Cron Expression Explainer
Translate a cron schedule into plain English you can trust.
Paste a five-field cron expression and see exactly what it means in plain English, field by field, plus a one-line summary of when it runs. Cron syntax is famously easy to misread — a misplaced asterisk can turn "9am on Mondays" into "every minute" — so this tool helps you confirm a schedule before you ship it. It understands wildcards, steps like */15, ranges, and comma-separated lists, and names months and weekdays for you.
How to use the Cron Expression Explainer
- Enter a cron expression with five fields: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week.
- Read the field-by-field breakdown and the plain-English summary.
- Adjust until the summary matches the schedule you intended.
Frequently asked questions
What are the five fields, in order?
Minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), and day of week (0–6, where 0 is Sunday).
Does it support step and range syntax?
Yes. It handles wildcards (*), steps (*/15), ranges (1-5) and lists (1,3,5), and it names months and weekdays.
Does it cover special strings like @daily?
Not yet — enter the five-field form (for example 0 0 * * * for daily at midnight). Named shortcuts may be added later.