DatveroCommon cron expressions
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
*/5 * * * * | Every 5 minutes |
*/15 * * * * | Every 15 minutes |
0 * * * * | At minute 0 past the hour |
0 */2 * * * | At minute 0, every 2 hours |
0 6 * * * | At 06:00 |
0 9 * * 1-5 | At 09:00, on Monday through Friday |
*/15 9-17 * * 1-5 | Every 15 minutes, between 09:00 and 17:59, on Monday through Friday |
0 9-17 * * * | At minute 0, between 09:00 and 17:59 |
30 2 1,15 * * | At 02:30, on days 1 and 15 of the month |
0 0 1 * * | At 00:00, on day 1 of the month |
0 0 1 1,4,7,10 * | At 00:00, on day 1 of the month, in January, April, July and October |
0 0 * * 0 | At 00:00, on Sunday |
0 8 * * 1 | At 08:00, on Monday |
*/10 * * * * * | Every 10 seconds |
Field reference
| Field | Allowed values | Special characters |
|---|---|---|
| Second (n8n, optional, first) | 0-59 | * , - / |
| Minute | 0-59 | * , - / |
| Hour | 0-23 | * , - / |
| Day of month | 1-31 | * , - / ? |
| Month | 1-12 or JAN-DEC | * , - / |
| Day of week | 0-7 (0 and 7 = Sunday) or SUN-SAT | * , - / ? |
How n8n, Make and Zapier schedule runs
n8n
The Schedule Trigger has a "Custom (Cron)" interval. The expression has six fields, the first one being seconds, and setting seconds is optional. The node uses the workflow time zone if one is set, otherwise the instance time zone (America/New York by default on self-hosted instances). The workflow must be saved and published for the schedule to run. n8n Schedule Trigger documentation. Read on 24 October 2026.
Make
Scenario scheduling offers At regular intervals, Once, Daily, Weekdays (Mon-Fri), Weekly, Monthly, Specified dates and On demand. By default a scenario runs every 15 minutes, and the minimum interval depends on your plan. The help page does not mention a cron expression field. Make Help Centre, Schedule a scenario. Read on 24 October 2026.
Zapier
Schedule by Zapier offers Every Hour, Every Day, Every Week, Every Month and Custom frequency. The help article does not mention cron expressions. Schedules use the time zone of your Zapier account settings, and Zap history shows timestamps in UTC. Zapier Help, Schedule Zaps to run at specific intervals. Read on 24 October 2026.
Rules and limits of this tool
- It follows classic Vixie cron rules. When both day of month and day of week are restricted, a day matches if either one matches (0 0 13 * 5 runs on every 13th and on every Friday). A field that starts with * counts as unrestricted, so */2 in day of week keeps the AND rule.
- Quartz extensions (L, W, #) are rejected because n8n, Make and Zapier do not document them for these fields.
- Next runs are computed with your browser time zone database. Schedulers can differ around daylight saving changes and on edge cases, so check the first runs in the platform itself.
- The Make and Zapier suggestions are the closest native option for simple schedules. Anything else stays in n8n or behind a webhook.
Questions
How many fields does an n8n cron expression have?
Six, with seconds first, according to the n8n Schedule Trigger documentation. The seconds field is optional, so a standard five field expression such as 0 9 * * 1-5 also works.
Can I paste a cron expression into Make or Zapier?
Not as of 24 October 2026: neither the Make scheduling page nor the Schedule by Zapier article documents a cron field. Use the closest native option shown by the tool, or call a webhook from n8n or another cron scheduler.
Which time zone does my schedule use?
n8n uses the workflow time zone if set, otherwise the instance time zone. Zapier uses the time zone of the account settings. The Make page does not state it. Pick the same zone in the tool to read the runs as the platform will.
What does 0 9 * * 1-5 mean?
At 09:00, Monday through Friday.