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Cron Expression Generator & Explainer

Explain cron expressions in plain English. Generate from common presets.

Explainer
Enter a cron expression (5 fields: minute hour day month weekday) to see what it means.
Generator (Presets)
Click a preset to use it. Expression format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week (0=Sun, 1=Mon, ...)

What is a Cron Expression?

A cron expression is a string that defines when a job runs. Used in Linux, cron jobs, schedulers, and CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Jenkins). Format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. Example: "0 9 * * 1-5" means every weekday at 9:00 AM. This tool explains any cron expression in plain English and generates common presets.

How to Use Cron Generator

  1. Paste a cron expression to get a human-readable explanation.
  2. Or click a preset (e.g., "Every hour", "Daily at midnight") to copy it.
  3. Use the explanation to verify schedules or learn cron syntax.

Cron Schedule Examples

Common schedules: every minute (* * * * *), every hour (0 * * * *), daily at midnight (0 0 * * *), every Monday at 9:00 (0 9 * * 1), first day of month (0 0 1 * *). Perfect for developers setting up backups, cleanup jobs, or automated tasks. All processing in your browser.