What is a cron expression?

A cron expression is a string of 5 space-separated fields (minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week) that defines a recurring schedule. It is used by Unix/Linux cron, CI/CD tools, cloud schedulers, and job queues to automate task execution.

What do the special characters in cron mean?

* means "every" value in that field. / means "step" — e.g. */5 in minutes means every 5 minutes. - defines a range — e.g. 1-5 in day-of-week means Monday to Friday. Comma (,) defines a list — e.g. 1,15 in day-of-month means the 1st and 15th.

What is the difference between 5-field and 6-field cron?

Standard Unix cron uses 5 fields: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week. Some systems like Quartz Scheduler and AWS EventBridge add a 6th seconds field at the beginning. This tool supports the standard 5-field format used by most schedulers.

How do I schedule a job every weekday at 9 AM?

Use the expression 0 9 * * 1-5. This means: at minute 0, hour 9, every day-of-month, every month, Monday through Friday (1-5).

Is my cron expression sent to any server?

No. All parsing, description generation, and next-run-time calculation happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your data never leaves your device.

Can I parse an existing cron expression?

Yes. Scroll to the Parse section, paste any valid 5-field cron expression, and click Parse. You will see a human-readable description, validation result, and the next 5 scheduled run times.

Cron Expression Generator

Generate and parse cron expressions with a visual editor and human-readable explanations.

Updated Mar 2026100% Private — runs in browser

100% browser-based. Your data never leaves your device.

Generated Cron Expression

* * * * *

Every minute.

Quick Presets

Visual Builder

Minute

Hour

Day of Month

Month

Day of Week

Cron Syntax Reference

┌──────────── minute (0-59)

│ ┌────────── hour (0-23)

│ │ ┌──────── day of month (1-31)

│ │ │ ┌────── month (1-12)

│ │ │ │ ┌──── day of week (0-6, Sun=0)

* * * * *

Special: * (any) , (list) - (range) / (step)

Next 5 Scheduled Runs

1Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 03:45 AM
2Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 03:46 AM
3Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 03:47 AM
4Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 03:48 AM
5Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 03:49 AM

Parse a Cron Expression

Paste any 5-field cron expression below to get a human-readable explanation and next run times.

Cron Expression Generator का उपयोग कैसे करें

1
Use the visual builder to select values for minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week.
2
Choose a field type for each: every (*), specific value, range, step, or list.
3
See the generated cron expression and its plain-English description update in real time.
4
Check the next 5 scheduled run times to verify the schedule.
5
Copy the cron expression with one click and use it in your scheduler.

Cron Expression Generator के बारे में

The Cron Expression Generator is a free online tool that helps you build, understand, and validate cron expressions without memorising cryptic syntax. Whether you are scheduling automated backups, CI/CD pipeline triggers, cloud functions, or Linux cron jobs, this visual cron builder lets you pick values from dropdowns and instantly see the resulting expression along with a plain-English description.

Key Features

Visual Builder: Select minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week using dropdowns — supports specific values, ranges (1-5), steps (*/5), and comma-separated lists (1,3,5).
Human-Readable Descriptions: Every expression is instantly translated into plain English so you can verify the schedule at a glance.
Next Run Times: See the next 5 scheduled execution times calculated in your browser so you can confirm the schedule before deploying.
Parser Mode: Paste any existing 5-field cron expression to decode it — get the description, validation, and upcoming run times.
Quick Presets: One-click presets for common schedules — every minute, every hour, every weekday at 9 AM, first day of month, and more.
Privacy-First: All computation runs 100% in your browser. No server calls, no data collection, no signup.

Who Is This For?

Backend developers setting up cron jobs on Linux/Unix servers. DevOps engineers configuring CI/CD schedules in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins. Cloud engineers scheduling AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, or Azure Timer Triggers. System administrators managing automated scripts and maintenance tasks. Anyone who encounters cron syntax and needs a quick reference or builder.

Cron Expression Format

A standard cron expression has 5 fields separated by spaces: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. Special characters include * (every), , (list), - (range), and / (step). This tool supports all standard 5-field cron syntax used by most schedulers.