GitHub Actions Cron Scheduling | Generated by AI
Yes, a GitHub workflow can be configured to execute once every day using a cron schedule in GitHub Actions.
Explanation
GitHub Actions allows you to automate tasks within your repository through workflows, which are defined in YAML files located in the .github/workflows directory. One way to trigger a workflow is by using the schedule event, which employs a cron-like syntax to specify when the workflow should run. The cron syntax in GitHub Actions follows the standard POSIX format, consisting of five fields: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week.
To run a workflow once every day, you can use a cron expression such as 0 0 * * *, which translates to “every day at 00:00 UTC.” Here’s how it breaks down:
- Minute (0): 0 minutes past the hour
- Hour (0): 00:00 (midnight) UTC
- Day of month (*): Every day of the month
- Month (*): Every month
- Day of week (*): Every day of the week
Example Configuration
Below is a sample GitHub Actions workflow configuration that runs once daily:
name: Daily Workflow
on:
schedule:
- cron: '0 0 * * *'
jobs:
example-job:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- name: Print message
run: echo "This runs once a day!"
This workflow will execute at midnight UTC every day.
Key Considerations
- Time Zone: The schedule operates in UTC, so adjust the cron expression if you need it to run at a specific time in your local time zone.
- Default Branch: By default, scheduled workflows run on the repository’s default branch (e.g.,
mainormaster) unless otherwise specified. - Reliability: While GitHub Actions aims to run workflows at the specified time, slight delays may occur due to infrastructure load, though this is rare.
- Usage Limits: For free GitHub accounts, there are limits on Actions usage (e.g., minutes per month), but a single daily run is typically well within these constraints.
Conclusion
With a properly configured cron expression in the workflow file, GitHub Actions can indeed execute a workflow once every day. Thus, the answer to your query is yes.