Cron Expression Parser

Translate cron expressions into plain English instantly

Minute
Hour
Day
Month
Weekday
Enter a cron expression above

Common Examples

* * * * *Every minute
0 * * * *Every hour
0 0 * * *Every day at midnight
0 2 * * 1At 02:00 every Monday
0 9 * * 1-5At 09:00 on weekdays
30 18 1 * *At 18:30 on the 1st of every month
0 0 1 1 *At midnight on 1st January
*/15 * * * *Every 15 minutes
Supported syntax
  • * — any value
  • */n — every n (e.g. */15 = every 15 minutes)
  • 1-5 — range
  • 1,3,5 — list of values

What is a Cron Expression?

A cron expression is a string of five fields that define a schedule for automated tasks (cron jobs) on Unix-based systems. Each field represents a unit of time:

FieldAllowed ValuesDescription
Minute0–59Minute of the hour
Hour0–23Hour of the day (24-hour)
Day of Month1–31Day of the month
Month1–12Month of the year
Day of Week0–7 (0 & 7 = Sunday)Day of the week

Where is Cron Used?

  • Linux servers — scheduled backups, log rotation, cleanup scripts
  • CI/CD pipelines — nightly builds, scheduled deployments
  • Cloud functions — AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Scheduler, GitHub Actions
  • Databases — scheduled reports, data exports