Cron Job Parser
Convert cron job expressions into readable text. Understand your scheduled tasks with our free cron parser.
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Cron Expression Format
A cron expression is a 5-field string that defines when a scheduled task runs. Fields are separated by spaces and represent: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week.
Field Order
- Field 1 — Minute (0–59)
- Field 2 — Hour (0–23)
- Field 3 — Day of month (1–31)
- Field 4 — Month (1–12 or JAN–DEC)
- Field 5 — Day of week (0–6, 0=Sunday, or SUN–SAT)
Special Characters
*— any value ("every"),— list of values (1,3,5)-— range of values (1-5)/— step values (*/5= every 5 units)
Common Expressions
0 * * * *— every hour at :000 9 * * 1-5— weekdays at 9am*/15 * * * *— every 15 minutes0 0 1 * *— midnight on the 1st of each month
What is a 6-field cron expression?
Some systems (like AWS CloudWatch Events, Quartz Scheduler, and Spring) add a 6th field for seconds at the beginning, making the order: second, minute, hour, day, month, weekday. Standard Unix cron uses 5 fields with minute as the finest resolution.
What does @reboot mean in cron?
@reboot is a non-standard shorthand supported by Vixie cron (used on Linux). It runs the job once when the system starts up. Other shortcuts include @hourly, @daily, @weekly, and @monthly.
How do I run a cron job every 5 minutes?
Use the step syntax: */5 * * * *. The */5 in the minute field means "every 5th minute starting from 0" — so it runs at :00, :05, :10, :15, etc. To run every 5 minutes starting from a specific offset, use a list: 2,7,12,17,...