Cron Parser
Parse cron expressions and preview next execution times.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| * | Any value |
| , | List (1,2,3) |
| - | Range (1-5) |
| / | Step (*/5) |
| 0–59 | Minutes |
| 0–23 | Hours |
| 1–31 | Day of month |
| 1–12 | Month |
| 0–6 | Weekday (0=Sun) |
What the Cron Parser does
Cron expressions are a compact way to describe recurring schedules, used by the Unix cron daemon and by countless tools such as CI pipelines, container orchestrators, serverless platforms and backup jobs. This parser takes a standard five-field cron expression and translates it into a plain-English description, then computes the next five times it will actually fire so you can confirm the schedule does what you intended.
It is built for developers and system administrators who write or review scheduled jobs. Cron syntax is famously easy to get wrong - a misplaced asterisk can turn a daily job into one that runs every minute - so seeing concrete upcoming run times removes the guesswork before you deploy.
How to use it
Type a cron expression into the input box. A standard expression has five space-separated fields, in order: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12) and day of week (0-6, where 0 is Sunday). The default example, */5 * * * *, runs every five minutes. As you edit, the tool shows a human-readable summary and lists the next five execution times based on your computer's local clock.
Each field accepts an asterisk for any value, comma-separated lists such as 1,15,30, ranges such as 1-5, and step values such as */15. The built-in syntax reference table summarizes these symbols and the valid numeric ranges for every field. If an expression is malformed, the tool displays an error explaining what went wrong.
Notes and tips
The next-run times are calculated in your local time zone, so remember that the server actually running your job may use UTC or a different zone. This tool uses the classic five-field format; it does not parse the optional seconds field or non-standard shortcuts like @daily that some systems support. When in doubt, check the upcoming times shown here - they are the clearest confirmation that your expression matches the schedule you have in mind.