Is pg_cron available on all Supabase plans?

Yes. pg_cron is available on all Supabase plans including the free tier. It's a PostgreSQL extension that's pre-installed on every Supabase project.

What timezone does pg_cron use?

UTC. All cron schedules in pg_cron run in UTC. Convert your desired local time to UTC for the schedule.

Can pg_cron call external APIs?

Not directly. But you can use the pg_net extension (also available on Supabase) to make HTTP requests from SQL, allowing pg_cron to trigger Edge Functions or external webhooks.

How do I check if my pg_cron job ran successfully?

Query `SELECT * FROM cron.job_run_details ORDER BY start_time DESC`. This shows the status, start time, end time, and any error messages for each run.

Can I schedule a job more frequently than every minute?

No. pg_cron's minimum interval is every minute (`* * * * *`). For sub-minute scheduling, you'd need an external solution.

beginner 9 min read

How to Set Up Cron Jobs in Supabase (pg_cron & Edge Functions)

Learn how to schedule cron jobs in Supabase using pg_cron for database tasks and Edge Functions for serverless scheduled tasks.

Prerequisites

Supabase project
Basic SQL knowledge
Supabase CLI (for Edge Functions)

Cron Options in Supabase

Supabase offers two ways to schedule tasks:

pg_cron — A PostgreSQL extension for scheduling SQL queries directly in the database
Edge Functions + external trigger — Serverless functions triggered by an external cron service

pg_cron is built into every Supabase project and is the simplest option for database-related tasks.

Quick Start with pg_cron

pg_cron is pre-installed on Supabase. Enable and use it from the SQL Editor:

sql

-- Enable the extension (if not already enabled)
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pg_cron;

-- Schedule a job: clean up old records daily at midnight UTC
SELECT cron.schedule(
  'cleanup-old-records',
  '0 0 * * *',
  $$ DELETE FROM events WHERE created_at < NOW() - INTERVAL '90 days' $$
);

That's it. The job runs directly inside PostgreSQL — no external services needed.

Managing pg_cron Jobs

List all scheduled jobs:

sql

SELECT * FROM cron.job;

Update a job's schedule:

sql

SELECT cron.alter_job(
  job_id := (SELECT jobid FROM cron.job WHERE jobname = 'cleanup-old-records'),
  schedule := '0 2 * * *'
);

Unschedule (delete) a job:

sql

SELECT cron.unschedule('cleanup-old-records');

Schedule a job that calls a function:

sql

SELECT cron.schedule(
  'refresh-stats',
  '*/15 * * * *',
  $$ SELECT refresh_materialized_views() $$
);

Edge Functions with Cron

For tasks that need to call external APIs or run non-SQL logic, use Edge Functions with an external scheduler:

Create an Edge Function:

bash

supabase functions new scheduled-task

typescript

// supabase/functions/scheduled-task/index.ts
import { serve } from 'https://deno.land/std@0.168.0/http/server.ts'

serve(async (req) => {
  // Verify the request is authorized
  const authHeader = req.headers.get('Authorization')
  if (authHeader !== `Bearer ${Deno.env.get('CRON_SECRET')}`) {
    return new Response('Unauthorized', { status: 401 })
  }

  // Your task logic
  const result = await fetch('https://api.example.com/sync')
  return new Response(JSON.stringify({ success: true }))
})

Trigger via pg_cron + pg_net:

sql

SELECT cron.schedule(
  'call-edge-function',
  '0 * * * *',
  $$
  SELECT net.http_post(
    url := 'https://your-project.supabase.co/functions/v1/scheduled-task',
    headers := jsonb_build_object('Authorization', 'Bearer ' || current_setting('app.settings.cron_secret')),
    body := '{}'::jsonb
  )
  $$
);

Common Cron Expressions

pg_cron uses standard 5-field cron syntax:

* * * * * — Every minute
*/5 * * * * — Every 5 minutes
0 * * * * — Every hour
0 0 * * * — Daily at midnight UTC
0 9 * * 1-5 — Weekdays at 9 AM UTC
0 0 1 * * — First day of every month

All times are in UTC.

Try it Open in full editor

Every weekday at 9:00 AM

Next runs (UTC):

Mon, May 18, 2026 09:00

Tue, May 19, 2026 09:00

Wed, May 20, 2026 09:00

Monitoring Job Runs

pg_cron logs execution details:

sql

-- View recent job runs
SELECT * FROM cron.job_run_details
ORDER BY start_time DESC
LIMIT 20;

-- Check for failures
SELECT * FROM cron.job_run_details
WHERE status = 'failed'
ORDER BY start_time DESC;

-- Clean up old run details
SELECT cron.schedule(
  'clean-cron-history',
  '0 0 * * *',
  $$ DELETE FROM cron.job_run_details WHERE end_time < NOW() - INTERVAL '7 days' $$
);

Debugging

Job not running?

Verify the extension is enabled: SELECT * FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'pg_cron';
Check the job exists: SELECT * FROM cron.job;
Check for errors in run details: SELECT * FROM cron.job_run_details ORDER BY start_time DESC;

Common issues:

pg_cron runs in the postgres database by default. If your tables are in a different schema, use fully qualified names
All schedules are in UTC — convert your desired local time accordingly
The cron.job_run_details table can grow large. Schedule a cleanup job for it

Production Tips

Keep jobs lightweight. pg_cron runs inside PostgreSQL. Long-running queries can impact database performance. For heavy processing, use pg_cron to trigger an Edge Function instead.

Clean up run history:

sql

SELECT cron.schedule(
  'vacuum-cron-history',
  '0 3 * * *',
  $$ DELETE FROM cron.job_run_details WHERE end_time < NOW() - INTERVAL '14 days' $$
);

Use transactions for data integrity:

sql

SELECT cron.schedule(
  'archive-and-cleanup',
  '0 2 * * *',
  $$
  BEGIN;
  INSERT INTO events_archive SELECT * FROM events WHERE created_at < NOW() - INTERVAL '1 year';
  DELETE FROM events WHERE created_at < NOW() - INTERVAL '1 year';
  COMMIT;
  $$
);