Explain a cron expression
Plain English plus the next 5 run times.
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About this tool
Type a five-field cron expression and read what it actually means in plain English, plus the next five times it will fire in your local timezone, which is the fastest way to catch the classic mistakes.
Handles steps, ranges, lists and names (mon, jan), and the subtle rule that day-of-month and day-of-week combine with OR. Presets cover the schedules everyone actually uses.
How it works
- Paste your input, or drop a text file onto the box.
- The output updates live as you type.
- Copy it to the clipboard, or download it as a file.
Frequently asked questions
What do the five fields of a cron expression mean?
In order: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), day of week (0-7, where both 0 and 7 are Sunday). An asterisk means every value.
Why does my job run on more days than I expected?
If you restrict both day-of-month and day-of-week, standard cron runs when either matches, not both. 0 0 13 * 5 fires on every 13th and on every Friday. This tool applies the same rule, so the next-runs list shows you the truth.
Which timezone are the next run times in?
Your device's local timezone, shown explicitly. Remember the server running the real cron may be set to UTC, a classic source of off-by-5:30 surprises in India.