Which cron format does this tool support?
It supports standard five-field Unix cron syntax: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week. Quartz six-field schedules with seconds are tracked as a future enhancement in the requirements pool.
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Cron Expression Parser
Parse Unix cron expressions into human-readable schedules, preview the next run times locally, and build expressions from minute/hour/day fields.
Valid
Showing 10 upcoming run time(s) in Browser local.
Schedule summary
Runs on weekdays at 09:00 (Browser local).
Standard Unix order: minute · hour · day-of-month · month · day-of-week (0 or 7 = Sunday).
Human-readable breakdown
- Minute0
At Minute 0
- Hour9
At Hour 9
- Day of month*
Every Day of month
- Month*
Every Month
- Day of week1-5
From Day of week 1 through 5
Cron Expressions Course
Learn Unix cron syntax: five fields, ranges and steps, timezone traps, platform differences, common job patterns, and a practical debugging workflow.
About this tool
DevCove Cron Expression Parser helps developers decode standard five-field Unix cron syntax without sending schedules to a server. Paste a crontab line such as 0 9 * * 1-5, read a field-by-field explanation, and preview upcoming run times in local, UTC, or Asia/Shanghai time. Use scenario-based generation for everyday jobs—every N minutes, weekdays at 09:00, monthly backups—and switch to advanced mode when you need raw field editing.
How to use this tool
Use this cron parser when you inherit a crontab line, debug a scheduler, or sanity-check automation timing:
- Paste a five-field Unix cron expression in minute hour day month weekday order.
- Select the preview timezone that matches your server, CI, or cluster environment.
- Read the schedule summary and field-by-field breakdown before deploying.
- Switch to Generate → Scenario for everyday jobs such as weekdays at 09:00 or every 15 minutes.
- Use platform presets for Linux log rotation, K8s checks, GitHub Actions, or monthly backups.
- Open Advanced mode only when you need raw field editing for complex expressions.
- Copy the final expression into crontab files, CI configs, or runbooks.
Features
Built for standard Unix cron debugging rather than every vendor dialect:
- Parse five-field Unix cron syntax with *, lists, ranges, and steps.
- Scenario-based generator for minutes, hours, daily, weekday, weekly, and monthly jobs.
- Platform presets for Linux, Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, and database maintenance.
- Explicit timezone preview: browser local, UTC, or Asia/Shanghai.
- One-line business schedule summary plus detailed field breakdown.
- Preview upcoming run times with day-of-month/day-of-week OR note when applicable.
- Advanced raw-field editor for power users.
- 100% client-side parsing—expressions are not uploaded.
- Links to the Timestamp Converter for epoch conversion workflows.
FAQ
How are time zones handled?
Choose browser local, UTC, or Asia/Shanghai before reading next run times. GitHub Actions cron always runs in UTC; Linux servers may use local time or UTC depending on configuration.
What happens when both day-of-month and day-of-week are set?
Many Unix crontab implementations treat the two fields with OR logic when both are restricted. DevCove follows that common behavior and shows a note when it applies.
Can I generate a cron expression without memorizing field syntax?
Yes. Use Generate → Scenario to pick a business pattern such as weekdays at 09:00 or every 15 minutes. Advanced mode remains available for raw field editing.
Is my cron expression uploaded?
No. Parsing and schedule preview run entirely in your browser.