Cron Expression Generator & Explainer
Build cron schedules with dropdowns or paste one to read it in plain English, with the next 5 run times in IST.
Result
How to use
- 1
Type or paste a cron expression — or build one with the dropdowns.
- 2
Read what it means in plain English and check the next 5 run times.
- 3
Copy the expression into crontab, GitHub Actions, Kubernetes or your scheduler.
Questions
What do the five cron fields mean?
In order: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12 or JAN–DEC) and day of week (0–7, where 0 and 7 are Sunday, or SUN–SAT). * means every value, 1-5 is a range, 1,15 is a list and */15 means every 15th value.
Why did my job run at the wrong time?
Cron uses the server's time zone. Many cloud servers and GitHub Actions run in UTC, which is 5 hours 30 minutes behind IST — so 9:30 AM IST is “0 4 * * *” in UTC.
What if I set both day of month and day of week?
Standard (Vixie) cron runs the job when either field matches. For example “0 9 1 * 1” runs on the 1st of every month and also on every Monday.
About this Cron tool
Cron Expression Generator & Explainer — Build cron schedules with dropdowns or paste one to read it in plain English, with the next 5 run times in IST. It is one of 200 free tools on namasivayam.in, made by software engineer Namasivayam Vadivelan for everyday use in India.
Everything is calculated instantly in your browser: nothing you type or upload is sent to any server, there is no sign-up, and it works on mobile and desktop. Type or paste a cron expression — or build one with the dropdowns.
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Results are estimates to help you plan. They are not financial, tax or medical advice.