Run a Cron Job Every Quarter

To run a job once a quarter, use 0 0 1 */3 * — it fires at midnight on the 1st of January, April, July and October. Always pin the day to 1.

Cron expression (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week)

The expression

0 0 1 */3 * runs at 00:00 on the 1st of every 3rd month, stepping from January: Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct.

Equivalent and clearer: 0 0 1 1,4,7,10 *. Use the list form when your fiscal quarters don't start in January.

Without the day-of-month 1, the job would run every day of those months. The 1 makes it fire once per quarter.

0 0 1 */3 * runs on the 1st of January, April, July and October at midnight. 0 0 1 1,4,7,10 * is equivalent.

List the start months explicitly, e.g. 0 0 1 2,5,8,11 * for quarters starting in February.

Without a day-of-month, the job runs every day in those months. The 1 limits it to the first day.