Visual Builder
Minute
0 – 59
Hour
0 – 23
Day of Month
1 – 31
Month
1 – 12
Day of Week
0=Sun … 6=Sat
Next Scheduled Runs (UTC)
What is a Cron Expression?
A cron expression is a string of five space-separated fields that defines a recurring schedule. It's how Unix-based systems have been scheduling tasks for decades, and it's still the standard format used in cloud platforms, CI/CD pipelines, task queues, and server frameworks today.
Minute (0–59) · Hour (0–23) · Day of Month (1–31) · Month (1–12) · Day of Week (0=Sun … 6=Sat)
Syntax Quick Reference
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| * | Any / every value | * in minute = every minute |
| , | List of values | 1,15 in hour = at 1am and 3pm |
| - | Range of values | 1-5 in DOW = Mon through Fri |
| */n | Every n-th value (step) | */15 in minute = every 15 minutes |
| n | Exact value | 0 in hour = exactly midnight |
Common Cron Expressions
| Expression | Schedule |
|---|---|
| * * * * * | Every minute |
| */5 * * * * | Every 5 minutes |
| 0 * * * * | At the start of every hour |
| 0 0 * * * | Every day at midnight |
| 0 9 * * 1-5 | Weekdays at 9:00 AM |
| 0 0 1 * * | First day of every month at midnight |
| 0 0 * * 0 | Every Sunday at midnight |
| 30 18 * * 5 | Every Friday at 6:30 PM |
| 0 0 1 1 * | Yearly — January 1st at midnight |
| 0 0 1 */3 * | Every quarter (1st of Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct) |
Where Are Cron Jobs Used?
- On Unix/Linux systems, the classic
crontabutility uses this exact format to schedule shell scripts, backups, log rotation, and system maintenance. It's been doing that since the 1970s. - Cloud schedulers like AWS EventBridge, Google Cloud Scheduler, Azure Logic Apps, and Kubernetes CronJobs all accept standard cron expressions — so what you learn here transfers directly.
- In CI/CD pipelines, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and Jenkins support cron triggers for nightly builds, dependency scans, and automated deployments. You'll see this pattern constantly.
- Application frameworks have their own take on it too — Node.js (
node-cron), Spring Boot (@Scheduled), Laravel (artisan schedule:run), and Django Celery Beat all accept cron-style schedules in one form or another.
How to Use This Tool
- Type or paste a cron expression into the input box and the human-readable description and next run times update instantly. No need to hit a button.
- The Quick Presets let you load common schedules like "Every weekday 9am" or "Monthly (1st)" with a single click — useful when you just need a starting point.
- The Visual Builder breaks out each of the five fields with its own input and quick-pick chips. Clicking a chip updates both that field and the full expression at the top simultaneously.
- Check Next Runs to see the next 8 UTC timestamps when your job will fire. It's worth doing this before you deploy — you'd be surprised how often an expression does something slightly different than you intended.
All processing is done entirely in your browser — no data is sent to any server.
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