What is a cron expression?

A cron expression is a string of 5–7 fields separated by spaces that defines a schedule for recurring tasks. The standard 5-field format is: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), and day of week (0–6, Sunday=0). Each field can use *, a number, a range (1-5), a list (1,3,5), or a step value (*/15).

What does */ mean in a cron expression?

The */ notation means 'every N units'. For example, */15 in the minutes field means 'every 15 minutes', and */2 in the hours field means 'every 2 hours'. It's a step value applied across the entire allowed range.

What is the difference between 5-field and 6-field cron?

Standard Unix/Linux cron uses 5 fields (minute hour day month weekday). Many modern schedulers like AWS EventBridge, Spring, and Quartz add a 6th field for seconds at the start. Some implementations also support a 7th field for the year.

How do I run a cron job every weekday at 9am?

Use the expression: 0 9 * * 1-5. This means: minute=0, hour=9, any day of month, any month, and only on weekdays (Monday=1 through Friday=5). You can verify this with our tool's 'Next Run Times' panel.

Is my cron expression processed on the server?

No. All parsing and explanation logic runs entirely in your browser using client-side TypeScript. No data is sent to any server — your cron expressions stay completely private.

Free Developer Tool

Understand Any
Cron Expression

Paste a cron expression and instantly see what it means in plain English, plus the next 10 scheduled run times. Supports standard 5-field and extended 6/7-field syntax.

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Plain-English Explanation

Every field decoded into readable sentences — no more guessing what 0 */6 * * * actually means.

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Next Run Times

See the next 10 scheduled executions so you can verify your cron will fire exactly when you expect.

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Common Templates

One-click presets for popular patterns: every minute, hourly, daily, weekly, and more.

Cron Expression

5 fieldsStandard cron (minute hour dom month dow)

Field Breakdown

0Minute

At minute 0

9Hour

At hour 9

*Day of month

Every day of month

*Month

Every month

1-5Day of week

From Monday through Friday

Plain English Summary

At 09:00, on From Monday through Friday.

Next Run Times

Common Patterns

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about Cron Expression Explainer.

Understand AnyCron Expression

Plain-English Explanation

Next Run Times

Common Templates

Field Breakdown

Plain English Summary

Next Run Times

Common Patterns

Frequently Asked Questions

Understand Any
Cron Expression