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The cron parser helps you understand and validate cron expressions. It converts cron syntax into plain English and shows when jobs will run next.

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Features

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Human-readable descriptions

Convert cron expressions to natural language:
  • Verbose, easy-to-understand descriptions
  • 24-hour time format
  • Clear explanation of when jobs run
  • Powered by the cronstrue library
The parser uses cronstrue to generate human-readable descriptions from cron syntax.

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Next occurrences

See the next 5 times a cron job will run:
  • Real-time calculation from current date
  • Local timezone display
  • Useful for verifying job schedules
  • Preview upcoming executions

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Visual field breakdown

Color-coded field display:
  • Minute (0-59) - Sky blue
  • Hour (0-23) - Emerald green
  • Day of month (1-31) - Amber
  • Month (1-12) - Purple
  • Day of week (0-6) - Rose

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Syntax validation

Validate cron expression format:
  • 5-field or 6-field cron expressions
  • Error messages for invalid syntax
  • Real-time validation as you type
  • Support for standard cron syntax

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Cron syntax

Cron expressions consist of 5 fields: 
* * * * *
│ │ │ │ │
│ │ │ │ └─── Day of week (0-6) (Sunday=0)
│ │ │ └────── Month (1-12)
│ │ └───────── Day of month (1-31)
│ └──────────── Hour (0-23)
└─────────────── Minute (0-59)
The parser supports both numeric values and named values (MON-SUN for days, JAN-DEC for months).

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Special characters

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Asterisk (*)

Matches any value: 
* * * * * - Every minute

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Comma (,)

List of values: 
0 9,12,15 * * * - At 9 AM, 12 PM, and 3 PM

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Hyphen (-)

Range of values: 
0 9-17 * * MON-FRI - Every hour from 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday

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Slash (/)

Step values: 
*/15 * * * * - Every 15 minutes
0 */2 * * * - Every 2 hours

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Common patterns

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Every minute

* * * * *

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Hourly

0 * * * *
Runs at the start of every hour.

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Daily at midnight

0 0 * * *

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Weekly on Sunday

0 0 * * 0
Runs at midnight every Sunday.

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Monthly on the 1st

0 0 1 * *
Runs at midnight on the first day of each month.

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Every 5 minutes

*/5 * * * *

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Business hours

0 9-17 * * MON-FRI
Runs every hour from 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday.

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Examples

The parser includes preset examples:

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Morning weekday schedule

0 9 * * MON-FRI
Description: At 9:00 AM, Monday through Friday

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Every 2 hours

0 */2 * * *
Description: Every 2 hours

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First of the month

0 0 1 * *
Description: At midnight on the first day of every month

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Every 15 minutes

*/15 * * * *
Description: Every 15 minutes

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Sunday evening

0 22 * * SUN
Description: At 10:00 PM on Sunday
Click “Examples” to load these expressions and see their next run times.

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Use cases

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Job scheduling

Verify cron schedules for automated jobs: 
0 2 * * * - Daily backup at 2 AM
*/30 * * * * - Health check every 30 minutes
0 0 * * 0 - Weekly report on Sundays

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CI/CD pipelines

Validate scheduled pipeline runs: 
0 9 * * MON-FRI - Build on weekday mornings
0 0 * * * - Nightly deployment

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Maintenance windows

Plan system maintenance schedules: 
0 3 1 * * - Monthly maintenance on 1st at 3 AM
0 2 * * 0 - Weekly maintenance on Sundays at 2 AM

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Data processing

Schedule ETL and data processing jobs: 
0 */4 * * * - Process data every 4 hours
0 1 * * * - Daily aggregation at 1 AM

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Named values

Use names instead of numbers for better readability:

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Day names

SUN, MON, TUE, WED, THU, FRI, SAT
Example: 0 9 * * MON-FRI

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Month names

JAN, FEB, MAR, APR, MAY, JUN, JUL, AUG, SEP, OCT, NOV, DEC
Example: 0 0 1 JAN,JUL * (January 1st and July 1st)

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Syntax guide panel

The right panel shows:
  • Format overview - Visual representation of 5 fields
  • Characters - Special characters and their meanings
  • Names - Day and month name support
  • Common patterns - Quick reference for frequent schedules

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Keyboard shortcuts

  • Cmd/Ctrl + Enter - Parse cron expression
  • Cmd/Ctrl + K - Clear input
  • Cmd/Ctrl + C - Copy human-readable description

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Tips

Use the next 5 occurrences to verify your cron expression runs at the expected times.
Name-based expressions (MON-FRI) are more readable than numeric equivalents (1-5).
The visual field breakdown helps you understand which part of the expression controls what.

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Validation errors

Common error messages:

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Invalid field count

“Cron expression must have 5 or 6 fields” Ensure your expression has the correct number of space-separated fields.

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Invalid range

Values must be within valid ranges for each field:
  • Minute: 0-59
  • Hour: 0-23
  • Day: 1-31
  • Month: 1-12
  • Day of week: 0-6

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No matching times

“No matching times found in the next 4 years” The expression may specify an impossible date combination.

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