Cron Expression Parser & Generator

Parse cron expressions into human-readable descriptions or build them visually. See the next scheduled run times.

Minute

Hour

Day (Month)

Month

Day (Week)

Human-readable

At 00:00 every day

Next 5 Run Times

1.Sat, Nov 7, 2026, 12:00 AM

2.Sun, Nov 8, 2026, 12:00 AM

3.Mon, Nov 9, 2026, 12:00 AM

4.Tue, Nov 10, 2026, 12:00 AM

5.Wed, Nov 11, 2026, 12:00 AM

About This Tool

Cron is one of the oldest and most reliable job scheduling systems in computing, originating in Version 7 Unix in 1979. The five-field format (minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week) has remained essentially unchanged for over four decades.

Modern variations include the extended six-field format that adds a seconds field, and seven-field formats that add a year field. Kubernetes CronJobs, GitHub Actions schedules, and AWS CloudWatch Events all use standard five-field cron syntax, making it a universal skill for any developer working with scheduled tasks.

Common pitfalls include forgetting that day-of-week 0 and 7 both mean Sunday in some implementations, not accounting for time zones (especially around DST transitions), and the OR behavior when both day-of-month and day-of-week are specified. For critical production schedules, always test your expressions with a parser like this one to verify the next run times match your expectations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a cron expression?

A cron expression is a string of five fields separated by spaces that defines a schedule. The five fields represent: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-6, where 0 is Sunday). Cron is used extensively in Unix/Linux for scheduling recurring tasks.

What do the special characters mean?

The asterisk (*) means 'every value'. A comma (,) separates a list of values (1,3,5). A hyphen (-) defines a range (1-5). A slash (/) defines a step value (*/5 means every 5th value). These can be combined: 1-30/2 means every 2nd value from 1 to 30.

What is the difference between day-of-month and day-of-week?

Day-of-month (field 3) specifies which calendar date(s) to run on (1-31). Day-of-week (field 5) specifies which weekday(s) to run on (0-6). In standard cron, if both are set to non-wildcard values, the job runs when either condition is met (OR logic).

What time zone do cron jobs use?

By default, cron jobs run in the system's local time zone. In cloud environments, servers often use UTC. Some cron implementations (like systemd timers) support explicit timezone configuration. Always verify the timezone of your cron daemon.