About this tool
Cron syntax is compact, powerful and famously unreadable. Is 30 4 * * 1-5 running at 4:30 AM on weekdays or every fourth minute? This Cron Expression Parser answers instantly: type any standard five-field expression — minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week — and get a plain-English explanation plus the next five actual execution times in your local timezone. The parser supports the full classic syntax including wildcards, ranges, lists, step values and named months or weekdays like JAN or MON. Common shortcuts such as @daily and @hourly are recognized as well. Invalid expressions produce a specific error pointing at the offending field, which makes the tool a fast way to validate a crontab line before deploying it. Everything is computed locally, so you can experiment freely. Whether you are scheduling backups, ETL jobs, newsletter sends or Kubernetes CronJobs, a quick check here saves you from discovering at 3 AM that your backup ran at 3 PM.
How to use Cron Expression Parser
- Type or paste a 5-field cron expression, for example 30 4 * * 1-5.
- Read the plain-English explanation of the schedule.
- Check the next five run times shown in your local timezone.
- Adjust the expression and watch the explanation and times update.
Frequently asked questions
Which cron dialect is supported?
The classic 5-field Unix crontab format with ranges, lists, steps, names like MON or JAN, and the @hourly/@daily/@weekly/@monthly shortcuts.
What timezone are the next runs shown in?
Your browser's local timezone, matching how most servers display their local crontab execution times.
Are seconds or years supported?
No. This tool targets the standard 5-field format used by crontab, not the 6- or 7-field variants of Quartz or some schedulers.
Why does 0 0 29 2 * not run yearly?
February 29 only exists in leap years, so that schedule fires roughly once every four years — the next-runs preview makes this obvious.