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Cron Expressions for Subscription Schedules
Subscription schedules are shown as a cron expression. Learn the basics of reading these statements.
A subscription’s cron expression consists of six statements separated by spaces using this
syntax: Seconds Minutes Hours Day_of_month Month
Day_of_week. Each statement describes a part of the schedule.
Parts of a Cron Expression
| Cron Statement | Values | Special Characters |
|---|---|---|
Seconds
|
0–59 Always 0 in subscriptions |
none |
Minutes
|
0–59 | none |
Hours
|
0–23 |
, - * /
|
Day_of_month
|
1–31 |
, - * ? / L
|
Month
|
1–12 Designates Jan–Dec |
, - * /
|
Day_of_week
|
1–7 Designates Sun–Sat |
, - * ? / L #
|
Special Characters
| Character | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
,
|
Delimits a value. Read as “and.” |
0 0 12 ? * 2,4,6 means “12:00 PM on
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.” |
-
|
Specifies a range. Read as “from... to...” |
0 0 8-14 ? * 1 means “each hour from
8:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Sunday.” |
*
|
Specifies all values. Read as “every.” |
0 0 12 * * * means “12:00 PM every
day.” |
?
|
Specifies no specific value. Read as “any.” Appears only in |
0 0 12 1 * ? means “12:00 PM on the
first of every month” (whatever day of the week that is). |
/
|
Specifies increments. The number before the slash specifies when the interval begins. The number after the slash is the interval. |
0 0 3/6 * * * in Hours means “every 6 hours starting at 3:00 AM
every day.” |
L
|
Specifies the end of a range. Read as “last”. Only appears in In |
0 0 12 L */1 ? means “12:00 PM on the
last day of the month” (*/1 means that this repeats on a monthly cycle). |
#
|
Specifies the nth weekday of the month. The value before the number sign is the weekday. The value after is the occurrence. |
0 0 12 ? * 5#2 means “12:00 PM on the
second Thursday of every month.” |
