Cron Expression Visualizer
Enter a cron expression to see it explained in plain English, broken down field-by-field, and previewed with the next 5 upcoming run times. Use presets for common schedules or type your own.
minute hour day(month) month day(week)
▶ Runs at 09:00, on weekdays Mon–Fri
Field Breakdown
Minute
0
at minute 0
Hour
9
at hour 9
Day (Month)
*
every day
Month
*
every month
Day (Week)
1-5
days Mon–Fri
Cron Field Reference
* — every value
*/5 — every 5th value
1-5 — range 1 through 5
1,3,5 — specific values
0-23 — hours range
0=Sun, 6=Sat — day of week
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cron expression?▼
A cron expression is a 5-field string that defines a recurring schedule: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day-of-month (1–31), month (1–12), day-of-week (0–6, Sunday=0). For example, '0 9 * * 1-5' runs every weekday at 9:00 AM.
How do I read the 5 fields in a cron expression?▼
Read left to right: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week. An asterisk (*) means 'every value'. Use */5 for 'every 5th', 1-5 for a range, and 1,3,5 for specific values.
What does */15 mean in the minute field?▼
'*/15' means every 15 minutes — at 0, 15, 30, and 45 past each hour. The step syntax (*/n) works in any field: */2 in the hour field means every 2 hours.
How do I schedule a job on weekdays only?▼
Set the day-of-week field to 1-5. For example, '0 9 * * 1-5' runs at 9 AM Monday through Friday (1=Mon, 5=Fri). '0,6' in the day-of-week field targets weekends only.
Can I use cron expressions in GitHub Actions?▼
Yes. GitHub Actions supports cron syntax in the 'schedule' trigger: `on: schedule: - cron: '0 9 * * 1-5'`. Note that GitHub Actions runs are in UTC, so adjust the hour field for your local timezone.
Need to build a cron expression from scratch?
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