Cron Expression Calculator

Build and decode cron expressions without memorizing syntax. Enter your minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week values using intuitive controls, and the tool generates a valid cron expression plus a plain-English description of when it runs. You can also paste an existing expression into the cron expression field to parse and explain it. Also try the Log Timestamp Parser Calculator.

Enter a 5-field cron expression (minute hour day month weekday) to parse it, or use the fields below to build one.

0–59. Use * for every minute, */N for every N minutes, or comma-separated values.

0–23. Use * for every hour.

1–31. Use * for every day of month.

1–12 or JAN–DEC. Use * for every month.

0 (Sun) – 6 (Sat) or SUN–SAT. Use * for every day.

Results

Cron Expression

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Plain-English Description

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Field Breakdown

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Next Run #1

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Next Run #2

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Next Run #3

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Next Run #4

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Next Run #5

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Results Table

What is a cron expression and what do the five fields mean?

A cron expression is a string of five (or six) space-separated fields that define a recurring schedule. In standard five-field format the order is: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), and day of week (0–6, where 0 is Sunday). For example, '30 9 * * 1-5' means 'at 9:30 AM every weekday'. See also our calculate API Rate Limit Min Interval Between Calls.

What do the special characters * , - / mean in a cron expression?

An asterisk (*) matches every possible value for that field. A comma (,) separates a list of specific values (e.g. '1,15' in the day field means the 1st and 15th). A hyphen (-) defines a range (e.g. '1-5' means 1 through 5). A forward slash (/) specifies a step — '*/15' in the minute field means every 15 minutes.

What does '0 0 * * *' mean?

'0 0 * * *' runs at minute 0 of hour 0 every day — in other words, every day at midnight (00:00). This is one of the most commonly used cron expressions for daily cleanup or reporting jobs.

How do I schedule a job to run every 5 minutes?

Use '*/5 * * * *'. The '*/5' in the minute field means 'every 5 minutes starting from 0', so the job fires at :00, :05, :10, :15 … :55 of every hour, every day. You might also find our Time Complexity Calculator useful.

How do I schedule a job to run only on weekdays?

Set the day-of-week field to '1-5' (Monday through Friday). For example, '0 9 * * 1-5' runs the job at 9:00 AM every Monday to Friday. The values 0 and 7 both represent Sunday in most cron implementations.

What is the difference between day-of-month and day-of-week, and can I use both?

Day-of-month specifies which calendar date (1–31) to run, while day-of-week specifies which day of the week (0–6). Most cron implementations treat them as an OR condition when both are set to non-wildcard values — meaning the job runs if either condition matches. To avoid ambiguity, set one to '*' when you are targeting the other.

Is the cron expression format the same across all systems?

Not exactly. The standard Unix/Linux crontab uses five fields (minute, hour, day, month, weekday). Quartz Scheduler (used in Java applications) adds a Seconds field at the front and an optional Year field at the end, giving six or seven fields. AWS EventBridge cron uses six fields with a slightly different syntax. Always check the documentation for your specific scheduler.

How do I test or verify my cron expression before deploying it?

Use this calculator — enter or build your expression and review the plain-English description and the list of upcoming execution times. Comparing several next-run dates against your expectations is the fastest way to confirm the schedule behaves as intended before you deploy to production.