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Tools/Cron Expression Builder

Cron Expression Builder

Build and validate cron expressions with an interactive editor. See a plain English explanation and the next 5 execution times for any schedule.

Minute
Hour
Day of Month
Month
Day of Week

⏰Every minute

Next 5 Executions
  • 1.Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 22:30
  • 2.Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 22:31
  • 3.Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 22:32
  • 4.Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 22:33
  • 5.Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 22:34
Quick Reference
*Any value
,List separator
-Range
/Step
1-5Range 1 through 5
*/15Every 15 units
Related Conversions
Cron Cheat Sheet: Every Expression You'll
Quick reference for cron expressions covering every common schedule from minute-by-minute to yearly. Includes syntax breakdown, field ranges, and aliases.
Cron Expression for Daily at Midnight: 0 0 * * *
The cron expression 0 0 * * * runs a job daily at midnight. Covers the @daily alias, timezone pitfalls, DST edge cases, and staggering nightly jobs.
Cron Expression for Every 10 Minutes: */10 * * *
The cron expression */10 * * * * runs a job every 10 minutes (6 times per hour). Covers offset syntax, thundering-herd staggering, and when to upgrade to */5.
Cron Expression for Every 15 Minutes: */15 * * *
The cron expression */15 * * * * fires at :00, :15, :30, and :45 every hour, 96 runs per day. Covers why 15 minutes is the default for background jobs.
Cron Expression for Every 30 Minutes: */30 * * *
The cron expression */30 * * * * runs at :00 and :30 every hour (48 times per day). Covers */30 vs 0,30 syntax, phase shifting with 15,45, and use cases.
Cron Expression for Every 5 Minutes: */5 * * * *
The cron expression */5 * * * * runs a job every 5 minutes (12 times per hour). Covers the step operator, business-hours variants, and timer alternatives.
Cron Expression for Every Hour: 0 * * * *
The cron expression 0 * * * * runs a job at the top of every hour (24 times per day). Covers the @hourly shorthand, staggering jobs, and common mistakes.
Cron Expression for Every Minute: * * * * *
The cron expression * * * * * runs a job every minute, 1440 times per day. Covers when per-minute cron makes sense and how to prevent overlapping runs.
Cron Expression for Every Monday: 0 0 * * 1
The cron expression 0 0 * * 1 fires every Monday at midnight. Covers day of week numbering (Monday = 1), the MON alias, and the dom/dow OR-logic edge case.
Cron Expression for Every Sunday: 0 0 * * 0
The cron expression 0 0 * * 0 fires every Sunday at midnight. Covers why Sunday is both 0 and 7, the @weekly shorthand, and weekend-only (0,6) scheduling.
Cron Expression for Every Weekday (Mon to Fri): 0
The cron expression 0 0 * * 1-5 runs Monday through Friday. Covers the 1-5 range, MON-FRI aliases, holiday workarounds, and business-hours patterns.
Cron Expression for Monthly on the 1st: 0 0 1 * *
The cron expression 0 0 1 * * runs at midnight on the 1st of every month. Covers @monthly shorthand, last-day workarounds, and skipping months with 29/30/31.
Cron Expression for Weekdays at 9 AM: 0 9 * * 1-5
The cron expression 0 9 * * 1-5 fires at 9 AM Monday through Friday. Covers day of week numbering (0=Sun), MON-FRI aliases, and the dom/dow OR-logic gotcha.
Related Tools
unixUnix Timestamp Converter
See when your cron jobs will fire
+/-Diff Checker
Compare two cron expressions
🌍Timezone Converter
Convert cron to another timezone

Cron Expression Builder

A cron expression is a five field string (minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week) that defines when a scheduled job runs. */5 * * * * means “every 5 minutes”; 0 9 * * 1-5 means “9 AM on weekdays.” Build expressions interactively below, read a plain English translation, and check the next run times before deploying.

How to Use

  1. Pick a preset or start typing a cron expression in the field inputs
  2. Edit individual fields. Each input corresponds to one cron field (minute, hour, day, month, weekday)
  3. Read the explanation. The tool translates your expression to plain English in real time
  4. Check next executions. Verify that the schedule fires when you expect
  5. Copy the expression and paste it into your crontab, Kubernetes manifest, CI config, or scheduler

Cron Syntax in Detail

Each of the five fields accepts these value types:

  • * every possible value for that field
  • 5 a specific value
  • 1,3,5 a list of values
  • 1-5 a range (inclusive)
  • */10 a step (every 10th value starting from the field minimum)
  • 5-20/3 a step within a range (5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20)

The month field accepts 1-12 or three letter names (JAN through DEC). The day of week field accepts 0-6 (Sunday=0) or names (SUN through SAT). Some implementations also treat 7 as Sunday.

Common shorthand aliases like @daily (equivalent to 0 0 * * *), @hourly (0 * * * *), and @weekly (0 0 * * 0) are supported by most cron implementations and by this tool. For frequent periodic tasks, see the Every 30 Minutes example. For hourly schedules, see the Every Hour expression. For business-hour schedules, try the Weekdays at 9 AM preset.

The trickiest behavior in cron is the day of month / day of week interaction. When both fields are restricted (neither is *), POSIX cron runs the job when either condition matches, which is OR logic, not AND. This catches many people off guard. If you set 0 0 15 * 5, the job runs at midnight on the 15th and on every Friday, not just on Fridays that fall on the 15th.

Need to convert the execution times to a different timezone? The Timezone Converter lets you compare schedules across timezones. The Unix Timestamp Converter can help you work with timestamps across timezones.

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