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Cron expression parser

Explain a cron schedule in plain words and list its next run times.

Your files stay on your device

How it works

  1. 1Type or paste a five-field cron expression, or choose Try an example.
  2. 2Read the plain-English description.
  3. 3Choose whether next run times are in your time zone or UTC.
  4. 4Check the listed runs match what you expect.

What the options do

Show run times in
Your device time zone, or UTC. Servers often run cron in UTC, so check which one yours uses.
Next runs
How many upcoming times to list.
24-hour clock
Writes the description as 17:00 instead of 5:00 PM.

Privacy

This tool runs in your browser. Your files are never uploaded to a server.

Questions people ask

What are the five fields?

Minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week, in that order. For example 30 8 * * 1-5 is 08:30 on Monday to Friday.

What happens when both day fields are set?

In standard cron, a run happens when either the day of month or the day of week matches, not both. 0 0 1 * 1 runs on the 1st and also every Monday.

Does it support seconds or a year field?

Not in the run list. It reads the common five-field form used by Linux cron and most schedulers. Some systems, such as Quartz, add seconds and use different rules.

What do */5 and 1-10/2 mean?

*/5 is every fifth value from the start of the range. 1-10/2 is every second value from 1 to 10, so 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Can I use names like MON or JAN?

Yes, three-letter names work in the month and day-of-week fields. Sunday is 0 or 7.

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