Cron explainer
Translate a cron expression into plain English and the next five run times. No account and no AI.
Cron explainer
Output
The result shows up here. Your input is not written to the log.
Common schedules
- Every minute* * * * *
- Every 5 minutes*/5 * * * *
- Every 10 minutes*/10 * * * *
- Every 15 minutes*/15 * * * *
- Every 30 minutes*/30 * * * *
- Twice an hour0,30 * * * *
- Every hour0 * * * *
- Hourly at minute 1515 * * * *
- Every 2 hours0 */2 * * *
- Every 3 hours0 */3 * * *
- Every 4 hours0 */4 * * *
- Every 6 hours0 */6 * * *
- Every 12 hours0 */12 * * *
- Twice a day0 0,12 * * *
- Every day at midnight0 0 * * *
- Every day at 9am0 9 * * *
- Nightly backup at 2:30am30 2 * * *
- Weekdays at 9am0 9 * * 1-5
- Weekdays at noon0 12 * * 1-5
- End of the business day0 18 * * 1-5
- Every 15 minutes during business hours*/15 9-17 * * 1-5
- Every Monday at 9am0 9 * * 1
- Wednesdays at 10am0 10 * * 3
- Every Friday at 5pm0 17 * * 5
- Every Saturday at 8am0 8 * * 6
- Every Sunday at midnight0 0 * * 0
- Sunday evening0 20 * * 0
- First day of the month0 0 1 * *
- 15th of the month0 0 15 * *
- Quarterly0 0 1 1,4,7,10 *
- Once a year0 0 1 1 *
- Weekday mornings and evenings0 8,18 * * 1-5
Questions
›Which cron dialect does this use?
Standard 5-field cron: minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week. The schedule is calculated in UTC, then shown in your local time as well. Macros such as @daily are accepted.
›Why do day-of-month and day-of-week both match?
In classic cron, if both fields are restricted, a date matches when either field matches. That surprises people who expect an AND.
›Does the free run require a GitHub login?
No. Cron is the one tool you can run without an account. The free tier is one run per browser and network. A day pass or Pro removes that cap for every bench tool.
›Can I generate a cron expression here?
Pick one of the example pages for a known schedule, or paste an expression to check it. The next five times update when you run the tool.