Field-by-Field Breakdown of `*/10 * * * *`
| Position | Field Name | Allowed Values | Value in `*/10 * * * *` | Evaluation Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minute | 0 – 59 | */10 | */10 (Every 10th minute: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50) |
| 2 | Hour | 0 – 23 | * | * (Every hour: 0-23) |
| 3 | Day of Month | 1 – 31 | * | * (Every day of the month: 1-31) |
| 4 | Month | 1 – 12 | * | * (Every month: 1-12) |
| 5 | Day of Week | 0 – 6 (Sun-Sat) | * | * (Every day of the week: 0-6) |
Operational Architecture for 10-Minute Schedules
A 10-minute cron cadence is the ideal balance for medium-frequency background batch jobs that are too resource-heavy to run every minute, but need faster turnaround than an hourly batch. This schedule fires 6 times per hour.
The step expression `*/10 * * * *` evaluates identically to `0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * *`. Step notation is parsed cleanly by modern Unix schedulers and avoids the visual clutter of comma lists.
With a 10-minute interval (600 seconds), your script has a comfortable execution window. If a task occasionally takes 2–3 minutes to process external network requests, it will still finish safely before the subsequent run starts.
Common Production Scenarios for `*/10 * * * *`
SaaS Subscription Status & Webhook Sync
Polls Stripe or billing webhooks for missed payment events, updating local account access states across active tenant databases.
/usr/bin/python3 /opt/billing/sync-subscriptions.pySearch Index & ElasticSearch Delta Sync
Indexes newly created or modified blog posts and product records into search engines without waiting for daily reindexing.
/usr/bin/php /var/www/artisan scout:importServer Disk Space & Inode Monitoring
Scans disk partitions for threshold alerts (>85% utilization) and dispatches a Slack or PagerDuty alert before failure.
/usr/local/bin/check-disk-inodes.shProduction Gotchas When Running `*/10 * * * *`
- Cron restart timing: If the server reboots at 12:04, the next run will occur at 12:10. Cron does not backtrack missed runs unless supplemented by `anacron`.
- Third-party API Rate Limits: 144 requests per day to paid third-party APIs is usually safe, but check tier limits if querying per-user endpoints.
- Lockfiles: Even with 10 minutes between runs, network timeouts or database deadlocks can stall scripts. Always implement timeout guards.
Frequently Asked Questions About `*/10 * * * *`
How many times does `*/10 * * * *` run per day?
Exactly 144 times. There are 6 executions per hour across 24 hours (6 × 24 = 144).
How do I run every 10 minutes between 9 AM and 5 PM only?
Set the hour field to the range `9-17`: `*/10 9-17 * * * /path/to/script.sh`. The job will execute at :00, :10, :20, :30, :40, :50 only during working hours.
Does `*/10` work on all Unix systems?
Step values (`/`) are supported by Vixie Cron, Cronie, systemd, and modern BSD systems. On very old legacy AT&T System V Unix, you may need the comma list: `0,10,20,30,40,50 * * * *`.