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Cron Expression Explainer

Paste a cron schedule like 17 3 * * * and read it in plain English, with the next ten times it will run, in UTC or your own time.

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Cron Expression Explainer at a glanceIllustration: 1, A cron line; 2, processed in your browser; 3, Plain English + runs.Cron Expression Explainer</>1A cron line3Plain English + runs2In yourbrowser
1 A cron line 2 processed on your device 3 Plain English + runs

Cron Expression Explainer

Cron expression

In plain English

FieldValueMeans

Next 10 runs

    Summary

    01

    What it does

    Explains a cron schedule in plain English and lists the next 10 run times in UTC or your own time zone.

    • Standard five-field cron
    • Lists, ranges, steps and names (MON, JAN)
    • @daily, @hourly and other shortcuts
    • Next 10 runs in UTC or your time zone

    02

    Private by design

    Everything happens in your browser. Nothing you type, paste or upload is sent anywhere, and it keeps working offline once the page has loaded.

    03

    What you get

    A plain-English summary and run times, with a Copy and a Download button on every result.

    • Cron
    • Scheduling
    • Server

    Why it matters

    Cron schedules run backups, reports, sitemap rebuilds and Cloudflare Worker triggers. The syntax is compact and unforgiving: 0 9 * * 1-5 and 9 0 * * 1-5 look alike and run 9 hours apart.

    Seeing the schedule in words, and the actual next run times, is the quickest way to be sure. It also shows the zone problem: most servers, including Cloudflare's cron triggers, run in UTC, which is an hour off UK time in summer.

    How it works

    1. InputA five-field cron expression
    2. In your browserParsed field by field, next runs calculated
    3. OutputA sentence, a field table and the next 10 runs

    Where it fits in a designer's workflow

    1. Plan
    2. Design
    3. Build
    4. Test
    5. Launch
    Scheduling backups, reports and sitemaps.

    By the numbers

    Runs in one week (2 to 8 November 2026, UTC) for each presetEvery 5 minutes (*/5 * * * *): 2,016 runs; Hourly (0 * * * *): 168 runs; Daily at 03:17 (17 3 * * *): 7 runs; Weekdays 9am (0 9 * * 1-5): 5 runs; Mondays 08:30 (30 8 * * mon): 1 runs; Every 15 min, office hours (*/15 9-17 * * 1-5): 180 runsEvery 5 minutes (*/5 * * * *)2,016 runsHourly (0 * * * *)168 runsDaily at 03:17 (17 3 * * *)7 runsWeekdays 9am (0 9 * * 1-5)5 runsMondays 08:30 (30 8 * * mon)1 runsEvery 15 min, office hours (*/15 9-17 * * 1-5)180 runs
    Counted with this tool's own scheduler. Every 5 minutes is over 2,000 runs a week, so make frequent jobs cheap; monthly and quarterly presets don't run in this week at all. Source: crontab(5) manual.
    Show the numbers as a table
    PresetCronRuns that weekIn plain English
    Every 5 minutes*/5 * * * *2016Every 5 minutes.
    Hourly0 * * * *168At the start of every hour.
    Daily at 03:1717 3 * * *7At 03:17.
    Weekdays 9am0 9 * * 1-55At 09:00, on weekdays.
    Mondays 08:3030 8 * * mon1At 08:30, on Monday.
    1st of the month0 0 1 * *0At 00:00, on day 1 of the month.
    Every 15 min, office hours*/15 9-17 * * 1-5180Every 15 minutes, between 09:00 and 17:59, on weekdays.
    Quarterly0 6 1 1,4,7,10 *0At 06:00, on day 1 of the month, in January, April, July and October.

    How to use it

    1. Type a cron expression or pick an example.
    2. Read the plain-English summary and each field.
    3. Choose UTC or your time zone for the run times.
    4. Copy or download the summary for your documentation.

    FAQ

    What are the five fields?

    Minute (0 to 59), hour (0 to 23), day of the month (1 to 31), month (1 to 12) and day of the week (0 to 6, Sunday is 0 or 7).

    Why does my job run on extra days?

    If both day of the month and day of the week are set, cron runs when either matches. That's standard cron behaviour.

    Does it support seconds?

    No. Standard cron and Cloudflare cron triggers have five fields. Six-field formats (Quartz, some libraries) add seconds at the start.

    Which time zone does my server use?

    Usually UTC. Cloudflare Workers cron triggers are always UTC.

    Work with me

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