Cron Expression Generator
Visual builder, instant parser, and next-run preview. No signup, no install — runs in your browser.
Quick Presets
What is a Cron Expression?
A cron expression is a string of 5 fields that tells a scheduler when to run a task. The fields represent: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-6). For example, 0 9 * * 1-5 means "run at 9:00 AM, Monday through Friday."
How to Use This Generator
Use the Builder tab to select frequency from dropdowns — the cron expression updates in real time with a human-readable description and upcoming run times. Use the Parser tab to paste an existing cron expression and understand what it means.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 5 fields in a cron expression?
Minute (0-59), Hour (0-23), Day of Month (1-31), Month (1-12), Day of Week (0-6, where 0=Sunday). Some systems add a 6th field for year, but standard crontab uses 5.
What does */5 mean in cron?
The asterisk means "every" and the slash means "step." So */5 in the minute field means "every 5 minutes" (0, 5, 10, 15, ...). Similarly, */2 in the hour field means "every 2 hours" (0, 2, 4, ...).
How do I run a cron job every weekday?
Use 0 9 * * 1-5 to run at 9 AM Monday through Friday. The 1-5 in the day-of-week field means Monday (1) through Friday (5).
What timezone does cron use?
Cron uses the system timezone of the server it runs on. In Docker containers this is typically UTC. You can change it by setting the TZ environment variable on your server.