Build cron expressions visually with dropdowns for minute, hour, day, month, and weekday. See the next 5 fire times and one-click presets for common runs.
Cron Expression Generator Features
- Visual Builder — Build cron expressions with dropdowns - no syntax memorization needed
- Next Run Times — See the next 5 scheduled executions so you know exactly when your job fires
- Common Presets — One-click presets for every minute, hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly schedules
- 100% Private — Everything runs in your browser - no data is sent to any server
How to Use Cron Expression Generator
Generate cron expressions in three simple steps
- Pick a Preset or Build — Choose a common preset or configure each field manually
- Preview Expression — See the cron expression, human-readable description, and next run times
- Copy & Use — Copy the expression to clipboard and paste into your crontab or CI/CD config
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cron expression?
A cron expression is a string of 5 fields (minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week) that defines a schedule. It's used in Unix/Linux crontab, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud schedulers to run tasks automatically.
What does * mean in a cron expression?
The asterisk (*) means 'every'. For example, * in the minute field means 'every minute'. * in the hour field means 'every hour'.
What does */5 mean?
The */N syntax means 'every N units'. So */5 in the minute field means every 5 minutes (0, 5, 10, 15, ...). */2 in the hour field means every 2 hours.
How do I schedule a cron job for every Monday?
Use '0 0 * * 1' to run at midnight every Monday. The last field (day of week) uses 0=Sunday, 1=Monday, ..., 6=Saturday.
Is this cron generator free?
Yes, build unlimited cron expressions with no signup. Visual dropdown builder, common presets (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly), next 5 run time previews, and one-click copy are all free.
Does it support 6-field cron (with seconds)?
This tool generates standard 5-field cron expressions used by most systems (crontab, GitHub Actions, AWS CloudWatch, etc.). Some systems like Spring add a 6th seconds field - just prepend '0 ' to the generated expression.
Can I use this for GitHub Actions or AWS?
Yes! The generated 5-field expressions work directly in GitHub Actions (schedule trigger), AWS CloudWatch Events, Google Cloud Scheduler, and standard Unix crontab.
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