Understanding Cron Syntax
A standard cron expression consists of five fields separated by spaces. Each field represents a time unit and accepts specific values, ranges, lists, and step values.
- Field 1: Minute (0-59) — which minute of the hour to run
- Field 2: Hour (0-23) — which hour of the day (24-hour format)
- Field 3: Day of Month (1-31) — which day of the month
- Field 4: Month (1-12) — which month of the year
- Field 5: Day of Week (0-7) — which day (0 and 7 both mean Sunday)
- * = every value, */N = every N units, N-M = range, N,M = list
Remember: cron uses 24-hour time. "14" means 2:00 PM, "0" means midnight, and "23" means 11:00 PM. Day of week uses 0=Sunday through 6=Saturday (7 also means Sunday).
Common Cron Schedule Presets
Our tool includes quick presets for the most commonly used schedules. Click any preset to instantly get the correct cron expression and its human-readable description.
- "* * * * *" — Every minute
- "0 * * * *" — Every hour (at the top of the hour)
- "0 0 * * *" — Every day at midnight
- "0 9 * * 1-5" — Every weekday at 9:00 AM
- "0 0 * * 0" — Every Sunday at midnight
- "0 0 1 * *" — First day of every month at midnight
- "*/15 * * * *" — Every 15 minutes
- "0 */6 * * *" — Every 6 hours
How to Use the Cron Generator
The tool works in both directions: translate existing cron expressions to English, or build new expressions from presets.
- Translate: Paste any cron expression to see its plain English meaning
- Build: Use quick presets to grab common schedules instantly
- Verify: Check that your expression fires at the expected times before deploying
- Copy: One-click copy to paste into crontab, CI/CD config, or cloud scheduler
Where Cron Expressions Are Used
Cron expressions appear throughout modern infrastructure and development workflows. Linux crontab uses them for system-level job scheduling. GitHub Actions uses them in workflow triggers. AWS EventBridge and CloudWatch Events use them for Lambda function scheduling. Kubernetes CronJobs use them for containerized scheduled tasks. Jenkins, GitLab CI, CircleCI, and virtually every CI/CD platform supports cron-based scheduling. Understanding cron syntax is a fundamental DevOps skill, and our tool makes it accessible to everyone.
Master Cron Expressions Instantly
Stop guessing at cron syntax and hoping your scheduled jobs fire at the right time. Our Cron Generator translates between cryptic expressions and plain English instantly, with quick presets for common schedules. Whether you are configuring a crontab, setting up a CI/CD pipeline, or scheduling a cloud function, verify your cron expression before deploying. Try it now — paste any cron expression and see exactly when it will run.