Cron Expression Parser
Explain a cron expression in plain English and see its next runs.
Three steps, no reading required.
Enter a cron expression
Type a standard 5-field expression, or pick one of the presets.
Read the breakdown
Each field — minute, hour, day, month, weekday — is explained in plain English.
Check the next runs
See the next five times it will fire in your local time zone.
A cron string with no context
- Gives a terse description or none at all
- Never shows when it will actually run
- Skips @daily-style shortcuts
Plain English plus the next runs
- Explains the expression in a sentence
- Lists upcoming runs in your local time (copy as UTC ISO 8601)
- Expands @daily, @hourly, @weekly, @monthly, @yearly
Questions worth answering upfront.
Standard 5-field cron: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week, with *, */n, ranges, steps, lists, and month/weekday names (JAN, MON).
It follows standard cron: when both are restricted, a run fires if either matches; otherwise both must match.
Next-run times are computed and shown in your browser's local time zone. The Copy button gives them in UTC ISO 8601.
No. Parsing and the next-run search happen entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Yes. Every tool on DevUtilsNow is free to use with no account required.
Yes. @yearly (or @annually), @monthly, @weekly, @daily (or @midnight) and @hourly are expanded to their five-field form, explained in plain English, and used to calculate the next runs. @reboot is not supported because it has no schedule.
*/5 * * * * runs every 5 minutes. The */5 in the minute field means every fifth minute starting at 0: 0, 5, 10 and so on to 55. Paste it above to see the next run times.
0 */12 * * * runs at 00:00 and 12:00 every day. Writing 0 0,12 * * * lists the same two hours explicitly; both mean the same thing.
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Look it up
Guides that pair with this tool
How to Read a Cron Expression
Decode the five fields of a cron schedule — minute, hour, day, month, weekday — plus ranges, steps, lists, and the day-of-month/day-of-week rule.
Handy reference
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