Home › GitHub Actions Cron

GitHub Actions Cron: Schedule Workflows

How to schedule GitHub Actions workflows using cron expressions. Covers the schedule trigger syntax, timezone configuration, common examples and why your GitHub Actions cron is not running or not triggering.

Cron Generator Validate Expression

GitHub Actions Cron Schedule Syntax

GitHub Actions uses the schedule event with POSIX cron syntax to run workflows at fixed intervals. Add it to the on: block of your workflow YAML file. Official reference: GitHub Docs - Events that trigger workflows. 

name: Scheduled Workflow

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 2 * * *'   # Every day at 2:00 AM UTC

jobs:
  run-task:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Run scheduled task
        run: echo "Running scheduled job"

GitHub Actions always uses UTC

All GitHub Actions scheduled workflows run in UTC regardless of your repository location or account timezone. If you need to run at 9 AM CET (UTC+1), schedule at 0 8 * * *. If you need 9 AM CEST (UTC+2, summer), schedule at 0 7 * * *. Since GitHub Actions 2024 you can optionally specify a timezone - see the timezone section below.

Cron Syntax for GitHub Actions

GitHub Actions uses standard 5-field POSIX cron syntax - the same as Linux crontab. Fields left to right:

* * * * *
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ └── Day of week  (0-6, Sunday=0, or SUN-SAT)
│ │ │ └──── Month        (1-12)
│ │ └────── Day of month (1-31)
│ └──────── Hour         (0-23, UTC)
└────────── Minute       (0-59)

Minimum interval is every 5 minutes. * * * * * (every minute) is rejected. GitHub recommends not scheduling workflows at the start of a popular hour (e.g. 0 * * * *) because load is highest then - use an offset like 17 * * * * instead.

GitHub Actions Cron Schedule Examples

ExpressionDescriptionUTC note
'*/5 * * * *'Every 5 minutes (minimum interval)
'0 * * * *'Every hour
'0 2 * * *'Daily at 2:00 AMUTC
'30 8 * * *'Daily at 8:30 AMUTC = 9:30 AM CET
'0 9 * * 1-5'Weekdays at 9:00 AMUTC
'0 0 * * 0'Every Sunday at midnightUTC
'0 0 1 * *'First day of every monthUTC
'30 5,17 * * *'Twice daily at 5:30 and 17:30UTC
'0 0 * * 1'Every Monday at midnightUTC
'0 2 * * 1,3,5'Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 2 AMUTC

Multiple Schedules in One Workflow

You can define multiple cron entries under schedule - the workflow runs on any of them:

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 8 * * 1-5'   # Weekdays at 8:00 AM UTC
    - cron: '0 12 * * 6,0'  # Weekends at 12:00 PM UTC

GitHub Actions Cron Timezone

By default, GitHub Actions cron runs in UTC. Since late 2024, GitHub supports an optional timezone field under the schedule event. Check the current GitHub Docs for availability on your plan. 

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 9 * * 1-5'
      timezone: 'Europe/Madrid'   # Run at 9 AM Madrid time

If your GitHub version does not support the timezone field, convert your schedule to UTC manually:

Your local timeTimezoneUTC equivalentCron expression
9:00 AMCET (UTC+1)8:00 AM'0 8 * * *'
9:00 AMCEST (UTC+2, summer)7:00 AM'0 7 * * *'
9:00 AMEST (UTC-5)2:00 PM'0 14 * * *'
9:00 AMPST (UTC-8)5:00 PM'0 17 * * *'
9:00 AMJST (UTC+9)12:00 AM'0 0 * * *'

GitHub Actions Cron Not Running - Causes and Fixes

GitHub Actions cron is the most common source of "why is my schedule not working" questions. There are several causes specific to GitHub that do not apply to Linux cron.

GitHub delays scheduled runs

GitHub does not guarantee scheduled workflows run at the exact cron time. During periods of high load, runs can be delayed by 15 minutes or more. This is documented behavior - if your workflow ran 20 minutes late, this is the most likely cause. For time-critical jobs, GitHub Actions cron is not the right tool.

Schedule only runs on the default branch

GitHub Actions schedule only triggers on the repository's default branch (usually main or master). If the workflow YAML is only in a feature branch, it will never run on a schedule. Move the workflow file to the default branch.

GitHub disables schedules on inactive repos

GitHub automatically disables scheduled workflows in repositories with no activity for 60 days. You will receive an email before this happens. To re-enable, go to Actions › your workflow › Enable workflow. This is the most surprising cause and affects many open source projects.

Forks do not run scheduled workflows

By default, GitHub does not run schedule triggers on forked repositories. The workflow must be explicitly enabled in the fork: go to Actions tab and click "Enable GitHub Actions". Even then, the schedule runs on the fork's default branch only.

Actions disabled in repository settings

Go to Settings › Actions › General and confirm that Actions are enabled. If Actions are disabled or restricted to specific workflows, scheduled runs will not fire. Also check that the workflow file is not in a .github/workflows/ folder excluded by your settings.

Wrong cron expression

GitHub Actions uses 5-field POSIX cron - not 6-field Quartz syntax. A Quartz expression like 0 0 9 * * MON-FRI (6 fields) is invalid in GitHub Actions. Also, * * * * * (every minute) is rejected - minimum is */5 * * * *. Use the cron expression validator to check your expression.

How to Test a GitHub Actions Schedule Without Waiting

Waiting for the cron to fire to test your workflow is slow. Two faster approaches:

Add workflow_dispatch alongside schedule

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 2 * * *'
  workflow_dispatch:     # allows manual trigger

With workflow_dispatch you can trigger the workflow manually from the Actions tab at any time. Use this to test the workflow logic before relying on the schedule.

Use a short interval temporarily

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '*/5 * * * *'  # every 5 min for testing
    # - cron: '0 2 * * *'  # production schedule (commented)

Temporarily set the cron to */5 * * * * and push to the default branch. Within 5-10 minutes you will see whether it fires. Restore the original schedule when done.

Combine Schedule with Other Triggers

A workflow can have multiple triggers. Common pattern: run on push during development, and on schedule in production:

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 2 * * *'
  workflow_dispatch:

GitHub Actions Cron Limits

LimitValueNotes
Minimum intervalEvery 5 minutes*/5 * * * * is the shortest valid schedule
Timing guaranteeNoneRuns may be delayed 15+ minutes during peak load
BranchDefault branch onlyWorkflow file must be on main or master
Inactivity disable60 daysGitHub disables schedules on inactive repos
Free tier minutes2,000 min/monthFor public repos, minutes are unlimited
TimezoneUTC (default)Optional timezone field available since 2024

Build and validate your GitHub Actions cron expression

GitHub Actions uses standard 5-field Linux cron syntax. Generate it here and paste it directly into your workflow YAML.

Cron Generator Validate Expression Cron Not Running