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Schedule trigger#

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

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.

Node parameters#

Add Trigger Rules to determine when the trigger should run.

Use the Trigger Interval to select the time interval unit of measure to schedule the trigger for. All other rule parameters depend on the interval you select. Choose from:

You can add multiple Trigger Rules to run the node on different schedules.

Refer to the sections below for more detail on configuring each Trigger Interval

Seconds trigger interval#

  • Seconds Between Triggers: Enter the number of seconds between each workflow trigger. For example, if you enter 30 here, the trigger will run every 30 seconds.

Minutes trigger interval#

  • Minutes Between Triggers: Enter the number of minutes between each workflow trigger. For example, if you enter 5 here, the trigger will run every 5 minutes.

Hours trigger interval#

  • Hours Between Triggers: Enter the number of hours between each workflow trigger.
  • Trigger at Minute: Enter the minute past the hour to trigger the node when it runs, from 0 to 59.

For example, if you enter 6 Hours Between Triggers and 30 Trigger at Minute, the node will run every six hours at 30 minutes past the hour.

Days trigger interval#

  • Days Between Triggers: Enter the number of days between each workflow trigger.
  • Trigger at Hour: Select the hour of the day to trigger the node.
  • Trigger at Minute: Enter the minute past the hour to trigger the node when it runs, from 0 to 59.

For example, if you enter 2 Days Between Triggers, 9am for Trigger at Hour, and 15 Trigger at Minute, the node will run every two days at 9:15am.

Weeks trigger interval#

  • Weeks Between Triggers: Enter the number of weeks between each workflow trigger.
  • Trigger on Weekdays: Select the day(s) of the week you want to trigger the node.
  • Trigger at Hour: Select the hour of the day to trigger the node.
  • Trigger at Minute: Enter the minute past the hour to trigger the node when it runs, from 0 to 59.

For example, if you enter 2 Weeks Between Triggers, Monday for Trigger on Weekdays, 3pm for Trigger at Hour, and 30 Trigger at Minute, the node will run every two weeks on Monday at 3:30pm.

Months trigger interval#

  • Months Between Triggers: Enter the number of months between each workflow trigger.
  • Trigger at Day of Month: Enter the day of the month the day should trigger at, from 1 to 31. If a month doesn't have this day, the node won't trigger. For example, if you enter 30 here, the node won't trigger in February.
  • Trigger at Hour: Select the hour of the day to trigger the node.
  • Trigger at Minute: Enter the minute past the hour to trigger the node when it runs, from 0 to 59.

For example, if you enter 3 Months Between Triggers, 28 Trigger at Day of Month, 9am for Trigger at Hour, and 0 Trigger at Minute, the node will run each quarter on the 28th day of the month at 9:00am.

Custom (Cron) interval#

Enter a custom cron Expression to set the schedule for the trigger.

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 of month month day of week

Templates and examples#

Browse Schedule trigger integration templates, or search all templates