Cron Expression Generator

Build a cron expression from a form and preview the next run times.

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Schedule

Standard cron uses the system time zone. Kubernetes CronJob accepts an explicit one.

Expression

Next runs

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What is the Cron Expression Generator?

Cron's five fields are compact and easy to get subtly wrong — the classic mistake being a schedule that fires every minute of a chosen hour instead of once. Building the expression from a form removes that class of error.

Pick a frequency, set the details, and see the expression along with a plain-English summary and the next times it would actually run. Presets cover the common schedules, and the output works for Unix crontab, Kubernetes CronJob and most CI schedulers.

How to use it

  1. Pick a frequency: every minute, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or custom.
  2. Fill in the details — minute past the hour, hour of day, days of week.
  3. Read the generated expression and the plain-English summary to confirm it matches your intent.
  4. Check the next five run times, then copy the expression.

Example

Every weekday at 03:30.

Input
frequency: weekly, days: Mon–Fri, time: 03:30
Result
30 3 * * 1-5

At 03:30, Monday through Friday.
Next runs (UTC): Tue 08 Sep 03:30, Wed 09 Sep 03:30, Thu 10 Sep 03:30

Features

  • Form-driven builder plus a preset library
  • Plain-English summary of the generated expression
  • Next five run times, computed in the time zone you choose
  • Step, range and list syntax (*/5, 1-5, 1,15)
  • Output for standard five-field cron and for Kubernetes CronJob manifests
  • Shareable link so a schedule can be reviewed in a pull request

Frequently asked questions

Why does */5 in the hours field not mean "every 5 hours from now"?
Steps are anchored to the start of the field, not to the current time. */5 in hours fires at 00:00, 05:00, 10:00, 15:00 and 20:00 — note that the last gap is four hours, not five, because the day does not divide evenly.
What time zone does cron use?
The system or container time zone, which is frequently UTC in a cluster and local on a VM. Kubernetes CronJob supports an explicit timeZone field; without it, assume UTC and set schedules accordingly.
How do day-of-month and day-of-week interact?
If both are restricted, most cron implementations fire when *either* matches, not both — so "1 * * 1 MON" runs on the 1st and on every Monday. Restrict only one of the two fields unless you genuinely want that union.
Are seconds supported?
Not in standard cron, which has minute resolution. Quartz and Spring use a six-field variant with seconds; this generator emits the standard five fields.
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