Run a Cron Job Every Weekday
The day-of-week field runs 0–6 with Sunday as 0, so 1-5 is Monday through Friday. Combined with minute 0 and hour 9, this fires at 09:00 on workdays and stays silent on weekends — the standard schedule for standup reminders, business reports, and market-hours jobs.
0 9 * * 1-5In plain English: At 09:00, on Monday through Friday.
Field by field
| Field | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0 | 0 |
| Hour | 9 | 9 |
| Day of month | * | every day |
| Month | * | every month |
| Day of week | 1-5 | Monday through Friday |
Variations
0 9 * * MON-FRIsame schedule using day names*/30 9-17 * * 1-5every 30 minutes during weekday business hours0 9 * * 6,0the inverse — weekends onlyTweak any of these in the crontab explainer to see the schedule in plain English and its next run times.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sunday 0 or 7 in cron?
Both — standard cron accepts either. 0-6 runs Sunday to Saturday and 1-7 runs Monday to Sunday. The names SUN–SAT also work in most implementations and avoid the ambiguity entirely.
Does 1-5 skip public holidays?
No — cron only knows the calendar, not holidays. Holiday awareness has to live in the job itself (check a holiday API or table, then exit early).
New to cron syntax? Read Cron Expressions Explained, Field by Field. Job not firing? Work through Cron Job Not Running? 10 Things to Check.