekly Schedule

Free Cron Job Generator & Editor

The easiest way to edit, visualize, and understand cron schedules. Create, test, and export cron expressions with our intuitive online tool.

Visual Cron Builder

Build cron expressions using an intuitive visual interface with dropdowns and checkboxes.

Timezone Converter

Convert cron schedules between different timezones to coordinate global deployments.

Text to Cron

Convert plain English phrases like "every day at 8pm" into valid cron expressions.

Expression Validator

Validate and debug cron expressions with detailed field-by-field syntax analysis.

Quick Reference

Cron Format

* * * * *
* = minute (0-59)
* = hour (0-23)
* = day of month (1-31)
* = month (1-12)
* = day of week (0-6, Sunday=0)

Special Characters

* = any value
, = value list separator
- = range of values
/ = step values

Common Examples

0 0 * * *
Daily at midnight
0 12 * * *
Daily at noon
0 0 * * 0
Weekly on Sunday
0 0 1 * *
Monthly on 1st
*/15 * * * *
Every 15 minutes
0 9-17 * * 1-5
Business hours
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Frequently Asked Questions

Get answers to common questions about cron jobs, scheduling, and using our cron expression generator.

A cron job is a scheduled task that runs automatically at specified times on Unix-like systems. Cron jobs use cron expressions (like "0 9 * * 1-5") to define when they should execute, making them perfect for automation, backups, and recurring tasks.
Cron expressions have 5 fields: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-7). For example, "30 14 * * 1-5" means run at 2:30 PM on weekdays. Use our generator to see exactly when your cron will run.
Standard cron jobs can run as frequently as once per minute. For more frequent execution, you need extended cron formats or specialized schedulers. Our tool supports both standard 5-field and extended 6-field cron expressions.
Cron jobs typically run in the server's local timezone. Some systems support timezone-specific cron formats. Our tool lets you preview execution times in different timezones to help you schedule jobs correctly.
Popular examples include: "0 0 * * *" (daily at midnight), "*/15 * * * *" (every 15 minutes), "0 9 * * 1-5" (weekdays at 9 AM), and "0 0 1 * *" (first day of each month). Browse our 316+ presets for more examples.
Common issues include: incorrect cron syntax, missing file permissions, wrong file paths, minimal environment variables, or cron daemon not running. Use our validator to check your syntax and see the human-readable description of your schedule.

Need more help? Check out our comprehensive guides:

Complete Cron GuideSyntax CheatsheetCommon Examples

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Popular Weekly Schedules

Monday

0 9 * * 1

Every Monday at 9 AM - start of business week

Common uses:

  • Weekly kickoff reports
  • Task queue reset
  • Week planning
  • Status updates

Friday

0 9 * * 5

Every Friday at 9 AM - end of business week

Common uses:

  • Weekly summaries
  • Backup tasks
  • Cleanup jobs
  • End-of-week reports

Weekdays

0 9 * * 1-5

Weekdays (Mon-Fri) at 9 AM

Common uses:

  • Business day processing
  • Work notifications
  • Daily standups
  • Report generation

Day numbers:

1-5

Weekends

0 9 * * 0,6

Weekends (Sat & Sun) at 9 AM

Common uses:

  • Weekend maintenance
  • Low-priority tasks
  • Batch jobs
  • System optimization

Day numbers:

0,6

MWF

0 9 * * 1,3,5

Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 9 AM

Common uses:

  • Alternating day reports
  • Team meetings
  • Data exports
  • Status checks

Day numbers:

1,3,5

TTh

0 9 * * 2,4

Tuesday & Thursday at 9 AM

Common uses:

  • Bi-weekly reviews
  • Alternating tasks
  • Report generation
  • Team syncs

Day numbers:

2,4

Mon at midnight

0 0 * * 1

Monday at midnight - weekly reset

Common uses:

  • Weekly cleanup
  • Log rotation
  • Database maintenance
  • Cache clearing

Sunday at midnight

0 0 * * 0

Sunday at midnight - week-end processing

Common uses:

  • Full weekly backup
  • Data archival
  • Index rebuilding
  • Analytics compilation

Fri at 5 PM

0 17 * * 5

Friday at 5 PM - end of work week

Common uses:

  • Weekly reports
  • Timesheet reminders
  • Status summaries
  • Handoff tasks

Complete Reference - All Days of the Week

Sunday
0 9 * * 0
Monday
0 9 * * 1
Tuesday
0 9 * * 2
Wednesday
0 9 * * 3
Thursday
0 9 * * 4
Friday
0 9 * * 5
Saturday
0 9 * * 6

Day-of-Week Quick Reference

0
Sunday
1
Monday
2
Tuesday
3
Wednesday
4
Thursday
5
Friday
6
Saturday
7
Sunday

Both 0 and 7 represent Sunday. Values 1-6 represent Monday through Saturday.

Weekly Scheduling Patterns

Day of Week Syntax

The fifth field in a cron expression specifies the day of week (0-7):

0-7 - Numeric values where both 0 and 7 represent Sunday
SUN, MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT - Three-letter day names (some implementations)
1-5 - Ranges to specify consecutive days (Monday through Friday)
1,3,5 - Lists to specify non-consecutive days (Mon, Wed, Fri)

Combining Days with Specific Times

Pair day-of-week with hour and minute fields for precise scheduling:

0 6 * * 1 - Monday at 6:00 AM
30 17 * * 5 - Friday at 5:30 PM
0 9-17 * * 1-5 - Every hour 9 AM-5 PM on weekdays

Common Gotcha: 0 vs 7 for Sunday

Both 0 and 7 represent Sunday in most cron implementations, but there are important differences:

  • 0 is the most portable and widely supported value for Sunday
  • 7 is supported by many modern implementations but not all
  • When using ranges, 0-6 is preferred over 1-7
  • For maximum compatibility, always use 0 for Sunday

Industry-Specific Examples

IT Operations

Monday maintenance0 3 * * 1
Friday backup0 23 * * 5
Weekend security scan0 2 * * 0,6
Weekday monitoring0 8 * * 1-5

Marketing

Monday campaign launch0 9 * * 1
Wednesday analytics0 10 * * 3
Friday social report0 16 * * 5
Weekend content prep0 10 * * 6

HR & Admin

Monday attendance report0 8 * * 1
Friday timesheet reminder0 15 * * 5
End-of-week compliance0 17 * * 5
Mid-week check-in0 10 * * 3

Data Engineering

Sunday full ETL0 1 * * 0
Wednesday incremental0 2 * * 3
Weekday data validation0 6 * * 1-5
Friday archive0 22 * * 5

Related Tools

Cron Tools

Visual Builder

Build cron expressions visually

Text to Cron

Convert natural language to cron

Expression Validator

Validate and test cron expressions

Timezone Converter

Convert cron times between timezones

Every X Minutes

Minute interval cron patterns

Every X Hours

Hourly cron scheduling patterns

Daily Schedules

Run jobs at specific times of day

Weekly Schedules

Weekday and day-of-week patterns

Monthly Schedules

Monthly, quarterly, and annual cron

Complex Patterns

Business hours and multi-schedule

Learning Resources

Guides, tutorials, and best practices

Preset Library

Browse 300+ cron expression presets

Related Guides & Resources

Daily Schedules Guide

Daily scheduling patterns and examples

Monthly Schedules Guide

Monthly, quarterly, and annual cron

Complex Patterns Guide

Business hours and multi-schedule patterns

50+ Cron Examples

Real-world cron job examples