Cron Expression
Minute
Hour
Day (M)
Month
Day (W)
Quick presets:
Plain-English Description
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Next 5 Run Times
What This Tool Does
The Cron Expression Builder lets you type a cron expression or build it field-by-field, then instantly shows you a plain-English description and the next 5 scheduled run times based on the current time. Ten common presets are available as quick-select chips. All evaluation runs in your browser — no server needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cron expression?
A cron expression is a string of 5 fields (minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week) that defines a recurring schedule for automated tasks. Cron jobs are used in Linux/Unix systems, CI/CD pipelines, cloud schedulers (AWS EventBridge, GitHub Actions), and many web hosting control panels.
What does * mean in a cron expression?
An asterisk (*) means "every" — every minute, every hour, every day, etc. So "* * * * *" runs every minute of every hour of every day.
What is the difference between day-of-month and day-of-week?
Day-of-month (field 3) specifies the date number (1-31). Day-of-week (field 5) specifies the day name (0=Sunday through 6=Saturday). If both are set to non-* values, the job runs when either condition is true (OR logic) on most systems.
What are some common cron examples?
"0 0 * * *" = daily at midnight. "0 9 * * 1-5" = weekdays at 9am. "*/15 * * * *" = every 15 minutes. "0 0 1 * *" = first day of every month at midnight. "0 0 * * 0" = every Sunday at midnight.