Cron Expression Parser
Cron expression parser and generator — paste any cron for instant description, next run times, and field breakdown. Supports Unix, Quartz, and AWS Events.
Updated May 2026
PLATFORM
LANGUAGE / RUNTIME
SCRIPT / COMMAND
FIELD EDITOR
QUICK PRESETS
CRON EXPRESSION
0 12 * * *DESCRIPTION
"At 12:00"
FIELD BREAKDOWN
0 012 12:00 PM* every day* every month* any day of weekNEXT EXECUTIONS
PLATFORM TIP: Linux / macOS
Standard 5-field cron. Edit your crontab with `crontab -e`. Runs in the server's local timezone — consider writing schedules in UTC to avoid DST surprises.
How the cron expression generator works
From platform to a ready-to-paste crontab line
1. Pick your platform and runtime
Linux, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Quartz, or AWS EventBridge — plus PHP, Python, or Node.js for the interpreter prefix.
2. Set the fields or apply a preset
Use the visual field editor (MIN, HOUR, DOM, MONTH, DOW) or click a ready-made schedule like "every 5 minutes" or "weekdays at 9 AM".
3. Copy the expression or the full command
Includes the script path and interpreter — paste it straight into crontab, a CronJob manifest, or a workflow file.
What this cron expression generator does
More than a plain syntax parser
Next 5 run times
See exactly when the job will fire next, converted to your local time zone.
Visual field editor
Set minute, hour, day, month, and weekday without memorizing cron syntax by heart.
Full crontab line
Generates the complete command with script path and interpreter prefix (PHP, Python, Node, Ruby, Java, and more).
Real-time validation
A green badge confirms valid syntax before you copy anything into production.
Human-readable description
Every expression is translated into a plain-English sentence, like "At 09:00 on weekdays".
Cron expression examples
Common schedules and what they mean
When you'll reach for this tool
The most common scenarios among people who use it
Kubernetes CronJobs
Build the 5-field schedule for spec.schedule — runs in UTC by default, with a 1-minute minimum interval.
GitHub Actions and GitLab CI
Schedule workflows in UTC — GitHub enforces a 5-minute minimum interval, GitLab an hourly one on shared runners.
Quartz and Spring Boot jobs
Use the 6-field format with seconds, including L, W, and # for advanced day-of-month and day-of-week rules.
AWS EventBridge schedules
Build a 6-field schedule with year — always UTC, with a mandatory ? on either day-of-month or day-of-week.
Laravel, Node, and Python schedulers
Generate the exact cron string for Laravel's ->cron(), node-cron, or APScheduler's CronTrigger — no syntax guessing.
Common cron expression mistakes
Using 5 fields where Quartz requires 6
Quartz adds a seconds field at the very start — a 5-field expression that works in Linux crontab is invalid in Quartz and will throw a parse error.
Forgetting cron runs in UTC in the cloud
Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, and AWS EventBridge all default to UTC, not your server's local time zone — a schedule written for 9 AM local can fire at the wrong hour.
Setting both day-of-month and day-of-week in AWS EventBridge
EventBridge requires a ? in one of the two fields — specifying a real value in both at the same time is rejected.
Assuming day-of-week numbering is the same everywhere
Standard cron uses 0–6 for Sunday–Saturday, but AWS EventBridge uses 1–7 (1 = Sunday) and doesn't accept 0 — copying a Unix expression as-is silently breaks the schedule.
Why use this cron expression generator
It goes beyond a plain parser: it shows the next 5 run times converted to your local time zone, supports 6-field Quartz syntax, and generates the full crontab line with a ready-to-run command.
Platform-specific integration tips — Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, AWS EventBridge, Node.js, Python, PHP, and Docker — help you avoid the classic mistake of pasting the wrong syntax into the wrong platform.
5-field vs. 6-field cron
Which format your platform actually expects
Frequently asked questions
A cron expression is a string of five (or six) space-separated fields that defines a recurring schedule for automated tasks. It's used in Unix crontab, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud schedulers to tell a system when a job should run, without needing a person to trigger it manually.
References
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