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ToolsCourt›Blog›GitHub Actions Cron Schedule — Complete Guide with IST Timezone Fix
Dev5 min read·January 2025

GitHub Actions Cron Schedule — Complete Guide with IST Timezone Fix

How to use schedule triggers in GitHub Actions workflows, with UTC to IST conversion table and common schedule examples.

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How GitHub Actions Schedule Triggers Work

GitHub Actions workflows can run automatically on a schedule using the on: schedule: trigger. The schedule uses standard 5-field cron syntax. All times are in UTC — there is no way to specify a timezone in GitHub Actions cron.

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 3 * * 1-5'  # Every weekday at 3am UTC = 8:30am IST
jobs:
  my-job:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: echo "Running scheduled job"

UTC to IST Conversion Table

You want (IST)Use (UTC)Cron expression
6:00 AM IST12:30 AM UTC30 0 * * *
9:00 AM IST3:30 AM UTC30 3 * * *
12:00 PM IST6:30 AM UTC30 6 * * *
6:00 PM IST12:30 PM UTC30 12 * * *
9:00 PM IST3:30 PM UTC30 15 * * *
Midnight IST6:30 PM UTC30 18 * * *

GitHub Actions Cron Limitations

  • Minimum interval is every 5 minutes (*/5 * * * *) — GitHub ignores more frequent schedules
  • Schedules can be delayed by up to 15 minutes during high demand
  • Workflows on inactive repositories (no pushes in 60 days) are automatically disabled
  • You cannot use @daily or other shorthands — only 5-field expressions
⚠️ The biggest source of GitHub Actions cron bugs is forgetting the UTC offset. Always double-check your times using a UTC converter before deploying.
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