What is a cron expression?

A cron expression is a string of five fields (minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week) that defines a schedule for recurring tasks in Unix-like systems. Each field can contain values, ranges, lists, or step intervals.

Can I convert a cron expression to plain English?

Yes! Use the Explain tab to paste any cron expression and instantly see a plain English description, color-coded field breakdown, and the next scheduled run times.

Can I type a schedule in English and get a cron expression?

Yes! The English tab lets you type schedules in natural language like 'every weekday at 9am', 'twice a day', or 'monthly on the 15th at noon' and automatically generates the corresponding cron expression.

What platforms are supported for code export?

You can export cron expressions as crontab lines, systemd timers, Docker configurations, Kubernetes CronJob YAML, GitHub Actions workflows, and AWS CloudWatch/EventBridge rules.

Is this cron generator free?

Yes, this cron expression generator and explainer is completely free with no registration or signup required. All processing happens in your browser.

Free Online Cron Expression Generator & Explainer (No Signup)

How to Use This Tool

Build a cron expression — Use the Build tab to create schedules visually with Minutes, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Advanced sub-tabs.
Explain an existing expression — Switch to the Explain tab and paste any cron expression to get a plain English description and color-coded field breakdown.
Use natural language — Type something like "every weekday at 9am" in the Translate tab to generate the cron syntax automatically.
Preview and export — Check the next run times, then copy the expression or export code snippets for Docker, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, and more.

Common Use Cases

What does this cron expression mean? Paste any crontab expression into the Explain tab to get an instant plain English translation with next scheduled run times.
How do I schedule a job to run every weekday at a specific time? Use the Build tab's Weekly sub-tab to select days and set the exact time, or type it in natural language on the Translate tab.
How do I generate cron syntax for Kubernetes or GitHub Actions? Build your schedule, then use the Export feature to get ready-to-use code snippets for your target platform.

*/5Minute

*Hour

*Day (Month)

*Month

*Day (Week)

Every 5 minutes

Run every:

At minute:

Hour (0-23):

Minute (0-59):

Hour (0-23):

Minute (0-59):

Day of month:

Hour (0-23):

Minute (0-59):

Month:

Day of month:

Hour (0-23):

Minute (0-59):

Advanced Mode – Edit each field directly. Use * for any, numbers for specific values, - for ranges, , for lists, / for steps.

Minute (0-59):

Hour (0-23):

Day of Month (1-31):

Month (1-12):

Day of Week (0-6):

Syntax: * any 5 specific 1-5 range 1,3,5 list */2 every 2nd 1-30/5 every 5th from 1-30

Paste a cron expression below to get a detailed plain English explanation with field-by-field breakdown.

Type your schedule in plain English and we will generate the cron expression for you.

every minute every 5 minutes every hour daily at midnight weekdays at 9am mondays at 8am twice a day monthly on the 1st every 15 min (business hours) weekends at 10am every 6 hours yearly Jan 1st

Basic Intervals

* * * * *Every minute

*/5 * * * *Every 5 minutes

*/15 * * * *Every 15 minutes

*/30 * * * *Every 30 minutes

0 * * * *Every hour (on the hour)

0 */2 * * *Every 2 hours

0 */6 * * *Every 6 hours

0 */12 * * *Every 12 hours

Daily Schedules

0 0 * * *Daily at midnight

0 6 * * *Daily at 6:00 AM

0 9 * * *Daily at 9:00 AM

0 12 * * *Daily at noon

0 18 * * *Daily at 6:00 PM

0 0,12 * * *Twice a day (midnight & noon)

0 8,12,18 * * *Three times a day

Weekday & Weekend

0 9 * * 1-5Weekdays at 9:00 AM

0 9 * * 0,6Weekends at 9:00 AM

0 9 * * 1Every Monday at 9:00 AM

0 17 * * 5Every Friday at 5:00 PM

*/15 9-17 * * 1-5Every 15 min, business hours

30 8 * * 1-5Weekdays at 8:30 AM

Monthly & Yearly

0 0 1 * *First of every month

0 0 15 * *15th of every month

0 0 1,15 * *1st and 15th of each month

0 9 1 1,4,7,10 *Quarterly (1st of Q at 9 AM)

0 0 1 1 *Yearly on January 1st

0 0 25 12 *December 25th (Christmas)

DevOps & System Tasks

0 2 * * *Nightly backup at 2:00 AM

*/10 * * * *Health check every 10 min

0 0 * * 0Weekly cleanup on Sunday

30 3 * * 1Maintenance Mon 3:30 AM

0 4 1 * *Monthly report on 1st at 4 AM

0 */4 * * *Every 4 hours (monitoring)

Cron Syntax Quick Reference

Field	Values	Special Characters
Minute	0 – 59	`*` `,` `-` `/`
Hour	0 – 23	`*` `,` `-` `/`
Day of Month	1 – 31	`*` `,` `-` `/`
Month	1 – 12	`*` `,` `-` `/`
Day of Week	0 – 6 (Sun=0)	`*` `,` `-` `/`

Special Characters

Character	Meaning	Example
`*`	Any value (wildcard)	`* * * * *` = every minute
`,`	List of values	`1,3,5` = on 1st, 3rd, 5th
`-`	Range of values	`1-5` = 1 through 5
`/`	Step / interval	`*/5` = every 5th; `0-30/10` = 0,10,20,30

Format

        MIN  
        HOUR  
        DOM  
        MON  
        DOW
      

Day of Month + Day of Week Interaction

In standard cron, if both Day of Month and Day of Week are specified (not *), the job runs when either condition is met (OR logic). If only one is specified, only that field is checked. For example, 0 9 15 * 1 runs at 9 AM on the 15th of every month and every Monday.

Cron Expression Generator & Explainer

How to Use This Tool

Common Use Cases

Minute

Hour

Day of Month

Month

Day of Week

Basic Intervals

Daily Schedules

Weekday & Weekend

Monthly & Yearly

DevOps & System Tasks

Cron Syntax Quick Reference

Special Characters

Format

Day of Month + Day of Week Interaction

Next 10 Scheduled Runs

Saved Expressions