How to use the Cron Generator
1. Select a preset or enter values for each cron field (minute, hour, day, month, weekday).
2. The generated cron expression appears instantly with the next 5 scheduled run times.
3. Use * for "every", */n for "every n", and ranges like 1-5 for weekdays.
What is it?
Cron is a time-based job scheduler in Unix-like systems. A cron expression consists of 5 fields: minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. Each field accepts specific values, wildcards (*), ranges (1-5), steps (*/5), and lists (1,3,5).
Cron jobs are used for database backups, report generation, cache clearing, health checks, and any recurring automated task. Most cloud platforms (AWS CloudWatch Events, GitHub Actions, Kubernetes CronJobs) use the same cron syntax.
Example
Minute: 30 · Hour: 2 · Day: * · Month: * · Weekday: 1-5
30 2 * * 1-5 Description: At 02:30 on every day-of-week from Monday through Friday.
Common patterns: 0 * * * * (hourly), 0 0 * * * (daily midnight), 0 0 * * 1 (every Monday).
Benefits
Build cron expressions by selecting schedule options — no syntax memorisation
Choose frequency, time, day of week, and day of month using controls; the correct cron expression is generated automatically.
Preview the next 10 run times before deploying your schedule
Confirm your cron fires at exactly the intended times — daily at 9 AM, every 15 minutes, first Monday of the month — before committing.
Generate expressions compatible with Linux, AWS EventBridge, and Kubernetes CronJobs
Slight syntax differences between platforms are handled — output is appropriate for your target scheduling system.
Verify complex schedules fire at the right intervals
Monthly, quarterly, and multi-step schedules are easy to get wrong — see the computed run times before trusting the expression.
Frequently asked questions
What does * mean in cron?
* means 'every possible value'. In the minute field, * means every minute. In the hour field, it means every hour, etc.
What is */5 in cron?
The step syntax */n means 'every nth value'. */5 in the minute field means every 5 minutes (0, 5, 10, 15, ...).
What is the difference between day-of-month and day-of-week?
Day-of-month (1-31) specifies calendar days. Day-of-week (0-6, 0=Sunday) specifies week days. If both are non-wildcard, the job runs when either condition is met.