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Cronjob every 5 minutes
The expression for "every five minutes" is */5 * * * *. It is the most common interval of all: often enough for scheduled tasks to be done on time, and rare enough not to burden any server.
Meaning
What the expression says exactly
*/5 in the first field means: every minute divisible by five. The job therefore starts at minute 0, 5, 10, 15 and so on up to 55, which is twelve runs per hour and 288 per day. The other four fields are * and restrict nothing: every hour, every day, every month, every day of the week.
The difference from "five minutes after the last run" matters. Cron works with fixed clock times. If you set it up at 10:03, the first run is at 10:05, not at 10:08.
The next runs
- Sat, 31 Oct 2026, 13:15
- Sat, 31 Oct 2026, 13:20
- Sat, 31 Oct 2026, 13:25
- Sat, 31 Oct 2026, 13:30
- Sat, 31 Oct 2026, 13:35
Calculated in German time when this page was loaded.
Variants
Similar schedules
*/5 8-18 * * * |
Every 5 minutes, but only from 8:00 to 18:55. | Adjust |
*/5 * * * 1-5 |
Every 5 minutes, Monday to Friday only. | Adjust |
*/10 * * * * |
Every 10 minutes, half as often. | Adjust |
*/15 * * * * |
Every 15 minutes, on the hour, quarter past, half past and quarter to. | Adjust |
2-57/5 * * * * |
Every 5 minutes, but offset by two minutes: 2, 7, 12 … This spreads the load when many jobs start on the five-minute mark. At Cronjob.de only from Plus, because the free plan runs on the five-minute grid. | Adjust |
Watch out for
Typical mistakes with this interval
5 * * * * is not "every 5 minutes"
Without the slash, the 5 means "at minute 5". The job then runs only once an hour, at 0:05, 1:05, 2:05 and so on. That is the most common mistake with this interval.
When a run takes longer than five minutes
Cron does not wait for the previous run to finish. If your script sometimes takes longer, two run at the same time and get in each other's way, for example when sending mails. A lock at the start of the script prevents this, for example a file created at the start and deleted at the end.
Runtime when called from outside
When a service calls your script through an address, it does not wait forever. At Cronjob.de it is 45 seconds on the free plan and 60 seconds on the paid ones. Larger work is best split up: one batch per call, run every five minutes.
Own server
How it looks in the crontab
Open with crontab -e and add one line. The first starts a PHP script directly, the second calls an address. Replace paths and address with your own.
*/5 * * * * /usr/bin/php /pfad/zu/skript.php >/dev/null 2>&1
*/5 * * * * curl -fsS https://ihre-domain.de/cron.php >/dev/null
Without your own server
How it works at Cronjob.de
No command-line access needed: you enter the address of your script and click the schedule together. You can also type the expression above directly, or describe the interval in one sentence and have it suggested. Cronjob.de uses German time.
Five cronjobs are free forever, on the five-minute grid. One-minute intervals start with Plus. How to prepare a script on shared web space for this is explained in the web space guide.
FAQ
Common questions
- Does the job run exactly every 300 seconds?
- It starts at each five-minute mark, usually within the first seconds of the minute. The gaps are therefore very even, but not fixed to the second.
- Is this possible for free?
- Yes. The free Cronjob.de plan runs exactly on the five-minute grid and covers five cronjobs. Every minute or offset minutes such as 2, 7, 12 are available from Plus.
- Is every 5 minutes too often?
- For most systems it is exactly right. Nextcloud, for example, recommends exactly this interval in its documentation. It becomes too often when a single run takes so long that runs overlap.
Create your cronjob now
Create an account, enter the address, click the schedule. Five cronjobs are free forever, the first 14 days run on the Unlimited plan.
Start for free To the crontab generatorMore schedules
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