Run a Cron Job Every 5 Minutes
*/5 in the minute field is a step value: starting at minute 0, fire every 5th minute — :00, :05, :10, and so on through :55. Every other field is a wildcard, so the pattern repeats around the clock. It's the workhorse schedule for polling, health checks, and sync jobs.
*/5 * * * *In plain English: Every 5 minutes.
Field by field
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | */5 | every 5 minutes |
| Hour | * | every hour |
| Day of month | * | every day |
| Month | * | every month |
| Day of week | * | every weekday |
Variations
*/5 9-17 * * *every 5 minutes, only between 09:00 and 17:59*/5 * * * 1-5every 5 minutes on weekdays only2-57/5 * * * *every 5 minutes offset to :02, :07, :12 … — avoids the top-of-minute thundering herdTweak any of these in the crontab explainer to see the schedule in plain English and its next run times.
Frequently asked questions
Does */5 mean exactly every 300 seconds?
Almost — it means minutes 0, 5, 10 … 55 of each hour. The runs are 5 minutes apart on the clock, which is 300 seconds between starts if the previous run finished on time.
Why offset a schedule with 2-57/5?
Everything that runs 'every 5 minutes' fires at :00, :05, :10 by default, creating load spikes. Starting the range at 2 shifts your job to :02, :07, :12, off the crowded boundary.
New to cron syntax? Read Cron Expressions Explained, Field by Field.