Cron recipe
Cron job every 2 days: the exact expression
The expression
0 0 */2 * *Paste it into crontab -e, your platform cron config, or tool.crontap.com/cronjob-debugger to preview the next runs.
What it does
Runs at midnight on days 1, 3, 5, … 31 of each month. The `*/2` step applies to the day-of-month field, so this is an odd-numbered calendar-day pattern rather than a guaranteed 48-hour timer.
When to use it
Alternating-day data syncs
Refresh a catalog or partner feed more often than weekly without paying for a daily import.
Routine cleanup jobs
Prune temporary files or stale cache entries on alternating calendar days.
Common variations
0 6 */2 * *The same alternating calendar-day pattern at 6:00am instead of midnight.
Run this with Crontap
External HTTP cron hits your URL on this schedule, stores every response, and emails you when a run fails. No daemon on the box, no drift when the server reboots. Pro schedules down to a 1-minute cadence, from $2.99/mo and scaling as you grow.
Related recipes
More patterns in the cron syntax cheat sheet and what is a cron job in Linux.
FAQ
- What is the cron expression for every 2 days?
- Use 0 0 */2 * * (standard five-field cron). Verify the next run times in the free cron debugger before you deploy.
- Can Crontap run this schedule?
- `0 0 */2 * *` is a calendar pattern, so the count restarts on day 1 of each month and the month-boundary gap can be shorter than 2 days. Crontap can run that expression as written. For a strict rolling 2-day interval, choose Human Readable and enter `2 days` instead.