How scheduling works
Every CronJobPro job runs on a schedule you define. You can pick a simple interval or a 5-field cron expression, and each job carries its own timezone so it fires at the local time you expect.
Two ways to schedule a job
When you create a job in the dashboard, you choose between a simple interval and a cron expression. A simple interval is the quickest option for beginners: just say how often the job should run, for example every 5 minutes or every hour. A cron expression gives you precise control, such as 9 a.m. every weekday or the 1st of each month.
Understanding the 5 cron fields
A cron expression has five fields separated by spaces: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. An asterisk means every value for that field. The example below runs at minute 0 of hour 9, every day, every month, on any weekday.
0 9 * * *
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ └── day of week (0-6, Sun=0)
│ │ │ └──── month (1-12)
│ │ └────── day of month (1-31)
│ └──────── hour (0-23)
└────────── minute (0-59)Common schedules
| Schedule | Cron expression |
|---|---|
| Every 5 minutes | */5 * * * * |
| Every hour (on the hour) | 0 * * * * |
| Daily at 9:00 a.m. | 0 9 * * * |
| Weekly on Monday at 9:00 a.m. | 0 9 * * 1 |
| Monthly on the 1st at 9:00 a.m. | 0 9 1 * * |
Not sure how to write or read an expression? Use our built-in tools: the Cron Expression Generator builds the expression from plain-language choices, and the Explainer translates any expression back into a human-readable description.
Open the Cron Expression Generator and Explainer →
Per-job timezone
Each job has its own timezone, and the schedule is evaluated in that timezone. CronJobPro keeps the local clock time stable across daylight-saving transitions, so a 09:00 daily job stays at 09:00 local time all year. If you want to avoid any DST ambiguity, choose UTC.
Minimum interval depends on your plan
How frequently a job can run depends on the minimum allowed interval for your plan. Free and lower plans enforce a longer minimum gap between runs, while higher plans allow more frequent schedules. If a cron expression or interval is more frequent than your plan permits, you will be limited to your plan's minimum. Daily runs are also capped per plan and counted in UTC.
Pick the longest interval that still meets your needs. Fewer runs stay comfortably within your plan limits and reduce the chance of overlapping executions.