Understand any cron expression instantly.
Type or build a cron expression, see the plain-English translation, and preview the next 5 scheduled run times in your timezone (free, no account, no ads).
Common schedules: paste into the tool
| Expression | Plain English |
|---|---|
| * * * * * | Every minute |
| */5 * * * * | Every 5 minutes |
| 0 * * * * | Every hour (at :00) |
| 0 0 * * * | Daily at midnight UTC |
| 0 9 * * * | Daily at 9:00 AM UTC |
| 0 9 * * 1-5 | Weekdays at 9:00 AM UTC |
| 0 0 1 * * | First day of every month |
| 0 0 * * 0 | Every Sunday at midnight |
Cron field reference
| Field | Range |
|---|---|
| Minute | 0–59 |
| Hour | 0–23 |
| Day of month | 1–31 |
| Month | 1–12 |
| Day of week | 0–7 (0 and 7 = Sun) |
Special syntax: * = any · */n = every n · a-b = range · a,b = list
Platform syntax differences
- Linux crontab / Cloudflare Workers:Standard 5-field cron. This tool validates this format.
- GitHub Actions:Same 5 fields but always runs in UTC. Minimum interval is every 5 minutes.
- AWS EventBridge:Supports a 6-field format with an optional seconds field and year field. Also accepts "rate()" expressions.
- Kubernetes CronJob:Standard 5-field cron. Runs in the pod's timezone, which defaults to UTC.
Frequently Asked Questions
What order are the 5 fields in a cron expression?
bash
# ┌───────── minute (0–59)
# │ ┌───────── hour (0–23)
# │ │ ┌───────── day of month (1–31)
# │ │ │ ┌───────── month (1–12)
# │ │ │ │ ┌───────── day of week (0–7, 0 and 7 = Sunday)
# │ │ │ │ │
* * * * *What does * mean in a cron expression?
* means every valid value for this field. In the minute field, * means every minute (0–59). In the hour field, * means every hour.
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| * | Every value | * in minute = every minute |
| */n | Every n values | */5 in minute = every 5 minutes |
| a-b | Range | 1-5 in day-of-week = Monday to Friday |
| a,b | List | 0,6 in day-of-week = Sunday and Saturday |
How do I run a job every 5 minutes?
bash
*/5 * * * * # every 5 minutes
*/15 * * * * # every 15 minutes
*/30 * * * * # every 30 minutesThe */ prefix means 'every N'. So */5 in the minute field runs at minutes 0, 5, 10, 15... up to 55.
How do I schedule a job for weekdays only?
bash
0 9 * * 1-5 # 9:00 AM, Mon–Fri
0 0 * * 1-5 # midnight, Mon–Fri
0 9 * * 0,6 # 9:00 AM on weekends onlyPut 1-5 in the day-of-week field (the 5th field). Values: 0 = Sun, 1 = Mon, 2 = Tue, 3 = Wed, 4 = Thu, 5 = Fri, 6 = Sat. Both 0 and 7 represent Sunday.
What timezone does a cron job run in?
- By default, cron runs in the system timezone of the server (usually UTC on most cloud hosts).
- The Next 5 run times on this page show times in your local browser timezone for easy verification.
- Always confirm your server's timezone before deploying a time-sensitive job.
What happens when both day-of-month and day-of-week are set?
When both fields are restricted (neither is *), cron uses OR logic: the job runs if either condition is true.
bash
0 0 1 * 1 # midnight on the 1st of every month
# OR every Monday (whichever comes first)