Cron Expression Generator
Type a cron / crontab schedule and see it explained in plain English, with the next run times. Five fields: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week.
What is this?
A free cron expression generator and explainer. A cron expression is five space-separated fields - minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week - that schedule a recurring job. This tool parses your expression, describes it in plain English, and computes the next run times so you can confirm it does what you intend before you add it to a crontab.
Syntax: * = any, a-b = range, a,b = list, */n = every n. Day-of-week is 0-6 with Sunday = 0.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cron expression?
Five fields - minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week - that define a recurring schedule. 0 9 * * 1-5 means 09:00 on weekdays.
How do I read the fields?
Left to right: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), day of week (0-6, Sunday=0). Use *, ranges a-b, lists a,b, and steps */n.
Is it free?
Yes - free, no signup, runs entirely in your browser.
How do I create a cron expression?
Set the minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week fields, using * for "every". For example, 0 9 * * 1 runs at 9am every Monday. The generator above builds and explains it in plain English as you go.
What is a 7-field cron expression?
Standard cron has 5 fields (minute, hour, day, month, weekday). Some schedulers add a 6th seconds field at the front and/or a 7th year field at the end. Most Linux crontabs use the 5-field form.
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