Cron Every 3 Minutes

The cron expression */3 * * * * runs a job every 3 minutes. The step value */3 in the minute field triggers at minutes 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, and so on through minute 57, then resets at the top of the next hour.

Every 3 minutes gives you 480 executions per day — a good balance between responsiveness and resource usage. This interval is popular for API polling, log aggregation, and notification checks.

Note that because 60 is divisible by 3, the execution pattern is perfectly uniform. For step values that don't divide evenly into 60 (like */7), the pattern resets at the top of each hour, which can cause uneven gaps.