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Run Cron Job Every Weekend Sat-Sun (0 0 * * 6,0)
Weekend Cadence • Saturday & Sunday

Run Cron Job Every Weekend Sat-Sun (0 0 * * 6,0)

Schedule cron tasks running every weekend on Saturday and Sunday (0 0 * * 6,0). Visual syntax breakdown, next execution dates, and scripts.

Direct Answer Definition

To run a cron job on weekends only (Saturday and Sunday), use the expression `0 0 * * 6,0`. The comma list `6,0` in the fifth position specifies day 6 (Saturday) and day 0 (Sunday), executing at midnight on both weekend days.

POSIX Cron Expression (5-Field)
Valid Syntax
Natural Language Schedule

At 00:00, Saturday and Sunday

Standard Schedule PresetsClick to load

Interactive 5-Field Workbench

Adjust individual cron segments in real time with instant two-way synchronization.

1. Minute0
0 – 59
2. Hour0
0 – 23 (24h)
3. Day of Month*
1 – 31
4. Month*
1 – 12 (Jan – Dec)
Select Month
5. Day of Week6,0
0 – 6 (Sun – Sat)
Select Day

Next 5 Scheduled Executions

Real-time schedule timetable projected forward from current timestamp.

12026-10-09 18:00:00 UTC
in 1d 8h
22026-10-10 18:00:00 UTC
in 2d 8h
32026-10-16 18:00:00 UTC
in 8d 8h
42026-10-17 18:00:00 UTC
in 9d 8h
52026-10-23 18:00:00 UTC
in 15d 8h

Crontab Command Snippet

Enter your executable command or script path to generate the full crontab configuration line.

Ready to paste in `crontab -e`0 0 * * 6,0 curl -fsS https://example.com/cron-job
Runs in system timezone or explicit TZ variablePOSIX Spec
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Cron Field Syntax Mapping

Field-by-Field Breakdown of `0 0 * * 6,0`

PositionField NameAllowed ValuesValue in `0 0 * * 6,0`Evaluation Meaning
1Minute0 – 5900 (At minute 0)
2Hour0 – 2300 (At midnight / 00:00)
3Day of Month1 – 31** (Every day of the month)
4Month1 – 12** (Every month)
5Day of Week0 – 6 (Sun-Sat)6,06,0 (Saturday and Sunday)
Technical Engineering Analysis

Weekend List Notation & System Optimization

Weekend scheduling is popular for long-running batch jobs, training machine learning models, database defragmentation, and deep security audits that require sustained server capacity.

In cron syntax, lists are created with commas without spaces. `6,0` (or `0,6`) specifies Saturday and Sunday. Some modern implementations also accept `SAT,SUN`.

Running heavy jobs over the weekend allows systems to recover before Monday morning business traffic begins, ensuring database buffer caches and search indices are primed.

Real-World Server Implementations

Common Production Scenarios for `0 0 * * 6,0`

Case 01

Deep Security Audit & Vulnerability Scanning

Executes full filesystem malware scans and container vulnerability audits with ClamAV and Trivy.

/usr/bin/trivy fs / --quiet >> /var/log/vuln-scan.log
Case 02

Search Index Full Rebuild & Optimization

Performs full reindexing and vector embedding generation on catalog items without impacting daytime latency.

/usr/bin/php /var/www/artisan search:reindex-all
Case 03

Cold Log Compression & Archive to R2

Gzips and transfers week-old application access logs to Cloudflare R2 bucket for long-term retention.

/usr/local/bin/archive-weekly-logs.sh
Operational Traps & Failure Modes

Production Gotchas When Running `0 0 * * 6,0`

  • Spacing in Lists: Never put spaces in cron lists (e.g. `6, 0`). A space causes cron to parse the `0` as the command field, causing silent syntax errors.
  • Midnight Timing: Remember that Saturday's run (`0 0 * * 6`) triggers at the very start of Saturday (Friday night / Saturday morning).
  • Resource Depletion: Long weekend batches must finish before Monday 08:00 AM local business time.

Frequently Asked Questions About `0 0 * * 6,0`

Can I write `0,6` instead of `6,0`?

Yes, the order of numbers in a comma-separated list does not matter. Both `0,6` and `6,0` specify Saturday and Sunday.

Can I use `SAT,SUN` instead of `6,0`?

Yes, on modern Linux distributions, `0 0 * * SAT,SUN` is fully supported and equivalent to `0 0 * * 6,0`.

How do I run a job at 2 AM on weekends?

Set the hour field to `2`: `0 2 * * 6,0 /path/to/script.sh`.

Related Cron Schedule Generators

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