What */2 * * * * does
The */2 in the minute field is a step value. It means 'starting at minute 0, then every 2 minutes'. The four remaining asterisks mean every hour, every day of the month, every month and every day of the week — so the job runs continuously, all year.
Within any given hour it fires at :00, :02, :04, :06, :08, :10 ..., giving 30 runs per hour and 720 per day.
The mistake people make
Dropping the */ changes the meaning completely. 2 * * * * runs once an hour, at minute 2 — not every 2 minutes. The slash is what turns a value into an interval.
Every 2 minutes is a reasonable floor for health checks that need to catch outages fast without hammering the target.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cron expression for every 2 minutes?
*/2 * * * *. The */2 step in the minute field fires the job every 2 minutes, starting at minute 0 of each hour.
How many times does */2 * * * * run per day?
720 times — 30 per hour, 24 hours a day.
Related cron expressions
Browse the full cron expression reference, or build your own expression from scratch.