Cron Expression Generator

Build and decode cron expressions visually. See the next scheduled executions in your timezone.

Build cron expressions visually and decode existing ones. Human-readable explanation plus the next five scheduled runs in your timezone.

Frequently asked questions

What are the five cron fields?

Minute (0-59), Hour (0-23), Day of month (1-31), Month (1-12), Day of week (0-7, with 0 and 7 meaning Sunday). Each field accepts '*' (any), lists (1,2,3), ranges (1-5), and steps (*/5).

What's the difference between cron and systemd timers / AWS EventBridge?

Classic cron is minute-precision with no second field and no seconds. systemd timers and modern schedulers add a seconds field (making it six fields) and support more expressive schedules like 'first Monday of the month'. Check your target platform's spec.

Why does my cron job not run at midnight?

'0 0 * * *' runs at 00:00 in the machine's local timezone, which may not be UTC. Check TZ or tz_info on your cron config, or use explicit UTC (some schedulers like AWS EventBridge) to avoid daylight-saving surprises.

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