A Scheduled Trigger starts a workflow at fixed times or intervals. You can run workflows on a recurring basis—hourly, daily, weekly, or using a custom cron schedule.<hr><h2>Setting Up a Scheduled Trigger</h2>1. Select "Scheduled" from the trigger panel Choose Scheduled from the trigger type dropdown.2. Define the run schedule Use predefined intervals or write a custom cron expression to control when the workflow runs.3. Activate the workflow Scheduled triggers only run after the workflow is saved and activated.<hr><h2>Timezone Behavior</h2>The trigger follows this timezone logic:<ul class="accent-bullets"><li>If set, the workflow’s timezone is used</li><li>If unset, the instance timezone is used (defaults to America/New_York on self-hosted or auto-detected in n8n Cloud)</li></ul><hr><h2>Trigger Interval Options</h2>You can configure the schedule using built-in interval modes or Cron expressions.Seconds <code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Seconds Between Triggers</code> – e.g., every 30 secondsMinutes <code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Minutes Between Triggers</code> – e.g., every 5 minutesHours<ul class="accent-bullets"><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Hours Between Triggers</code></li><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Trigger at Minute</code> – minute past the hour (0–59)</li></ul>Days<ul class="accent-bullets"><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Days Between Triggers</code></li><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Trigger at Hour</code> and <code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Minute</code></li></ul>Weeks<ul class="accent-bullets"><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Weeks Between Triggers</code></li><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Trigger on Weekdays</code></li><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Trigger at Hour</code> and <code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Minute</code></li></ul>Months<ul class="accent-bullets"><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Months Between Triggers</code></li><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Trigger at Day of Month</code> (1–31)</li><li><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Trigger at Hour</code> and <code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">Minute</code> (Note: If a month lacks the selected day, the workflow won’t run)</li></ul><hr><h2>Custom Schedule (Cron Expression)</h2>Use a cron string for more control. Supports 6 fields (including seconds).Example Patterns<table style="min-width: 50px"><colgroup><col style="min-width: 25px"><col style="min-width: 25px"></colgroup><tbody><tr><th colspan="1" rowspan="1">Schedule Description</th><th colspan="1" rowspan="1">Cron Expression</th></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Every 10 seconds</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">*/10 * * * * *</code></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Every 5 minutes</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">*/5 * * * *</code></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Hourly</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">0 * * * *</code></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Daily at 6 AM</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">0 6 * * *</code></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Mondays at 12 PM</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">0 12 * * 1</code></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">First day of each month</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">0 0 1 * *</code></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Every 3 days</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">0 0 */3 * *</code></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Weekdays at 9 AM</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">0 9 * * 1-5</code></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">9 AM–5 PM hourly</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">0 9-17 * * *</code></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1">Quarterly at midnight</td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1"><code class="inline-code-shadow bg-gray-100 border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800 font-medium dark:bg-gray-700/60 text-gray-700 dark:text-gray-200 font-mono text-md px-1 py-0.5 rounded-[0.2rem] [&amp;::before]:content-none [&amp;::after]:content-none">0 0 1 1,4,7,10 *</code></td></tr></tbody></table>Use tools like <a href="http://crontab.guru" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="cursor-pointer box-border font-semibold border-b hover:border-b-[2px] transition-all duration-75 " style="text-decoration: none; color: inherit; border-color: var(--portal-accent-color);">crontab.guru</a> to generate expressions.<hr><h2>Variable Handling</h2>Variables in the cron expression are evaluated only when the workflow is activated. To apply changes to a variable, deactivate and reactivate the workflow.<hr><h2>Important Notes</h2><ul class="accent-bullets"><li>Only one Scheduled Trigger is allowed per workflow</li><li>A workflow must be activated for the schedule to take effect</li><li>You can combine multiple schedules using Trigger Rules</li></ul>

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