Cron Expression

Next 5 Runs

Practical cron expression checks

Check server jobs, worker schedules, and alert timing as readable text plus upcoming run times before deploying them.

Validate schedules before release

Confirm that expressions such as */15 * * * * match the intended interval before they reach production jobs.

Share readable timing

Pair the raw expression with a human-readable explanation so teammates can review the schedule without memorizing cron syntax.

Runs in the browser

The expression is parsed locally in your browser and is not stored or sent to a separate server by this tool.

How to use it

Paste a 5-field cron expression and compare the explanation with the intended cadence.

Review the next five run times for start time, interval, month-end behavior, and weekend behavior.

Compare browser timezone with the timezone used by the actual server or scheduler.

Check spacing and field count before copying the expression into deployment config or documentation.

Real input and output

Weekday morning batch

Input

0 9 * * 1-5

Output

Runs at 09:00, Monday through Friday

Day-of-week starts at 0 for Sunday, so 1-5 means Monday to Friday.

Health check every 15 minutes

Input

*/15 * * * *

Output

Runs at minute 00, 15, 30, and 45 of every hour

Midnight on the first of the month

Input

0 0 1 * *

Output

Runs at 00:00 on day 1 of every month

Errors you will hit

Is Sunday 0 or 7?

Standard cron accepts both, but some implementations reject 7. Using 0 is the safer choice.

Five fields or six?

Unix cron uses five fields: minute, hour, day, month, weekday. Spring and Quartz prepend a seconds field for six. A five-field expression pasted into Quartz shifts every value by one position.

The next run time looks wrong

When both day-of-month and day-of-week are set, most implementations run if either matches — an OR, not an AND. Check the server timezone and daylight saving as well.

Things to check

Day fields can differ

Schedulers can interpret day-of-month and day-of-week combinations differently, so verify critical jobs against the target runtime.

Seconds are runtime-specific

Some systems support a seconds field, while traditional crontab uses five fields. Match the format expected by your scheduler.

Tools that pair well