# What is the meaning of Cron Expression in Workflow scheduler?

**URL:** <https://community.automationedge.com/t/what-is-the-meaning-of-cron-expression-in-workflow-scheduler/17817>\
**Category:** AutomationEdge Server\
**Tags:** rpa\
**Created:** [April 16, 2026, 11:39am UTC](https://community.automationedge.com/t/what-is-the-meaning-of-cron-expression-in-workflow-scheduler/17817 "2026-04-16T11:39:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Siddharth\_31122002](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Siddharth\_31122002](https://community.automationedge.com/u/Siddharth_31122002)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 11:39am UTC](https://community.automationedge.com/t/what-is-the-meaning-of-cron-expression-in-workflow-scheduler/17817/1 "2026-04-16T11:39:23Z")

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If we want to schedule any workflow, then there are options available for schedule, there is an option named “Custom” schedule, if we select custom schedule then we get one field “Cron Expression”, what to specify in that field, and how can we schedule workflows using the custom option?

 ![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/automationedge/original/2X/4/45ad9553b1479eda72df2a751ce0e18eed174ebf.png)

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**Author:** ![AETrainings](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@AETrainings](https://community.automationedge.com/u/AETrainings)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 3:27am UTC](https://community.automationedge.com/t/what-is-the-meaning-of-cron-expression-in-workflow-scheduler/17817/2 "2026-10-15T03:27:45Z")

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> [@Siddharth\_31122002](#):
>
> If we want to schedule any workflow, then there are options available for schedule, there is an option named “Custom” schedule, if we select custom schedule then we get one field “Cron Expression”, what to specify in that field, and how can we schedule workflows using the custom option?

To schedule a workflow using the **Custom** option in AutomationEdge, follow these steps:

**Prerequisite:** The System Administrator must enable the following property in the server’s `ae.properties` file:

`ae.schedules.enable.cron.expression.input=true`

**Steps to configure the schedule:**

1. Navigate to **Workflows → Scheduler → Add New** in the AutomationEdge Server UI.

2. Select the workflow and configure the required runtime parameters.

3. Enter the schedule name, time zone, start date, and end date, or select **Run Schedule Infinitely**.

4. Select **Custom** under **Schedule Type** and enter the required Cron Expression.

5. Click **Submit** to save the schedule.

**Cron Expression Examples (Quartz format):**

| Requirement | Cron Expression |
| --- | --- |
| Every 5 minutes | `0 */5 * * * ?` |
| Every 15 minutes | `0 */15 * * * ?` |
| Every 2 hours | `0 0 0/2 * * ?` |
| Daily at 12:00 PM | `0 0 12 * * ?` |
| Monday to Friday at 9:30 AM | `0 30 9 ? * MON-FRI` |
| First day of every month at 8:00 AM | `0 0 8 1 * ?` |

**Cron Syntax:** `Seconds Minutes Hours Day-of-Month Month Day-of-Week [Year]`

The year field is optional. Use `?` when a specific value is not required for the day-of-month or day-of-week field.

Ensure that the configured time zone matches your intended workflow execution time.