Cron Expression Parser
Parse a cron expression into a plain-English description and see its next 5 run times, instantly in your browser.
How to use this tool
A cron expression is a compact way to schedule a recurring job — used in Unix/Linux crontabs, CI/CD pipelines, and countless scheduling tools — but its five terse fields (minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week) are notoriously easy to misread. This tool translates an expression into a sentence you can actually verify at a glance, and shows exactly when it will next fire, so you can confirm a schedule does what you intended before it goes live.
For example, */15 9-17 * * MON-FRI decodes to “Every 15 minutes, between 09:00 AM and 05:59 PM, Monday through Friday” — with the next 5 matching times listed below it.
Type or paste a cron expression into the box below. The plain-English description and the next 5 scheduled run times update automatically as you type. If the expression is invalid, an error message explains what's wrong.
FAQ
Is this cron expression parser free to use?
Yes, this tool is completely free to use with no limits on how often you can use it.
Does my cron expression get uploaded anywhere?
No. The expression is parsed and explained directly in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server.
What format does a cron expression use?
The standard 5-field format is minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week (e.g. "*/5 * * * *" means every 5 minutes). This tool also accepts a 6-field form with a leading seconds field, and shorthand aliases like "@daily" or "@hourly".
What time zone are the next run times shown in?
Your browser's local time zone. This tool calculates run times entirely on your device, so it uses whatever time zone your computer is set to — keep that in mind if the job actually runs on a server in a different time zone.
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