⏰ Cron Expression Generator

Build, explain and validate cron schedules visually — see next run times and human-readable descriptions instantly.

Cron Expression (5-field standard)
* · * · * · * · *
MINUTE HOUR DAY OF MONTH MONTH DAY OF WEEK
Minute
·
Hour
·
Day of Month
·
Month
·
Day of Week
Or paste / type full expression:
Every minute
Visual Field Builder
Next 10 Run Times
  • Enter a valid expression to see next runs.
Common Presets
Cron Syntax Reference
Symbol Meaning Example
* Any / every value * * * * * — every minute
, List of values 1,15,30 — at 1, 15 and 30
- Range of values 1-5 — 1 through 5
/ Step values */5 — every 5 units
Field Range Allowed Values
Minute 0–59 Numbers, * , , - /
Hour 0–23 Numbers, * , , - /
Day of Month 1–31 Numbers, * , , - /
Month 1–12 Numbers or JAN–DEC
Day of Week 0–7 Numbers or SUN–SAT (0 & 7 = Sunday)

How Cron Expressions Work

Five Fields

Every cron expression has five space-separated fields: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), and day of week (0–7). The scheduler fires when all five conditions match simultaneously.

Special Characters

The asterisk ( * ) means "any value". A slash ( /5 ) creates steps — e.g. run every 5 minutes. A hyphen ( 1-5 ) defines a range, and commas ( 1,15 ) create a list of specific values.

Common Use Cases

Cron is used for database backups, sending scheduled emails, clearing caches, running report generation, checking for updates, and any task that needs to run on a predictable recurring schedule on Unix/Linux servers.