Run a Cron Job Every Quarter
*/3 in the month field steps through the year from January: 1, 4, 7 and 10. Combined with day 1 and midnight, 0 0 1 */3 * runs once at the start of each calendar quarter — the natural schedule for quarterly reports, key rotation and access reviews.
0 0 1 */3 *In plain English: At 00:00 (midnight), on day 1 of the month, in every 3 months.
Field by field
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | 0 |
| Hour | 0 | 0 |
| Day of month | 1 | 1 |
| Month | */3 | every 3 months |
| Day of week | * | every weekday |
Variations
0 0 1 1,4,7,10 *the explicit-list equivalent0 6 1 */3 *06:00 instead of midnight0 0 1 2-12/3 *shifted quarters: February, May, August, NovemberTweak any of these in the crontab explainer to see the schedule in plain English and its next run times.
Frequently asked questions
Does */3 in the month field start in January?
Yes. Month values run 1–12 and a step starts at the beginning of the range, so */3 means January, April, July and October.
How do I run at the end of each quarter instead?
Cron has no 'last day' syntax. Schedule 0 0 28-31 3,6,9,12 * and let the job continue only when tomorrow is the 1st.
New to cron syntax? Read Cron Expressions Explained, Field by Field. Job not firing? Work through Cron Job Not Running? 10 Things to Check.