Cron for Nightly Database Backup (2 AM Daily)
Cron expression for a nightly backup job at 2:00 AM every day: 0 2 * * *. The standard cron schedule for database backups during the low-traffic maintenance window.
0
Minute
2
Hour
*
Day (M)
*
Month
*
Weekday
“At 02:00 AM”
Next execution dates
- Fri, Jun 12, 2026, 02:00:00 AMin 14 hours
- Sat, Jun 13, 2026, 02:00:00 AMin 2 days
- Sun, Jun 14, 2026, 02:00:00 AMin 3 days
- Mon, Jun 15, 2026, 02:00:00 AMin 4 days
- Tue, Jun 16, 2026, 02:00:00 AMin 5 days
Visual builder
Pick how often the job should run. The expression updates automatically.
At:
How cron syntax works
A standard cron expression has five fields, separated by spaces.
| Minute | Hour | Day of month | Month | Day of week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 59 | 0 - 23 | 1 - 31 | 1 - 12 | 0 - 6 (Sun-Sat) |
*Any value* * * * * — every minute
,Value list separator0 9,17 * * * — at 9 AM and 5 PM
-Range of values0 9-17 * * * — every hour 9 AM–5 PM
/Step values*/15 * * * * — every 15 minutes
?No specific value (Quartz)0 0 12 ? * MON
LLast (day of month/week)0 0 L * ? — last day of month
Common cron expressions
Click any example to load and translate it.
When to use this schedule
2 AM is the gold-standard maintenance window for database backups. Traffic is at its nadir in most time zones, giving backup jobs maximum I/O bandwidth. Pair with a backup retention policy — e.g. keep 7 daily, 4 weekly, 12 monthly snapshots.