No single cron expression runs exactly every 7 minutes: */7 * * * * fires at :00, :07, :14, :21, :28, :35, :42, :49 and :56, then restarts on the hour. See the real run times, and what to use instead.
Paste an expression or choose a starting schedule below.
Select a field to edit it.
*/7 isn't really every 7 minutes
The minute field restarts every hour, so after :56 the next run is :00 — a 4-minute gap, not 7. Even alternatives: */2, */3, */4, */5, */6, */10, */12, */15, */20, */30.
Schedule summary
Build a schedule
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 */7 * * * *
*/7 * * * * is the closest single line, but it isn't every 7 minutes. The minute field restarts every hour, so this fires at :00, :07, :14, :21, :28, :35, :42, :49 and :56 and then at :00 again — a 4-minute gap. No crontab can fix that: 7 divides neither an hour nor a day, so the pattern never lines up. If the exact interval matters, use a step that divides 60 (5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20 or 30), or run the job from a loop or a systemd timer with OnUnitActiveSec=7min.
Cron reads the five fields as minute hour day month weekday. For this schedule that breaks down as:
| Field | Position | Matches |
|---|---|---|
*/7 | minute | 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, … 56 (9 values) |
* | 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, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, and 56 minutes past the hour, every hour, every day # CRON_TZ requires a cron implementation that supports it, such as Cronie. CRON_TZ=UTC */7 * * * * /path/to/command
GitHub Actions workflow
GitHub Actions requires at least five minutes between scheduled runs, including across hour and day boundaries.