This page will help you quickly and easily set up a cron job to run every minute between 12:00 am and 4:00 am.

The Cron Job/Crontab

To have your task run at this frequency, use the following cron:

* 0-4 * * *

This cron command translates to the following (in Human-Readable format):

“Every minute between 12:00 am and 4:00 am.”

What is a Cron Job & Crontab?

A cron job is a scheduled task that is typically executed by the operating system on a regular basis. Cron jobs are often used to perform maintenance or administrative tasks, such as backing up data or updating software.

A crontab is a file that contains commands to be run at specified times. The crontab file is typically edited using the crontab command, which can be used to list, edit, or delete the contents of the file.

Cron Fields

Every cron job uses five fields. Here is an explanation of what each field does in this cron, which runs “every minute between 12:00 am and 4:00 am“:

Field 1: (*) indicates that the task will be run every minute.

Field 2: (0-4) indicates that the task will be run between hours 0 and 4 (12 am to 4 am).

Field 3: (*) indicates that the task will be run every day of the month.

Field 4: (*) indicates that the task will be run every month.

Field 5: (*) indicates that the task will be run every day of the week.

FUN FACT: When editing your crontab, it is important to use a text editor that supports Unix-style line endings (LF), as opposed to Windows-style line endings (CRLF)..

Use Cases

You might want to set up a crontab or cron job to run every minute between 12:00 am and 4:00 am for several reasons, including:

Back up data at midnight
Run a report at 3:00 am
Start a new process at 1:00 am

Similar Cron Jobs

You might also want to run a crontab:

FUN FACT: One common use for cron jobs is to send out email reminders or notifications based on certain events (such as an upcoming deadline)..

Wrapping Up

In this article, you learned how to set up a cron job that runs every minute between 12:00 am and 4:00 am. Please share this page with friends and colleagues if you find it useful.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to comment below.

If you are looking for cron jobs that run at certain minutes, hours, days, weekdays, or months, or if you are looking for miscellaneous cron jobs, then check out our relevant sections, or visit our cron job cheat sheet for a list of hundreds of popular cron jobs.

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Cron Job Every Minute Between 12:00 am & 4:00 am (Crontab)