FREE EIGHT-DAY SHIFT ROTATION TOOL
4 On 4 Off Schedule Generator
Build a dated four-days-working, four-days-off rotation. Start with a ready-made four-crew example, align the eight-day cycle, edit real shift exceptions, and check your coverage before exporting a usable rota.
Unlike a seven-day calendar week, the start weekday moves as the eight-day pattern repeats.
Your editable eight-day rotation
The fictional demo has Crew A/B covering days and Crew C/D covering nights. Click any crew/date cell—even an off day—to customize it.
Align the eight-day cycle
Define your clock times
Choose your crew view
Your edits save on this device. Changing the anchor realigns the whole repeating pattern; manual changes remain attached to their selected dates. Always verify your organization's actual cycle-day anchor.
My 4 On 4 Off Rota
Ready
Day/night staffing by date
Coverage means one scheduled example crew in each lane, not an assessment of qualified staff numbers or operational safety.
Find the exact cycle position
Your current generated dates and manual changes are reflected in downloads.
Four scheduled duties are followed by four off days, regardless of which weekday the run starts.
An eight-day cycle shifts relative to the seven-day week and crosses calendar months naturally.
Exceptions apply to individual dates, without changing every future repeat in the underlying cycle.
Keep a JSON backup, review CSV rows, import dated duties into a calendar, or print the rota.
How to build and customize a 4 on 4 off schedule
The eight-day model is simple, but correct date alignment and exception handling make the difference between a useful planning aid and an inaccurate rota. Follow these steps before sharing the result with staff.
Start with a verified cycle day
Use an existing approved rota, a reliable shift handover record, or a known first workday to determine your anchor. If the first displayed date is workday 3, choose cycle day 3. If it is the second rest day, choose cycle day 6. The eight-day wheel then repeats in both directions.
Do not assume each Monday restarts the cycle. A four-on/four-off pattern continues through weekends, holidays, year boundaries and leap days.
Set real start times and duty length
Enter the day shift start, night shift start and a base duty duration. A common illustrative setup uses 07:00 and 19:00 for 12-hour shifts, but workplaces vary. An overnight shift is attached to its start date, with its end time on the following date. The displayed scheduled hours are gross planning hours; paid breaks and payroll rules require separate handling.
Inspect the complementary crew example
The default four-crew demonstration pairs Crew A with Crew B and Crew C with Crew D. When A works its four-day block, B is normally off, and vice versa. The C/D pair covers the night lane using the same work/rest positions. You can filter the board to one crew for personal planning or show all four to inspect the example day/night coverage.
Edit a particular date without changing the cycle
Click any crew/date slot to change Work, Off, Leave or Training. For a work assignment, specify the title, lane, shift start, duration and optional note. Click Save to create a dated override. Choose Restore base pattern to remove only that date's override. Untouched future dates still follow their original eight-day rhythm.
Reassign or extend a duty
On desktop, use the shift card's drag grip to move an assignment to another crew or date; moving it clears the source date as a manual exception. Use the resize grip to change its length in 15-minute increments, or enter exact times in the editor when using touch, keyboard, or a screen reader. Check the coverage report afterward: a reassignment can leave a day or night lane unfilled.
Check coverage, hours and the date lookup
Coverage flags dates that do not have exactly one working example crew in each day and night lane. The date lookup calculates a crew's cycle position even outside the displayed calendar. Use it to check a future holiday or event without shifting the original anchor. Scheduled totals reflect the chosen planning horizon and your current manual edits.
Use undo and keep recoverable copies
Undo or Redo recent edits while working. Browser autosave restores the draft on the same device if storage is available. JSON backup is the most complete portable copy of the model and its exceptions; download one before changing the anchor or replacing a long-running roster. CSV is helpful for spreadsheet review but is not a complete editable backup.
Export only after a final human review
CSV includes the dated crew-by-crew statuses and shift windows. Calendar export creates dated events for currently scheduled working duties. Print/PDF creates a review copy. When signed in to your existing ScheduleFlowLab account, Save to My Schedules creates a new cloud snapshot in the site's current schedule and event tables. Check the imported timezone and daylight-saving dates in your destination calendar.
What the eight-day rotation actually means
A genuine 4-on/4-off rota is not the same as four working days per calendar week. Each block is eight days long, so weekends and weekdays regularly change.
4 work + 4 rest = 50% scheduled days
For an individual crew, a complete eight-day cycle contains four shifts. At 12 hours per shift, that is 48 scheduled hours per cycle: 48 ÷ 8 × 7 = 42 average scheduled hours per seven calendar days across full repeating cycles. This is a mathematical average, not an overtime/payroll determination.
Why the start weekday changes
An eight-day pattern starts its next block one weekday later than the previous eight-day block. For example, if a work block starts on Monday, the following one begins on Tuesday after four workdays and four off-days. Longer schedules must be calculated using real calendar dates rather than repeating a static Monday–Sunday template.
What coverage does and does not prove
Two opposite-phase crews can provide one scheduled team on each date of a single lane. A four-crew day/night example can show one day and one night crew daily. It still cannot determine the actual number of workers, licenses, roles, approved staffing levels, breaks, handover overlap or relief coverage required.
A rota calculation cannot approve safety, legality or staffing.
This page produces a configurable schedule and exception report. Before adopting it, a designated scheduler must verify the workplace's shift contract, minimum rest requirements, staffing qualifications, fatigue controls, paid and unpaid breaks, handover arrangements, leave, local labor law and overtime/pay-period treatment.
The default crews and shift windows are fictional examples. They do not represent professional compliance advice or automatic staff allocation.
4 On 4 Off Schedule FAQs
Answers refer to the exact schedule model and working functions on this page.
How does a 4 on 4 off schedule repeat?
It repeats every eight days. Four consecutive calendar dates are work dates, then four consecutive dates are off dates. After the eighth date, the same eight-day pattern starts again, regardless of weekday.
How many hours is four on four off with 12-hour shifts?
Four 12-hour duties add up to 48 scheduled hours during an eight-day cycle, averaging 42 hours per seven days over whole repeated cycles. Actual legal workweeks and payroll may count or classify hours differently.
Why does the tool ask for a cycle day?
The first displayed date might be any of eight positions in your actual roster. Choosing its true position aligns the next months of work and rest days instead of assuming every plan starts with Work 1.
Can I add leave or an extra working shift?
Yes. Click a particular date and crew, then assign Leave, Training, Off or Day/Night Work. The change applies to that selected date. You can restore the original pattern for that date later.
Can I drag a shift to another date?
Yes. Use the drag grip on a working cell to move the duty to another crew/date. The source date becomes an off-duty exception, and the target receives a scheduled duty. This may change coverage, so review the warnings afterward.
Can I change the duration of a shift?
Yes. Use the resize grip in a working cell, or open the editor to enter an exact number of hours and minutes. Time editing uses 15-minute steps and supports work that continues past midnight.
Does this generator calculate leave balances or payroll?
No. It calculates scheduling dates and gross scheduled hours. It does not track leave entitlements, wages, overtime premiums, statutory rest compliance, staffing ratios or payroll deductions.
Does the rota work across months and leap years?
Yes. The calendar is generated using sequential real dates rather than restarting at month boundaries. The date lookup can evaluate days beyond the selected horizon using the same anchor.
Can I save the same rota on another device?
You can download a JSON backup and restore it on another device. If your existing ScheduleFlowLab sign-in is active, Save to My Schedules creates a dated cloud snapshot. Actual cloud availability depends on your site's Supabase authentication and database permissions.
What if the original 4-on/4-off pattern differs at my workplace?
Use the relevant anchor, shift start times and dated overrides for exceptions. If your organization uses a fundamentally different rotation, do not force it into this eight-day model; validate the approved local pattern instead.
Is every day and night automatically covered?
The example begins with two complementary day-lane crews and two complementary night-lane crews. The audit counts scheduled crews in each lane. It cannot know whether one crew contains enough qualified personnel to meet real operational demands.
Why should I keep a JSON backup if browser autosave exists?
Autosave only works in that browser when storage remains available. Clearing site data, changing devices or using private browsing may remove it. The JSON backup preserves your schedule setup and date-specific overrides so you can restore them deliberately.
Start with the correct eight-day anchor. Keep every exception editable.
Use the ready-made example as a working starting point, then save a copy that matches your real dates and duty arrangements.
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