Hourly
0 */2 * * *
Run on even hours, 00:00, 02:00, … 22:00.
This preview is live: the table below shows the actual next run times for 0 */2 * * * in your time zone, recomputed in your browser. Change the expression, dialect, or zone to experiment, then copy the result.
What 0 */2 * * * means
0 */2 * * * puts the step in the hour field: fire at minute 0 of every even hour. That is twelve runs a day, starting at midnight and ending at 22:00. It is the standard cadence for jobs that should run several times a day but do not need to be hourly.
Even-hour scheduling is predictable and log-friendly, and it lines up with shift-style operational rhythms. If you need odd hours instead, anchor the step explicitly with 0 1-23/2 * * *.
Field-by-field breakdown
Unix cron has five fields. Here is what each one is doing in this expression:
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | minute = 0 |
| Hour | */2 | every 2 (step) across hour |
| Day of month | * | every day-of-month |
| Month | * | every month |
| Day of week | * | every day-of-week |
Every 2 hours in every scheduler
The same cadence written for the seven cron dialects you are most likely to meet. Copy the line for the system you target, the field count and day-of-week numbering differ between them.
| Scheduler | Expression | Copy |
|---|---|---|
| Unix / crontab | 0 */2 * * * | |
| GitHub Actions | 0 */2 * * * | |
| Kubernetes CronJob | 0 */2 * * * | |
| Vercel Cron | 0 */2 * * * | |
| Quartz | 0 0 */2 * * * * | |
| Spring | 0 0 */2 * * * | |
| AWS EventBridge | 0 */2 * * * * |
When you would use 0 */2 * * *
- Recompiling reports or dashboards a dozen times a day.
- Periodic database vacuum/analyze on a moderately busy table.
- Mirroring a remote repository or package index.
The gotcha worth knowing
*/2 in the hour field is anchored to hour 0, so it covers even hours only. 0 0-23/2 is the same thing written long-hand; 0 1-23/2 shifts it to odd hours.
People also search for
0 */2 * * * FAQ
What does the cron expression 0 */2 * * * mean?
0 */2 * * * means: Run on even hours, 00:00, 02:00, … 22:00. 0 */2 * * * puts the step in the hour field: fire at minute 0 of every even hour. That is twelve runs a day, starting at midnight and ending at 22:00. It is the standard cadence for jobs that should run several times a day but do not need to be hourly.
How do I write "every 2 hours" in GitHub Actions?
Use 0 */2 * * * in the schedule's cron field. */2 in the hour field is anchored to hour 0, so it covers even hours only. 0 0-23/2 is the same thing written long-hand; 0 1-23/2 shifts it to odd hours.
How do I write "every 2 hours" for AWS EventBridge?
EventBridge uses six fields with a required year and a ? placeholder in one day field: 0 */2 * * * *. Wrap it as cron(0 */2 * * * *) in the console or CloudFormation.
What is the Quartz equivalent of 0 */2 * * *?
Quartz is seconds-first with a trailing year, so the equivalent is 0 0 */2 * * * *. Remember Quartz numbers Sunday as 1, the opposite of Unix.
Related cron patterns
More cron tools
Browse the full set of cron pattern pages, or jump to the interactive tools: the cron expression builder for designing a schedule from scratch, the cron cheat sheet for a side-by-side reference, the cron timezone translator for moving a schedule between zones and dialects, and the GitHub Actions cron picker for DST-stable CI schedules.