Cron Expression Generator
Writing cron by hand is error-prone. Pick a preset or fill in the five fields here and get a valid expression, a plain-words reading of the schedule, and the next five run times computed from your own clock before you paste it into crontab.
Meaning: —
Next 5 run times (your local time)
How to use
- Pick a preset or type the five fields yourself using star, lists (1,2), ranges (1-5) and steps (*/5).
- Read the plain-words meaning to confirm the schedule.
- Check the next five run times before pasting the expression into crontab.
Tips
- Start from a preset when you are unsure; edit one field at a time and re-read the plain-words meaning.
- Avoid running heavy jobs exactly on the hour - pick an odd minute like 7 or 23 to dodge load spikes.
- Test with the next run times shown, then watch the first real run in your logs.
- Remember daylight-saving changes can shift or skip local-time schedules twice a year.
Note: Day of week uses 0 or 7 for Sunday through 6 for Saturday. When both day-of-month and day-of-week are restricted, standard cron runs when either matches — this tool follows that rule.