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Cron Expression Parser — Explain Cron in Plain English

Translate cron expressions into plain English and see the next run times. Supports ranges, steps, lists, month and weekday names, and @daily-style macros.

Cron expression

Output

Ready

Runs locally in your browser — your data is never uploaded.

About the Cron Expression Parser

Translate cron expressions into plain English and preview when they will run. Enter a standard five-field schedule — minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week — and the parser explains it and lists the next run times in your local time zone.

Supports *, lists (1,15), ranges (9-17), steps (*/15), month and weekday names (JAN, MON-FRI) and macros such as @daily and @hourly.

How to use it

  1. Type a cron expression.
  2. Read the description and field breakdown.
  3. Check the upcoming run times.

Features

  • Plain-English description
  • Next run times
  • Names, ranges, lists, steps and macros
  • Field-level error messages

Cron expression examples

ExpressionMeaning
* * * * *Every minute
*/5 * * * *Every 5 minutes
0 * * * *Every hour, on the hour
0 9 * * MON-FRI09:00 on weekdays
30 2 * * 002:30 every Sunday
0 0 1 * *Midnight on the first day of every month
0 0 1 1 *Midnight on 1 January (@yearly)

Frequently asked questions

What are the five cron fields?

Minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12 or JAN–DEC) and day of week (0–6 or SUN–SAT, with 7 also meaning Sunday).

What if both day of month and day of week are set?

Standard cron runs the job when either field matches. For example, 0 0 13 * FRI runs on the 13th and on every Friday.

Does it support seconds or Quartz syntax?

This parser follows standard Unix/Linux crontab with five fields. Quartz and some cloud schedulers add a seconds field and extra symbols such as L and W.