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Schedule trigger#

Use the Schedule trigger node run workflows at fixed intervals and times. This works in a similar way to the Cron software utility in Unix-like systems.

Examples and templates

For usage examples and templates to help you get started, refer to n8n's Schedule Trigger integrations page.

You must activate the workflow"

If a workflow uses the Schedule node as a trigger, make sure that you save and activate the workflow.

Timezone settings

The node relies on the timezone setting. n8n uses either:

  1. The workflow timezone, if set. Refer to Workflow settings for more information.
  2. The n8n instance timezone, if the workflow timezone isn't set. The default is America/New York for self-hosted instances. n8n Cloud tries to detect the instance owner's timezone when they sign up, falling back to GMT as the default. Self-hosted users can change the instance setting using Environment variables. Cloud admins can change the instance timezone in the Admin dashboard.

Schedule your workflow#

Select an interval in Trigger Interval. n8n displays options for the selected interval.

Example#

In this example, schedule a workflow to run once a quarter, at the end of the quarter, at 09:00.

  1. In Trigger Interval, select Months.
  2. Change Months Between Triggers to 3.
  3. To run the workflow at the end of the month, change Trigger at Day of Month to 28.
  4. Change Trigger at Hour to 9am. Leave Trigger at Minute as its default, 0.

Note that the Schedule trigger uses the workflow timezone if available. Otherwise it uses the n8n instance timezone.

Generate a custom Cron expression#

If you need a custom time setting, select Trigger Interval > Custom (Cron).

To generate a Cron expression, you can use crontab guru. Paste the Cron expression that you generated using crontab guru in the Expression field in n8n.

Examples#

If you want to trigger your workflow every day at 04:08:30, enter the following in the Cron Expression field. 

1
30 8 4 * * *

If you want to trigger your workflow every day at 04:08, enter the following in the Cron Expression field. 

1
8 4 * * *

Why there are six asterisks in the Cron expression#

The sixth asterisk in the Cron expression represents seconds. Setting this is optional. The node will execute even if you don't set the value for seconds.

* * * * * *
second minute hour day week month