Can GitHub Actions run every minute?

No. The minimum interval for GitHub Actions scheduled workflows is every 5 minutes. More frequent schedules are automatically throttled.

Are GitHub Actions schedules exact?

No. Scheduled workflows may be delayed during high-load periods. Do not rely on exact timing for critical operations.

GitHub Actions Cron Every 5 Minutes

*/5 * * * *

Every 5 minutes

Next 10 Executions

Times shown in UTC

Mon, May 18, 202608:10
Mon, May 18, 202608:15
Mon, May 18, 202608:20
Mon, May 18, 202608:25
Mon, May 18, 202608:30
Mon, May 18, 202608:35
Mon, May 18, 202608:40
Mon, May 18, 202608:45
Mon, May 18, 202608:50
Mon, May 18, 202608:55

Field Breakdown

*/5

Minute

Every 5 minutes

*

Hour

Every hour

*

Day of Month

Every day

*

Month

Every month

*

Day of Week

Every day of week

About This Schedule

To schedule a GitHub Actions workflow every 5 minutes, use this YAML in your workflow file:


GitHub Actions uses standard 5-field cron syntax — no extra fields or special characters needed. The shortest allowed interval is every 5 minutes; anything more frequent (like every minute) will be throttled to 5 minutes.

**Important caveat**: GitHub Actions scheduled workflows are not guaranteed to run at the exact time specified. During periods of high load, scheduled workflows may be delayed by several minutes or even queued. Don't rely on Actions schedules for time-critical operations. For reliable sub-hour scheduling, use a dedicated scheduler like AWS EventBridge or a self-hosted cron daemon.