Cron expression: Every 2 hours
Runs every two hours, on the hour.
0 */2 * * *Standard 5-field cron format — works with crontab, GitHub Actions, Vercel Cron, Kubernetes CronJobs, and most schedulers.
What does 0 */2 * * * mean?
The cron expression 0 */2 * * * runs every 2 hours. A standard cron expression has five fields — minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week — and here is what each field does:
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | At minute 0 |
| Hour | */2 | Every 2 hours |
| Day of month | * | Every day |
| Month | * | Every month |
| Day of week | * | Every day of the week |
How to use it
To run a job on this schedule with Unix cron, open your crontab with crontab -e and add a line that combines the expression with your command:
0 */2 * * * /path/to/your-command
The same expression works in most modern schedulers — paste it into a GitHub Actions schedule trigger, a Vercel Cron job, a Kubernetes CronJob schedule, or your cloud task runner.
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More cron examples
- Every hour —
0 * * * * - Every 3 hours —
0 */3 * * * - Every 6 hours —
0 */6 * * * - Every 12 hours —
0 */12 * * * - Every 4 hours —
0 */4 * * * - Every 8 hours —
0 */8 * * *
Frequently asked questions
What is the cron expression for "every 2 hours"?
The cron expression for every 2 hours is 0 */2 * * *. It uses the standard 5-field format: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week.
How do I schedule a job to run every 2 hours?
Add the line "0 */2 * * * /path/to/your-command" to your crontab (run "crontab -e"), or paste 0 */2 * * * into the schedule field of your CI/CD pipeline, serverless scheduler, or Kubernetes CronJob.
Does this cron expression use a timezone?
No. Cron expressions have no timezone of their own — they run in the timezone of the server or scheduler executing them. Set the timezone in your scheduler's configuration if you need a specific one.