This page will help you quickly and easily set up a cron job to run every 2 hours at 30 minutes past the hour.
The Cron Job/Crontab
To have your task run at this frequency, use the following cron:
30 */2 * * *
This cron command translates to the following (in Human-Readable format):
“Every 2 hours at 30 minutes past the hour.”
What is a Cron Job & Crontab?
A cron job is a task that is scheduled to run at a specific time or interval. Cron jobs are commonly used to automate system maintenance or administration tasks, such as running backups or sending emails.
Crontab files are typically stored in the /etc/crontab file, but they can also be stored in individual user’s home directories. To edit your own crontab file, you can use the command “crontab -e”. This will open up the file in your default text editor.
Cron Fields
Every cron job uses five fields. Here is an explanation of what each field does in this cron, which runs “every 2 hours at 30 minutes past the hour“:
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)..
Use Cases
You might want to set up a crontab or cron job to run every 2 hours at 30 minutes past the hour for several reasons, including:
- Run a backup of the system
- Generate reports
- Check for updates
- Clear caches
Similar Cron Jobs
You might also want to run a crontab:
- every 7 hours
- every 3 hours
- every 6 hours
- every 9 hours
- every 12 hours
- every 4 hours
- every 6 hours at 40 minutes past the hour
- every 4 hours at 10 minutes past the hour
FUN FACT: If you need to temporarily disable a cron job, you can simply comment out the line in the crontab file that corresponds to that particular task..
Wrapping Up
In this article, you learned how to set up a cron job that runs every 2 hours at 30 minutes past the hour. 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.
