> cron | schedule | parse <
// Parse cron expressions and visualize schedules instantly
| Minute (0-59) | Hour (0-23) | Day of Month (1-31) | Month (1-12) | Day of Week (0-6) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - |
| - | - | - | - | - |
// Enter a cron expression to see next executions
Schedule Breakdown
Visual field-by-field breakdown of your cron expression. See exactly what each field means at a glance.
Next Executions
Preview the next 5 scheduled execution times. Know exactly when your cron job will run next.
Common Presets
Quick preset buttons for common schedules: every minute, hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly. One click to set.
// ABOUT CRON EXPRESSIONS
How Cron Works:
Cron uses a 5-field syntax: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. Each field can contain specific values, ranges (-), lists (,), steps (*/), or wildcards (*). Cron is used in Unix crontab, CI/CD pipelines, task scheduling systems, and cloud services for recurring job automation.
Example:
"*/5 * * * *" → "Every 5 minutes"
Common Use Cases:
- >Unix/Linux crontab job scheduling
- >CI/CD pipeline scheduled triggers
- >Cloud function and serverless timers
- >Database backup automation
- >System monitoring and health checks
>> frequently asked questions
Q: What is a cron expression?
A: A cron expression is a string of five fields separated by spaces that defines a schedule for recurring tasks. The format is: minute (0-59) hour (0-23) day-of-month (1-31) month (1-12) day-of-week (0-6, where 0 is Sunday). It originated from the Unix cron daemon.
Q: What does the 5-field cron format mean?
A: The 5 fields are: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. For example, 30 9 * * 1 means "at 9:30 AM every Monday". An asterisk (*) means "every" value for that field.
Q: What special characters can I use in cron?
A: The standard special characters are: * (every value), , (list separator, e.g. 1,3,5), - (range, e.g. 1-5), and */n (step, e.g. */5 means every 5 units).
Q: What are common cron expressions?
A: Common patterns include: * * * * * (every minute), 0 * * * * (every hour), 0 0 * * * (daily at midnight), 0 0 * * 0 (weekly on Sunday), 0 0 1 * * (monthly on the 1st).
Q: What is the difference between cron and systemd timers?
A: Cron is a traditional Unix scheduler using crontab files with 5-field expressions. Systemd timers are a modern Linux alternative that use .timer unit files, offer more precise scheduling, better logging, and dependency management. Both serve the same purpose of scheduling recurring tasks.