---
title: Job cron expression
slug: data-platform/connect-platform/cron-expression
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-08-05T20:06:34.295Z
---

There are different ways to trigger Connect Platform for Optimizely Data Platform (ODP) jobs:

- Trigger the job by another part of the app, such as a form
- Use a cron expression to run the job periodically on a given schedule
- Use opti-cli command:

```shell
opti jobs trigger <appId> <jobName> <trackerId> 
```

### Scheduling jobs with cron expressions

Use cron property in app manifest file (app.yml) to schedule regular execution of a job.
The property uses quartz cron format.
Examples:

| Expression        | Description                         |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| \* \* *?* \*      | Every second                        |
| 0 \* *?* \*       | Every minute                        |
| 0 */2* ? \* \*    | Every even minute                   |
| 0 */2* ? \* \*    | Every 2 minutes                     |
| 0 */5* ? \* \*    | Every 5 minutes                     |
| 0 */10* ? \* \*   | Every 10 minutes                    |
| 0 */15* ? \* \*   | Every 15 minutes                    |
| 0 */30* ? \* \*   | Every 30 minutes                    |
| 0 15,30,45 *?* \* | Every hour at minutes 15, 30 and 45 |
| 0 0 */2 ?* \*     | Every hour                          |
| 0 0 0/2 ? \* \*   | Every even hour                     |
| 0 0 */12 ?* \*    | Every twelve hours                  |
| 0 0 12 \* \* ?    | Every day at noon - 12pm            |
| 0 0 12 ? \*       | SUN	Every Sunday at noon            |

To build your own cron expression, you can also use:
[https://www.freeformatter.com/cron-expression-generator-quartz.html](https://www.freeformatter.com/cron-expression-generator-quartz.html)

Example of yaml configuration:

```yaml
jobs:
  nightly_import:
    entry_point: NightlyImport
    # runs at midnight every night
    cron: 0 0 0 ? * *
    description: Performs a nightly import for data that isn't provided or needed in real-time
```