Cron Expression Generator Free

Cron Expression

Common Schedules

Build It Field by Field

Next 5 Run Times

How to Create a Cron Expression with FreeToolPoint

Start from a common schedule — Click one of the Common Schedules buttons, such as "Every 5 minutes" or "Weekdays at 9 AM". The expression, the plain-English summary, and the next run times all update at once.
Adjust each field — In the "Build It Field by Field" section, pick a mode for each of the five fields: every value, every N, specific values, a range, or custom. Type the value in the box next to it and the expression at the top updates as you type.
Or paste an existing expression — Paste any cron line from a crontab file, a Kubernetes CronJob, or a GitHub Actions workflow into the top box. The tool explains what it means and fills in the builder for you.
Check the next run times — The list at the bottom shows the next five times the job will run. Switch between your local time and UTC to match the time zone of the server that runs the job, then click Copy.

Why Use Our Cron Expression Generator

Plain-English summary — Every expression is turned into a clear sentence, such as "At 09:00 on every day-of-week from Monday through Friday." This makes it easy to catch a wrong field before the job runs at the wrong time.
Real next run times — The tool calculates the actual upcoming dates, including the special rule for day of month and day of week. You see exactly when the job will fire, not just a guess.
Clear error messages — If a value is out of range or a field is missing, the tool tells you which field is wrong and why. It also warns you when you paste a 6-field Quartz expression by mistake.
Private and fast — Everything runs in your browser with plain JavaScript. No server calls, no signup, and the tool keeps working even if you go offline after the page loads.

Cron Syntax Cheat Sheet

A standard cron expression has five fields separated by spaces. Each field accepts the values and special characters below.

Field	Allowed values	Example
Minute	0–59	`30` = at minute 30
Hour	0–23	`14` = 2 PM
Day of month	1–31	`1,15` = the 1st and 15th
Month	1–12 or JAN–DEC	`JAN-MAR` = January to March
Day of week	0–7 or SUN–SAT (0 and 7 are Sunday)	`1-5` = Monday to Friday

Symbol	Meaning	Example
`*`	Every value	`* * * * *` = every minute
`,`	A list of values	`0,30` = minute 0 and 30
`-`	A range of values	`9-17` = hours 9 to 17
`/`	A step	`*/10` = every 10th minute

Where Cron Expressions Are Used

Cron started as the job scheduler on Unix systems, where each user has a crontab file with one schedule per line. Today the same five-field format is used far beyond Linux servers. Kubernetes CronJobs, GitHub Actions scheduled workflows, GitLab CI pipelines, Vercel cron jobs, and many cloud schedulers all accept standard cron expressions.

The most common mistake with cron is the time zone. Most servers and cloud services run cron in UTC, not in your local time. A job written as 0 9 * * * on a UTC server runs at 9 AM UTC, which may be the middle of the night where you live. Use the time zone switch above to check the next run times in UTC before you deploy.

Another common surprise is the day-of-month and day-of-week rule. When both fields have a value, cron runs the job when either one matches, not only when both match. For example, 0 0 13 * 5 runs on every 13th of the month and also on every Friday, not only on Friday the 13th.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a cron expression?

A cron expression is a short line of five fields that tells a scheduler when to run a job. The fields are minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. For example, 0 9 * * 1-5 means at 09:00 every Monday to Friday. Cron is used by Linux crontab, Kubernetes CronJobs, GitHub Actions, and many cloud schedulers.

What does */5 mean in cron?

The slash sets a step. */5 in the minute field means every 5th minute: 0, 5, 10, 15 and so on up to 55. You can also combine a step with a range, so 0-30/10 in the minute field means minutes 0, 10, 20 and 30.

Which time zone do cron jobs use?

A cron job runs in the time zone of the machine or service that runs it. Many servers and cloud schedulers, including GitHub Actions, use UTC. This tool can show the next run times in your local time or in UTC, so you can check the schedule for the place where your job actually runs.

What happens if I set both day of month and day of week?

In standard cron, if both the day-of-month and the day-of-week fields are restricted, the job runs when either one matches. For example, 0 0 1 * 1 runs on the 1st of every month and also on every Monday. If one of the two fields starts with *, both must match. This tool follows the same rule when it lists the next run times.

Does this tool support Quartz or cron with seconds?

No. This tool uses the standard 5-field cron format used by Linux crontab, Kubernetes, and GitHub Actions. Quartz and Spring use 6 or 7 fields with seconds and special characters like ? and #, which are not supported here. The tool also accepts the shortcuts @hourly, @daily, @weekly, @monthly, and @yearly.

Cron Expression Generator