Cron Expression Builder
Build, explain, and preview standard five-field cron expressions. Type an expression or tweak each field, read it back in plain English, and see the next times it will fire, all in your own timezone, right in the browser.
*/5 * * * *Every 5 minutes.
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Times are shown in your local timezone, starting from the next full minute. When both the day-of-month and day-of-week fields are restricted, the schedule matches either one (the standard cron rule).
Cron fields and special characters
A standard cron expression is five space-separated fields, read left to right. Each field accepts * (every), , (a list), - (a range), and / (a step). For example, 0 9 * * 1-5 fires at 09:00 on weekdays and */15 * * * * runs every 15 minutes.
| Field | Allowed values | Special characters |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0–59 | * , - / |
| Hour | 0–23 | * , - / |
| Day of month | 1–31 | * , - / |
| Month | 1–12 | * , - / |
| Day of week | 0–7 (0 and 7 = Sunday) | * , - / |
Cron expressions, explained
What is a cron expression?+
A cron expression is a compact string that describes a repeating schedule. It is used by Unix cron, CI pipelines, container orchestrators, and countless job schedulers to decide exactly when a task should run. For example, every five minutes, every night at midnight, or at 9am on weekdays.
What do the five fields mean?+
A standard cron expression has five space-separated fields, read left to right: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), and day of week (0–7, where both 0 and 7 are Sunday). A value of * means "every" for that field.
What does */5 mean?+
The */n syntax means "every n units" within a field. So */5 in the minute field runs at minutes 0, 5, 10, 15 … up to 55 (once every five minutes). Likewise */2 in the hour field means every second hour.
How are the next run times calculated?+
Each field is expanded into the exact set of values it matches, then the tool walks forward minute by minute from now, in your own local timezone, and lists the next five moments that satisfy every field. When both day-of-month and day-of-week are restricted, it follows standard cron and treats them as an OR.
Is it free?+
Yes. The Cron Expression Builder is completely free with no login or account required, and everything runs entirely in your browser, so your expressions never leave your device.
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