Cron Expression: Weekdays at 10:00 PM (0 22 * * 1-5)

The cron expression 0 22 * * 1-5 executes a task on weekdays (Monday through Friday) at 10:00 PM (22:00), making it ideal for end-of-workday operations, daily summaries, and tasks that should run after business hours on workdays.

Expression Breakdown

0 22 * * 1-5
│ │  │ │ │
│ │  │ │ └─── Day of week: 1-5 (Monday to Friday)
│ │  │ └───── Month: * (every month)
│ │  └─────── Day of month: * (every day)
│ └────────── Hour: 22 (at hour 22, 10:00 PM)
└───────────── Minute: 0 (at minute 0)

Field Values

Range Syntax

The 1-5 in the day of week field is a range that means "Monday through Friday":

• Runs on: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday at 10:00 PM
• Does NOT run on: Saturday, Sunday

Execution Time

This expression runs 5 times per week at:

• Monday 22:00, Tuesday 22:00, Wednesday 22:00, Thursday 22:00, Friday 22:00

Common Use Cases

1. End-of-Workday Reports

0 22 * * 1-5 /usr/bin/python3 /scripts/generate-end-of-day-report.py

Generate end-of-workday reports or summaries on weekdays.

2. End-of-Workday Backups

0 22 * * 1-5 /usr/local/bin/end-of-day-backup.sh

Create daily backups after business hours on workdays.

3. End-of-Workday Data Processing

0 22 * * 1-5 /usr/bin/python3 /scripts/process-end-of-day-data.py

Process daily data batches or aggregations after business hours.

4. End-of-Workday Cleanup

0 22 * * 1-5 /usr/local/bin/end-of-day-cleanup.sh

Clean up temporary files, old cache entries, or stale data after work hours.

Example Implementations

End-of-Workday Report Script

# generate-end-of-day-report.py
import json
from datetime import datetime
import sqlite3

def generate_end_of_day_report():
    conn = sqlite3.connect('/var/data/app.db')
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    
    # Get today's data
    today = datetime.now().date()
    
    cursor.execute('''
        SELECT 
            COUNT(*) as total_requests,
            AVG(response_time) as avg_response_time,
            COUNT(CASE WHEN status_code >= 400 THEN 1 END) as errors,
            COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) as unique_users
        FROM requests
        WHERE DATE(timestamp) = ?
    ''', (today,))
    
    metrics = cursor.fetchone()
    
    report = {
        'date': today.strftime('%Y-%m-%d'),
        'day_type': 'business_day',
        'generated_at': datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S'),
        'metrics': {
            'total_requests': metrics[0],
            'avg_response_time': round(metrics[1], 2) if metrics[1] else 0,
            'errors': metrics[2],
            'unique_users': metrics[3]
        }
    }
    
    with open(f'/var/reports/end_of_day_{today.strftime("%Y%m%d")}.json', 'w') as f:
        json.dump(report, f, indent=2)
    
    print(f"{datetime.now()}: End-of-workday report generated")
    conn.close()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    generate_end_of_day_report()

Best Practices

1. After Business Hours: 10 PM ensures tasks run after typical workday ends
2. Weekdays Only: Excludes weekends from execution
3. Error Handling: Implement comprehensive error handling and logging
4. Locking: Use file locks to prevent concurrent execution
5. Monitoring: Set up alerts for failed jobs

When to Use

✅ Good for:

• End-of-workday reports
• End-of-workday backups
• End-of-workday data processing
• Tasks that should only run on weekdays
• After-hours operations

❌ Avoid for:

• Tasks that need to run every day including weekends
• Real-time critical operations
• Very long-running processes

Related Patterns

Conclusion

The 0 22 * * 1-5 expression is perfect for end-of-workday operations on weekdays only. It's commonly used for daily reports, backups, and data processing that should run after business hours, excluding weekends from the schedule.