How to run cron every 5 minutes (*/5 * * * *)
Use */5 * * * *. It means “run at minute 0, 5, 10, 15… of every hour”.
Avoid overlap: if one run can take longer than 5 minutes, lock the job (e.g. mutex/queue concurrency) so runs don’t stack.
Timezone check: cron runs in server time unless configured otherwise. Confirm expected local time in logs.
Monitoring: alert when no successful run is recorded in 10–15 minutes.
Real examples
- Cache warmup: pre-generate expensive API responses every 5 minutes.
- Queue health poll: check backlog depth and alert if jobs are piling up.
- Sync window: pull lightweight upstream updates in small batches.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using 5 * * * * by accident (that runs once per hour at minute 5).
- Adding seconds in a 5-field scheduler (*/5 * * * * *) and getting parser errors.
- Skipping retries/backoff for flaky network calls inside a frequent cron loop.
Paste your expression into the converter before shipping so you can confirm the next run times are exactly what you expect.
Validate expression in the cron toolContinue with related guides
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