Cron Expression Explainer
Translate a cron expression into plain English and preview the next run times. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere or stored.
How to use the cron parser
- Type a standard 5-field cron expression, or click a quick-pick button.
- Read the plain-English explanation to check it means what you intend.
- Review the next 5 run times (shown in your browser's local timezone) to confirm the schedule.
The five fields are: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day-of-month (1–31),
month (1–12 or JAN–DEC) and day-of-week (0–7 or SUN–SAT, where 0 and 7 are Sunday).
Each field accepts *, lists like 1,15,30, ranges like 9-17 and steps like */5 or 0-30/10.
More PAYATE tools
Frequently asked questions
What is a cron expression and what are the 5 fields?
A cron expression is a compact schedule used by the Unix cron daemon and many schedulers. The standard form has five space-separated fields, in order: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), and day of week (0–7). Each field says when the job may run; the job runs at every minute where all fields match.
What does */5 mean?
A slash introduces a step. */5 in the minute field means “every 5th minute” — 0, 5, 10, 15 … up to 55. You can also step over a range: 0-30/10 means every 10th value from 0 to 30 (0, 10, 20, 30). */n is just shorthand for stepping across the whole allowed range of that field.
How is the day-of-week field numbered?
Day of week runs 0–6 for Sunday through Saturday, and 7 is also Sunday (so both 0 and 7 mean Sunday). You may also use three-letter names SUN, MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT. So 1-5 and MON-FRI both mean Monday through Friday.
Does it support seconds or a 6-field format?
No. This parser uses the standard 5-field crontab format (minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week). Some schedulers (such as Quartz or some libraries) add a leading seconds field for a 6-field expression, which is not covered here.
What timezone are the next run times shown in?
The preview shows the next run times in your browser’s local timezone. Real cron daemons run in the server’s configured timezone, so if your server uses UTC or another zone the actual fire times will follow that instead.
Is my cron expression sent anywhere or stored?
No. Parsing, the plain-English explanation and the next-run preview all run entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded to a server and nothing is stored.