Parse a cron expression and see its next run times

How it works

1. 1

   Enter a cron expression.

2. 2

   Read the plain-language description.

3. 3

   Check the next five run times.

About the Cron Parser

Cron expressions pack a schedule into five short fields, and it is easy to misread whether 0 */2 * * 1-5 means every two hours or every two minutes. This parser reads a standard five-field expression, describes it in plain words and lists the next five times it will run in your local time, so you can confirm a scheduled job before you deploy it.

What you can do

• Parse the five fields: minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week.
• Use *, lists like 1,15, ranges like 9-17 and steps like */15 or 0-30/10.
• Write months as JAN to DEC and weekdays as SUN to SAT, with 0 or 7 both meaning Sunday.
• See a short plain-English summary and the next five run times.

When it works best

• Checking a crontab line or a Laravel, Kubernetes CronJob or GitHub Actions schedule before you merge it.
• Working out when a nightly backup or report will next run.
• Explaining an inherited schedule to a teammate.

Things to know

• Times are calculated in your browser using your device's time zone. Servers often run cron in UTC, so the real run times may differ.
• Only five-field expressions are accepted. Seconds or year fields, and shortcuts such as @daily, L, W or #, are not supported.
• When both day of month and day of week are restricted, a time must match both, while classic cron runs when either matches.
• The summary is brief and repeats field values as written. To read a timestamp from a job log, use the Unix Timestamp Converter.

Frequently asked questions