Cron recipe
Cron job every 2 hours: the exact expression
The expression
five-field cron
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, 2am, 4am, … 10pm when minute is `0`. The `*/2` step applies to the hour field.
When to use it
Bi-hourly cache rebuilds
Warm search indexes or CDN edge configs on a predictable clock.
Rate-limited third-party APIs
Stay under vendor quotas while keeping data fresher than daily.
Common variations
15 */2 * * *Every 2 hours at :15 past the hour.
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; $3.25/mo annual flat for unlimited jobs.
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 hours?
- Use 0 */2 * * * (standard five-field cron). Verify the next run times in the free cron debugger before you deploy.
- Can Crontap run this schedule?
- Yes. Crontap fires five-field expressions on your chosen cadence (1-minute floor on Pro), with per-schedule IANA timezones, retries, and failure alerts. Pro is $3.25/mo billed annually.