Cron Expression

Parse a cron expression into a plain-English schedule and see its next upcoming run times.

About this tool

Parses a standard 5-field cron expression into a plain-English description of its schedule, and shows the next several times it would actually run — useful for double-checking a cron schedule before it goes into a crontab or CI/CD scheduler config.

How to use it

  1. Type a cron expression (e.g. */15 9-17 * * 1-5), or one of the shortcut aliases like @daily.
  2. Read the plain-English description of what the schedule means.
  3. Check the list of next upcoming run times to confirm it matches what you expect.

FAQ

What format does it expect?

Standard 5-field Unix cron syntax: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week, supporting *, single values, comma lists, ranges, and step values (e.g. */15) in any field.

What happens if I enter an expression that can never match, like day 31 in a month that never has 31 days combined with a fixed month?

The next-run search is capped and will tell you clearly that no matching time was found, rather than hanging indefinitely.

Are shortcut aliases like @daily supported?

Yes — @yearly, @monthly, @weekly, @daily, @midnight, and @hourly are all recognized and expanded to their standard 5-field equivalent before parsing.

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