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Cron Expression Generator

Type or build a cron expression and see exactly what it means in plain English, plus the next times it will run. Supports steps (*/5), ranges (1-5), lists and day/month names — everything standard 5-field cron accepts. Runs entirely in your browser.

Examples

Input
*/5 * * * *
Output
Every 5 minutes
Input
30 9 * * 1-5
Output
At 09:30, Monday through Friday

How it works

The tool reads standard five-field cron: minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week. It checks each field against its allowed range, describes the schedule in plain English and lists the next three run times in your device’s time zone.

Field syntax it understands
SyntaxMeaning
*Every value
*/5Every 5th value
1-5A range
1,15A list
MON-FRI, JANDay and month names
0 or 7Sunday, in the day-of-week field

When both the day of month and the day of week are restricted, the job runs when either one matches, as standard cron does. Six-field expressions with seconds, shortcuts such as @daily and the Quartz characters ? L W # are not supported and are reported as errors.

How to use Cron Expression Generator

Enter an expression
Type a 5-field cron expression like */5 * * * *, or start from a preset.
Read the explanation
Each field is decoded into a plain-English schedule description.
Check the next runs
See the next three times the schedule would fire, in your local timezone.
Copy it
Copy the expression into your crontab, CI config or scheduler.

Why use this tool

Plain-English explanation of any standard cron expression
Next three run times, computed in your local timezone
Presets for the schedules everyone searches for (every 5 minutes, hourly, daily, weekly)
Supports steps (*/n), ranges (a-b), lists (a,b,c) and JAN/MON-style names

Frequently asked questions

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).

Use */5 * * * *. The */5 step in the minute field means "every 5th minute", and the four asterisks mean every hour, day, month and weekday.

When both day-of-month and day-of-week are restricted, standard cron runs the job when EITHER matches — not both. This surprises almost everyone.

Yes, they are computed in your browser using your local timezone. Remember your server may run in a different timezone (often UTC).

Found a bug or have an idea?

ToolOrbit is actively developed — feedback directly shapes what gets built next.

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