No single cron expression runs exactly every 40 minutes: */40 * * * * fires at :00 and :40, then restarts on the hour. See the real run times, and the few crontab lines that make the spacing exact.
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*/40 isn't really every 40 minutes
The minute field restarts every hour, so after :40 the next run is :00 — a 20-minute gap, not 40. Even alternatives: */2, */3, */4, */5, */6, */10, */12, */15, */20, */30.
Schedule summary
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Starts at minute 0 and repeats within each hour.
Valid changes update the expression above immediately.
Upcoming runs
The next 50 runs, shown in the schedule timezone and your local time.
About */40 * * * *
*/40 * * * * is the closest single line, but it isn't every 40 minutes. The minute field restarts every hour, so this fires at :00 and :40 and then at :00 again — a 20-minute gap. Because 40 divides a whole day (1440 minutes), 2 lines together give an exact 40-minute rhythm, including across midnight — see the exact crontab below.
Cron reads the five fields as minute hour day month weekday. For this schedule that breaks down as:
| Field | Position | Matches |
|---|---|---|
*/40 | minute | 0, 40 |
* | hour | every hour |
* | day of month | every day |
* | month | every month |
* | day of week | every day of the week |
New to cron? Read the syntax reference or the FAQ.
Use it in crontab or GitHub Actions
The single line below is the closest cron gets, not the exact schedule (see above). The crontab timezone setting requires a compatible daemon such as Cronie. GitHub Actions defaults to UTC and accepts a timezone on each schedule. For other timezones, Kubernetes, EventBridge Scheduler, or Vercel, use the export menu in the calculator above.
crontab
# At 0 and 40 minutes past the hour, every hour, every day # CRON_TZ requires a cron implementation that supports it, such as Cronie. CRON_TZ=UTC */40 * * * * /path/to/command
GitHub Actions workflow
# At 0 and 40 minutes past the hour, every hour, every day
on:
schedule:
- cron: '*/40 * * * *'
timezone: "UTC"Exact version for crontab
0,40 */2 * * * /path/to/command 20 1-23/2 * * * /path/to/command
GitHub Actions accepts separate - cron: entries when the expressions use five fields and runs are at least five minutes apart. Commands and date checks belong in the workflow's job steps.