Cron Parser
Explain cron and next run times
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About this tool
This tool parses a cron expression (5 fields: minute, hour, day, month, weekday), explains it in a human-readable sentence, and calculates up to 5 upcoming run times. It only handles the standard 5-field cron format โ 6-field expressions with a seconds field are not supported.
How to use
- Start from a common preset (daily at midnight, weekday mornings at 9, every 5 minutes, and more), or type your own 5-field cron expression.
- In the minute, hour, day, month, and weekday fields, combine *, comma-separated lists, ranges (e.g. 1-5), and /step (e.g. */5).
- Once the expression is valid, a plain-language description and the next 5 run times appear.
- In the weekday field, both 0 and 7 are accepted as Sunday.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this support 6-field cron with a seconds field?
- No. This tool only supports the standard 5-field cron format (minute, hour, day, month, weekday). A 6-field expression with a seconds field added at either end is flagged as a format error.
- What happens if I restrict both day-of-month and day-of-week?
- Following the standard cron rule, restricting both fields combines them with OR โ for example, 'the 15th OR Monday' runs if either condition is true. If only one of the two is restricted, only that condition applies.
- What timezone are the next run times based on?
- They're calculated using this browser's local timezone. If your actual server runs cron in a different timezone, such as UTC, the real run times may differ from what's shown here.
- Can it happen that no next run time is shown?
- Yes. If no time within the next 2 years satisfies the expression, it shows 'no runs scheduled'. This tool searches minute by minute for up to 2 years to find the next run time.
The next run times are calculated using this browser's local timezone. If your server actually runs cron in a different timezone, such as UTC, the results may differ from what's shown here.