Cron Explainer
Read a cron expression in plain English and preview when it will next run.
At 09:00 AM, Monday through Friday
Next 8 runs
- Jul 30, 2026, 9:00:00 AM
- Jul 31, 2026, 9:00:00 AM
- Aug 3, 2026, 9:00:00 AM
- Aug 4, 2026, 9:00:00 AM
- Aug 5, 2026, 9:00:00 AM
- Aug 6, 2026, 9:00:00 AM
- Aug 7, 2026, 9:00:00 AM
- Aug 10, 2026, 9:00:00 AM
Times are computed in your browser, interpreting the fields in the selected time zone.
About the Cron Explainer
Cron expressions are compact but cryptic — five or six fields of numbers, asterisks and slashes that few people can read fluently. Paste one here and it is translated into a plain-English sentence, so you can confirm at a glance that "0 9 * * 1-5" really does mean nine in the morning on weekdays and not something else.
It also lists the next several times the schedule will fire, calculated from right now, so you can sanity-check the timing before you commit it to a server. A local and UTC toggle shows those upcoming runs in whichever zone matters for your deployment.
How to use it
- Paste or type a cron expression, or pick one of the example presets.
- Read the plain-English description of what it means.
- Review the list of upcoming run times.
- Switch between local time and UTC to match your server, and refresh to re-anchor the next runs to the current moment.
Good to know
- Plain-English description of any standard cron expression.
- A preview of the next scheduled run times.
- Local and UTC display, so the times match your deployment.
- Runs in your browser with no account needed.
Frequently asked questions
What do the five fields in a cron expression mean?
From left to right they are minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week. An asterisk means every value, a slash sets a step (every N), a dash sets a range, and a comma lists specific values.
Does it support seconds?
It handles the common five-field format and also reads a six-field form where the leading field is seconds, describing whichever it is given and previewing the resulting run times.
Why are the next run times important?
Reading the description tells you the intent, but seeing the actual upcoming timestamps catches mistakes — like a schedule that fires far more or less often than you expected — before it reaches production.
Local time or UTC — which should I use?
Most servers run cron in UTC, so if your job runs on a server, preview in UTC. Use local time when you are reasoning about when the job lands in your own day.