Terminal & DevOps
Cron Schedule Builder & Human Translator
Create, edit, and translate 5-part cron schedules into plain English. Preview the next 5 upcoming executions in local time and UTC, and export ready-to-run code snippets.
Cron Expression
Human-Readable Schedule
“At 09:00 AM (09:00), every weekday (Monday through Friday)”
Minute0 - 59
Hour0 - 23
Day of Month1 - 31
Month1 - 12
Day of Week0 - 6 (Sun=0)
Common Schedule Presets
Select any popular cron schedule below to load it into the builder and view its upcoming execution schedule.
Calculated upcoming execution dates based on current system time (Local & UTC):
1
in 2 daysMon, Oct 26, 2026, 09:00:00 AMUTC: Mon, 26 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT
2
in 3 daysTue, Oct 27, 2026, 09:00:00 AMUTC: Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT
3
in 4 daysWed, Oct 28, 2026, 09:00:00 AMUTC: Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT
4
in 5 daysThu, Oct 29, 2026, 09:00:00 AMUTC: Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT
5
in 6 daysFri, Oct 30, 2026, 09:00:00 AMUTC: Fri, 30 Oct 2026 09:00:00 GMT
Cron Expression Syntax Reference
| Special Character | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| * | Matches any possible value in the field range | * in hour = every hour |
| , | Separates multiple discrete items in a list | 1,15 in day = 1st & 15th |
| - | Defines an inclusive continuous range of values | 1-5 in dow = Monday to Friday |
| / | Specifies increment steps across the field range | */15 in min = every 15 minutes |
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How to use
- 1Enter any 5-field cron expression into the input box or click a popular preset (Every 15 min, Weekdays at 9 AM, Midnight Daily).
- 2Read the instant human-readable English translation to verify your schedule matches your intended timing.
- 3Inspect the 5 segment cards (Minute, Hour, Day, Month, Weekday) to make fine-grained adjustments.
- 4Review the Next 5 Executions list to see precise future calendar dates in both Local and UTC time.
- 5Switch to the "Code Snippets" tab to copy ready-to-paste configurations for Linux crontab, GitHub Actions, or Node.js.
Frequently asked questions
What do the 5 fields in a standard cron expression represent?
Standard UNIX cron syntax uses 5 space-separated fields ordered from left to right: (1) Minute [0-59], (2) Hour [0-23], (3) Day of Month [1-31], (4) Month [1-12 or JAN-DEC], and (5) Day of Week [0-6 or SUN-SAT, where 0 is Sunday]. Some systems like Quartz or AWS EventBridge support a 6th field for seconds or year, but standard crontab and GitHub Actions expect 5 fields.
How does step syntax (like */15) work in cron?
A slash "/" defines a step increment across the field range. For example, "*/15" in the minute field means "every 15 minutes starting at minute 0" (firing at :00, :15, :30, :45). You can also combine steps with ranges, such as "10-30/5", which executes every 5 minutes between minute 10 and 30.
What happens when both Day of Month and Day of Week are specified?
In standard POSIX / Vixie cron, if both the Day of Month and Day of Week fields are restricted (neither is an asterisk "*"), they operate as a logical OR condition rather than AND. For example, "0 0 15 * 5" fires at midnight whenever it is either the 15th day of the month OR a Friday.
Does this builder calculate execution times in local time or UTC?
Both! The builder calculates future runs using your browser's local time and displays the exact corresponding UTC timestamps alongside relative countdowns ("in 2 hours", "tomorrow at 09:00 AM"). This makes it easy to schedule GitHub Actions or AWS cloud tasks that run strictly in UTC.
How do I use this schedule in GitHub Actions workflows?
In your repository's .github/workflows/main.yml file, add an "on.schedule" block containing your cron string: on: schedule: - cron: '0 9 * * 1-5'. Note that GitHub Actions schedules run strictly in UTC and may experience minor queuing delays during peak cloud traffic.
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