Development & Monitoring
Every 4 hours
System status report. This page shows you how to implement this cron schedule with detailed examples and execution times.
6
Runs per day
10
Next executions
11
Expression length
Cron Expression
0 */4 * * *
Human Readable
Every 4 hours
Field Breakdown
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | When during the hour (0-59) |
| Hour | */4 | What hour of the day (0-23) |
| Day | * | What day of the month (1-31) |
| Month | * | What month (1-12) |
| Day of Week | * | What day of the week (0-7, 0=Sunday) |
Next 10 Execution Times
2026-07-28 12:00:00 UTC
2026-07-28 16:00:00 UTC
2026-07-28 20:00:00 UTC
2026-07-29 00:00:00 UTC
2026-07-29 04:00:00 UTC
2026-07-29 08:00:00 UTC
2026-07-29 12:00:00 UTC
2026-07-29 16:00:00 UTC
2026-07-29 20:00:00 UTC
2026-07-30 00:00:00 UTC
Note: Times shown in UTC. Adjust for your local timezone as needed.
Implementation Examples
Linux Crontab
0 */4 * * * /path/to/your/script.sh
Add this line to your crontab file using crontab -e
Docker Compose
services:
cron-job:
image: your-app:latest
command: |
sh -c 'echo "0 */4 * * * /app/script.sh" | crontab - && crond -f'
Kubernetes CronJob
apiVersion: batch/v1
kind: CronJob
metadata:
name: every-4-hours
spec:
schedule: "0 */4 * * *"
jobTemplate:
spec:
template:
spec:
containers:
- name: job
image: your-app:latest
command: ["/app/script.sh"]
restartPolicy: OnFailure
GitHub Actions
name: Every 4 hours
on:
schedule:
- cron: '0 */4 * * *'
jobs:
run:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- name: Run task
run: ./script.sh
Common Use Cases
System status report
- • Application health monitoring
- • Performance metrics collection
- • Security scans and audits
- • Automated testing and CI/CD
Test This Expression
Use our free cron tools to test and validate this expression:
Learn More About Cron
Understand the syntax and patterns behind this expression:
More Development & Monitoring Examples
Every 5 minutes
Health check monitoring
*/5 * * * *
Every 6 hours
System metrics collection
0 */6 * * *
Every Monday at midnight
Weekly security scan
0 0 * * 1
Every 10 min, 9 AM-5 PM, weekdays
Business hours monitoring
*/10 9-17 * * 1-5
Every day at 11 PM
End of day cleanup
0 23 * * *
Every minute
Critical system monitoring
*/1 * * * *