# Cron expression generator

> Build or paste a cron expression, read it in plain English and see the next run times in your time zone or UTC. Supports seconds and @daily macros.

URL: https://tools.cuelark.com/cron-expression
Publisher: Cuelark Team (https://cuelark.com)
Updated: 2026-11-02
Price: free, no sign-up

Type or paste a cron expression to see what it means and when it runs next, or build one field by field. Times are shown in your time zone or any IANA zone.

## How to use it

1. Type an expression, pick a preset, or edit the five fields.
2. Read the plain-English description and check the next runs.
3. Copy the expression into your crontab, CI config or scheduler.

## Details

- **Syntax:** 5 fields (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week), optional 6th leading seconds field
- **Supports:** * , - / ranges and steps, JAN–DEC, SUN–SAT, L, W, #, ? and @yearly, @monthly, @weekly, @daily, @hourly
- **Time zones:** Your browser's zone, UTC, or any IANA zone such as Europe/Berlin

## Questions

### What does */15 mean?

Every 15th value of that field, starting from the first. In the minute field, */15 runs at :00, :15, :30 and :45.

### If I set both day-of-month and day-of-week, which wins?

Standard cron runs when either matches. 0 9 1 * MON fires on the 1st of the month and on every Monday. This tool follows that rule, so the next-run list shows both.

### Does this work for GitHub Actions and Kubernetes CronJobs?

Yes, both use the standard 5-field syntax and evaluate it in UTC. Switch the zone to UTC to see the times they will actually run. AWS EventBridge uses a different 6-field format with a year field.

### What do @daily, @hourly and the other macros mean?

@yearly is 0 0 1 1 *, @monthly is 0 0 1 * *, @weekly is 0 0 * * 0, @daily is 0 0 * * * and @hourly is 0 * * * *. @reboot runs once at startup and has no schedule, so it cannot be previewed.

### What are some common cron expressions?

Every 5 minutes: */5 * * * *. Weekdays at 9:00: 0 9 * * 1-5. Every Sunday at 03:30: 30 3 * * 0. First day of each month at midnight: 0 0 1 * *. Every 6 hours: 0 */6 * * *.

### Is my expression sent anywhere?

No. Parsing and the schedule preview run in the page.

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