Cron Job Checker & Decoder

Enter a cron expression to predict, check, and decode your cron schedule — see the next 10 execution times instantly.

    Understanding Cron Expressions

    Cron is a time-based job scheduler found in Unix-like operating systems (Linux, macOS). A cron expression defines when a scheduled task should run, using a compact five-field format: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. Despite its simplicity, cron syntax is a common source of configuration errors that can cause jobs to run at unintended times, sometimes with costly consequences.

    Our cron job checker and decoder eliminates this risk. It decodes any cron expression into plain English so you can check whether the schedule matches your intent, then predicts the next 10 execution times so you can verify before deploying. No more guessing — just paste your expression, and instantly see what it means and when it runs.

    Cron Field Reference

    • Minute (0-59) — The minute of the hour when the job runs.
    • Hour (0-23) — The hour of the day in 24-hour format.
    • Day of Month (1-31) — The calendar day.
    • Month (1-12) — The month of the year.
    • Day of Week (0-7, where 0 and 7 are Sunday) — The day of the week.

    Special Characters

    • * — Matches every possible value for that field ("every minute", "every hour", etc.).
    • , — Specifies a list of values. 1,3,5 in the weekday field means Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
    • - — Defines a range. 9-17 in the hour field means every hour from 9 AM to 5 PM.
    • / — Defines a step. */15 in the minute field means every 15 minutes.

    Common Cron Recipes

    • 0 * * * * — Every hour on the hour
    • */15 * * * * — Every 15 minutes
    • 0 9 * * 1-5 — Weekdays at 9:00 AM
    • 0 0 1 * * — First day of every month at midnight
    • 0 2 * * 0 — Every Sunday at 2:00 AM
    • 30 4 1,15 * * — 1st and 15th of every month at 4:30 AM
    Common Mistake: Mixing up the day-of-month and day-of-week fields is the most frequent cron error. Remember the order: minute, hour, day, month, weekday. When both day-of-month and day-of-week are set (not *), most cron implementations run the job when either condition is met, not when both are met simultaneously.
    Disclaimer: This tool uses standard 5-field cron format. Results may vary by cron implementation (cronie, fcron, systemd timers), timezone configuration, and DST transitions. Predictions use your browser's local time. Always verify schedule behavior in your production environment.

    Related Tools

    ⚙ GitHub Actions Cron 🌐 Cron Timezone Converter ☁ AWS EventBridge Cron