Cron Expression Parser
Free cron expression parser. Understand what a cron schedule means in plain English and see its next run times.
Format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week (e.g. */15 9-17 * * 1-5)
Worked example
0 9 * * 1-5 means: minute 0, hour 9, any day of month, any month, Monday through Friday —
in plain English, "every weekday at 9:00 AM".
Frequently asked questions
What do the five fields in a cron expression mean?
In order: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-7, where both 0 and 7 mean Sunday). A job runs whenever the current time matches every field, so 0 9 * * 1-5 means minute 0, hour 9, any day of month, any month, Monday through Friday — 9:00 AM on weekdays.
What does an asterisk (*) mean in cron?
An asterisk means "every value is allowed" for that field — no restriction. A schedule of * * * * * runs every single minute.
How do step values like */15 work?
*/15 in the minute field means every 15th value starting from the field's minimum — 0, 15, 30, 45 — so */15 * * * * runs at the top of the hour and every 15 minutes after. A step can also apply to a range, like 0-30/10.
What happens if both day-of-month and day-of-week are restricted?
When both fields are set to something other than *, standard cron behavior — which this tool follows — treats it as OR rather than AND: the job runs if either condition is satisfied. So 0 0 1 * 1 runs on the 1st of the month or every Monday, whichever comes first, not only on days when both happen to coincide.