Developer Tools

Cron Expression Generator

Build cron job schedules visually. Get the cron expression, a human-readable description, and the next 5 run times — instantly in your browser.

Runs in browserFree & no signup

Cron Expression

* * * * *

every minute, every hour, every day of month, every month, every day of week

Common Presets

Paste Expression

Visual Builder

Minute

Hour

Day of Month

Month

Day of Week

Next 5 Run Times

1Sat, May 9, 08:15 AM
2Sat, May 9, 08:16 AM
3Sat, May 9, 08:17 AM
4Sat, May 9, 08:18 AM
5Sat, May 9, 08:19 AM

How to generate a cron expression

Build any cron schedule in seconds with the visual builder.

01
Choose a preset or build visually
Pick a common schedule from the presets, or use the visual builder to set each field (minute, hour, day, month, weekday) independently.
02
See the expression update live
The cron expression and human-readable description update instantly as you change any field.
03
Verify with next run times
Check the 'Next 5 Run Times' section to confirm the schedule fires when you expect.
04
Copy and use
Click Copy to grab the expression and paste it into your crontab, CI/CD config, or scheduler.

What people use it for

Server maintenance

Schedule nightly database backups, log rotation, or cleanup scripts with precise timing.

CI/CD pipelines

Trigger scheduled builds, deployments, or test runs in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins.

Data pipelines

Run ETL jobs, data syncs, or report generation at regular intervals.

Email & notifications

Send scheduled digests, reminders, or alerts at specific times each day or week.

API polling

Fetch data from external APIs on a schedule — every 15 minutes, hourly, or daily.

Cache invalidation

Clear or warm caches at off-peak hours to keep your app fast without manual intervention.

Frequently asked questions

A cron expression is a string of 5 fields (minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week) that defines a recurring schedule. For example, '0 9 * * 1-5' means 'every weekday at 9:00 AM'.

An asterisk (*) means 'every' — every minute, every hour, every day, etc. It's the wildcard that matches all valid values for that field.

*/5 means every 5 units starting from the minimum (e.g., minutes 0, 5, 10, 15…). 0-59/5 is equivalent. You can also use 10/5 to start at 10 instead of 0.

Yes, completely free with no limits and no signup required.

This tool generates standard 5-field cron expressions used by Unix crontab, GitHub Actions, and most schedulers. Some systems like Quartz use 6 fields — check your scheduler's documentation.

Use the expression */15 * * * * — this fires at minutes 0, 15, 30, and 45 of every hour.

Yes. GitHub Actions uses standard 5-field cron syntax in the 'schedule' trigger. Note that GitHub Actions runs in UTC.

Yes, the tool works on all devices including smartphones and tablets.

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How to generate a cron expression

Build any cron schedule in seconds with the visual builder.

Choose a preset or build visually

Pick a common schedule from the presets, or use the visual builder to set each field (minute, hour, day, month, weekday) independently.

See the expression update live

The cron expression and human-readable description update instantly as you change any field.

Verify with next run times

Check the 'Next 5 Run Times' section to confirm the schedule fires when you expect.

Copy and use

Click Copy to grab the expression and paste it into your crontab, CI/CD config, or scheduler.

What people use it for

Server maintenance

Schedule nightly database backups, log rotation, or cleanup scripts with precise timing.

CI/CD pipelines

Trigger scheduled builds, deployments, or test runs in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins.

Data pipelines

Run ETL jobs, data syncs, or report generation at regular intervals.

Email & notifications

Send scheduled digests, reminders, or alerts at specific times each day or week.

API polling

Fetch data from external APIs on a schedule — every 15 minutes, hourly, or daily.

Cache invalidation

Clear or warm caches at off-peak hours to keep your app fast without manual intervention.

Frequently asked questions

A cron expression is a string of 5 fields (minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week) that defines a recurring schedule. For example, '0 9 * * 1-5' means 'every weekday at 9:00 AM'.

An asterisk (*) means 'every' — every minute, every hour, every day, etc. It's the wildcard that matches all valid values for that field.

*/5 means every 5 units starting from the minimum (e.g., minutes 0, 5, 10, 15…). 0-59/5 is equivalent. You can also use 10/5 to start at 10 instead of 0.

Yes, completely free with no limits and no signup required.

This tool generates standard 5-field cron expressions used by Unix crontab, GitHub Actions, and most schedulers. Some systems like Quartz use 6 fields — check your scheduler's documentation.

Use the expression */15 * * * * — this fires at minutes 0, 15, 30, and 45 of every hour.

Yes. GitHub Actions uses standard 5-field cron syntax in the 'schedule' trigger. Note that GitHub Actions runs in UTC.

Yes, the tool works on all devices including smartphones and tablets.