How do I use "30 * * * *" in a real crontab?

Paste the expression 30 * * * * into crontab followed by your command, e.g. 30 * * * * /your/absolute/command. The scheduler will then run the job on this exact cadence (At 30 minutes past the hour).

What does "30 * * * *" mean?

The five fields of 30 * * * * expand to: At 30 minutes past the hour.

Is "30 * * * *" good for short-interval jobs?

This cadence fires 24 times a day. That is best for periodic sync or digest work rather than anything that must react within seconds.

Does "30 * * * *" run in UTC or local time?

Classic crontab runs in the server's local timezone. Managed schedulers like Vercel Cron, AWS EventBridge and GitHub Actions default to UTC, so adjust the hours if you need a local-time equivalent there.

Cron Job Every hour at 30 minutes past

Trigger a job every hour at 30 minutes past the hour. Use the cron string 30 * * * *, see the next 5 execution times, and copy Python, Node.js, Bash and n8n snippets.

Quick Answers

What does the "Every hour at 30 minutes past" cron expression mean?: This cron expression is "30 * * * *", which in plain English means: Trigger a job every hour at 30 minutes past the hour..
When will this cron expression run next?: With the expression "30 * * * *", the next execution times are Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 01:30:00 PM UTC, Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 02:30:00 PM UTC, Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 03:30:00 PM UTC.
How do I use this cron expression?: Copy the exact string into crontab, cron triggers, or any scheduler such as GitHub Actions, n8n or Docker. Pre-built code snippets for Python, Node.js, Bash, Docker, GitHub Actions and n8n are included on this page.

Explore the full Cron Cheat Sheet with all 50 schedules

Cron Expression

Copy this exact string into crontab, cron triggers, or schedulers.

30 * * * *

Human readable

Trigger a job every hour at 30 minutes past the hour.

Next 5 execution times

1Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 01:30:00 PM UTC
2Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 02:30:00 PM UTC
3Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 03:30:00 PM UTC
4Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 04:30:00 PM UTC
5Fri, Aug 14, 2026, 05:30:00 PM UTC

Python

from crontab import CronTab
from datetime import datetime

# Install: pip install python-crontab
cron = CronTab(user=True)
job = cron.new(command="/usr/bin/python3 /var/www/job_every-hour-at-30-minutes.py", comment="scheduled by crongen")
job.setall("30 * * * *")
cron.write()

print(f"Installed: 30 * * * * -> /usr/bin/python3 /var/www/job_every-hour-at-30-minutes.py")

Related schedules

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About the "every hour at 30 minutes past" cron schedule

The "every hour at 30 minutes past" cron schedule uses the expression "30 * * * *". This schedule fires 24 times per day.

In plain English the cron string "30 * * * *" means: At 30 minutes past the hour.

This cadence is a common choice for hourly data ingestion, cache refresh or status aggregation jobs and steady background processing that keeps a small queue drained. The schedule is deliberately kept simple: copy the string into any cron-aware scheduler (crontab, Vercel Cron, GitHub Actions, n8n, Docker or Kubernetes CronJob) and the run will repeat automatically — steady, with no manual triggering.