Cron Expression for Every 15 Minutes
Run a cron job every 15 minutes using */15 * * * *. Ideal for tasks like cache invalidation, report generation, and data syncing.
Expression
*/15 * * * * Every 15 minutes
Use Cases
- • Invalidating CDN or application caches
- • Processing payment webhook retries
- • Generating 15-minute interval analytics
- • Pulling data from third-party APIs
Code Examples
Crontab
# Every 15 minutes
*/15 * * * * /path/to/your/script.sh GitHub Actions
name: Scheduled Job
on:
schedule:
- cron: '*/15 * * * *'
jobs:
run:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- run: echo "Running Every 15 Minutes" systemd Timer
[Unit]
Description=Every 15 Minutes timer
[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* *:*:00
Persistent=true
[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target node-cron (Node.js)
import cron from 'node-cron'
// Every 15 minutes
cron.schedule('*/15 * * * *', () => {
console.log('Running Every 15 Minutes')
}) Spring (@Scheduled, Java)
// Every 15 minutes
@Scheduled(cron = "0 */15 * * * *")
public void run() {
// your task
} Spring cron has 6 fields (a leading seconds field), so a 0 is prepended to the standard 5-field expression.
Tips
- ✓ Runs at :00, :15, :30, and :45 every hour
- ✓ A standard interval used by many monitoring tools
- ✓ Good for tasks that take 1-10 minutes to complete
- ✓ Aligns with common time reporting intervals
Frequently Asked Questions
What times does */15 * * * * run at?
It runs at minute 0, 15, 30, and 45 of every hour, which means 4 times per hour and 96 times per day.
Can I offset a 15-minute cron to start at :05?
Yes, use 5,20,35,50 * * * * to run every 15 minutes starting at minute 5 instead of minute 0.