Cron Parser

Decode a cron expression into plain English and see the next five run times. Supports lists, ranges and steps across all five fields. Parsed and scheduled in your browser.

Five fields: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week

Meaning

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Next 5 runs

    Cron expressions

    A cron schedule has five fields separated by spaces: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12) and day of week (0–7, where 0 and 7 are both Sunday). Use * for “every”, lists like 1,15, ranges like 9-17 and steps like */15. When both day-of-month and day-of-week are restricted, the schedule fires when either matches; if either day field starts with * (including a step like */2), both must match, as in cronie (the cron on most Linux systems).

    The schedule is parsed and the next runs are calculated in your browser.

    What this does

    A cron parser decodes a cron expression into plain English and shows the next five run times.

    How to use it

    1. Enter a cron expression.
    2. Read the plain-English description.
    3. See the next five run times.
    4. Adjust the fields as needed.

    How it works

    The five fields are minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week. It supports asterisks, lists (1,15), ranges (9-17) and steps (*/15). When both day fields are restricted, it fires when either matches; when either starts with an asterisk (such as */2), both must match.

    Understanding your result

    The plain-English reading and the next five run times let you confirm a schedule does what you intended before you rely on it. Watch the two day fields: when both day-of-month and day-of-week are restricted, the job runs when either matches, which fires more often than people expect.

    Example

    “*/15 * * * *” reads as “At minute 0, 15, 30, 45 of every hour”, in other words every 15 minutes.

    Last updated .

    Frequently asked questions

    What do the five fields mean?

    In order: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12) and day of week (0–7, where 0 and 7 are both Sunday).

    Which syntax is supported?

    Asterisks for “every”, lists like 1,15, ranges like 9-17 and steps like */15 in any field.

    How are day-of-month and day-of-week combined?

    When both are restricted, the schedule fires when either one matches. If either day field starts with an asterisk, including a step such as */2, both must match. That is how cronie, the cron on most Linux systems, reads it.