The five fields in order are: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), and day of week (0–7, where both 0 and 7 mean Sunday).
Free Server Admin Tool
Cron Expression Builder
Build cron schedule expressions visually, get a plain-English description of what they mean, preview the next 10 run times, and paste any existing expression to have it explained instantly.
- ✔ Visual field builder
- ✔ Human-readable output
- ✔ Next 10 run times
- ✔ Reverse expression parser
- ✔ Free Forever
Build Cron Schedules Without Memorising the Syntax
Cron is the standard Unix job scheduler — used on every Linux server to run backups, database cleanups, report generation, cache warming, certificate renewals, and thousands of other recurring tasks. The five-field expression format is powerful but easy to get wrong, especially for less common patterns like "the last Friday of each month" or "every 15 minutes on weekdays".
This free tool builds the expression visually, explains it in plain English, and shows you the next 10 actual run times so you can verify the schedule before you deploy it.
How It Works
1. Pick a Preset
Start from a common schedule, or build from scratch.
2. Adjust the Fields
Each field (minute, hour, day, month, weekday) has quick-select buttons.
3. Read the Description
See a plain-English explanation and the next 10 run times.
4. Copy the Expression
Copy the finished expression ready to paste into your crontab.
Common Presets
Every minute
Cron Syntax Reference
Quick Field Guide
| Field | Allowed Values | Special Characters | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0–59 | * , - / | */15 — every 15 minutes |
| Hour | 0–23 | * , - / | 0,12 — midnight and noon |
| Day of Month | 1–31 | * , - / L | L — last day of month |
| Month | 1–12 | * , - / | */3 — every quarter |
| Day of Week | 0–7 (0 & 7 = Sunday) | * , - / | 1-5 — Monday to Friday |
FAQsCron Expression Builder
What do the five cron fields mean?
What does */5 mean in a cron expression?
The slash (/) means "every N". So */5 in the minute field means every 5 minutes, and */2 in the hour field means every 2 hours.
What does * mean in a cron expression?
An asterisk (*) means "every valid value" for that field. So * in the hour field means the job runs every hour.
Is this compatible with all cron implementations?
The standard 5-field format works on virtually all Unix/Linux cron implementations. Some systems (like AWS EventBridge or Quartz) use a 6 or 7-field format — this tool generates the standard 5-field format.