What */5 * * * * does
The */5 in the minute field is a step value. It means 'starting at minute 0, then every 5 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, :05, :10, :15, :20, :25 ..., giving 12 runs per hour and 288 per day.
The mistake people make
Dropping the */ changes the meaning completely. 5 * * * * runs once an hour, at minute 5 — not every 5 minutes. The slash is what turns a value into an interval.
Every 5 minutes is the most common polling interval in production. It divides evenly into 60, so runs stay aligned to :00, :05, :10 and so on.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cron expression for every 5 minutes?
*/5 * * * *. The */5 step in the minute field fires the job every 5 minutes, starting at minute 0 of each hour.
How many times does */5 * * * * run per day?
288 times — 12 per hour, 24 hours a day.
Related cron expressions
Browse the full cron expression reference, or build your own expression from scratch.