Free Cron Expression Parser
Parse cron expressions to see human-readable descriptions and next execution times. Build schedules with presets. 100% private.
Common Presets
Cron Syntax Reference
| Field | Allowed Values | Special Characters |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0-59 | * , - / |
| Hour | 0-23 | * , - / |
| Day of Month | 1-31 | * , - / |
| Month | 1-12 or JAN-DEC | * , - / |
| Day of Week | 0-6 or SUN-SAT (0=Sunday) | * , - / |
*Every value
,List separator (1,3,5)
-Range (1-5)
/Step (*/5 = every 5)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cron expression?
A cron expression is a string of five fields separated by spaces that defines a schedule for automated tasks. The fields represent minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. Cron is used in Unix/Linux systems, CI/CD pipelines, cloud schedulers, and container orchestration tools.
What does */5 mean in a cron expression?
The slash (/) is a step operator. */5 in the minute field means every 5 minutes (0, 5, 10, 15, ...). In the hour field, */2 means every 2 hours. You can combine it with ranges: 1-30/5 means every 5 minutes from minute 1 to 30.
How do I schedule a cron job for weekdays only?
Use 1-5 in the day-of-week field (the fifth field). For example, 0 9 * * 1-5 runs at 9:00 AM Monday through Friday. Days are numbered 0-6, where 0 is Sunday and 6 is Saturday.
Does this tool support seconds or Quartz syntax?
This tool supports standard 5-field Unix cron syntax, which is used by crontab, GitHub Actions, AWS EventBridge, and Kubernetes CronJobs. It does not support 6-field Quartz syntax (with seconds) or special characters like L, W, #, and ?.