Cron Expression Builder
Explain any cron schedule in plain English and preview the next runs.
Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
At 09:00 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
Next runs (your local time)
- 10/8/2026, 9:00:00 AM
- 10/9/2026, 9:00:00 AM
- 10/12/2026, 9:00:00 AM
- 10/13/2026, 9:00:00 AM
- 10/14/2026, 9:00:00 AM
About the Cron Expression Builder
The Freemium.Tools cron builder explains any cron expression in plain English and shows the next run times, or helps you build a schedule field by field.
Cron syntax packs a whole schedule into five fields — minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week — which is compact but easy to misread. A one-character mistake can turn a nightly job into a job that runs every minute.
Seeing the schedule described in words, plus the actual next run times in your own timezone, removes the guesswork before you commit it to a server or a CI pipeline.
How to use it
- 1Paste or build. Paste an expression, edit a single field, or start from a preset.
- 2Read the description. The schedule is explained in plain English.
- 3Check the next runs. Confirm the upcoming times look right, then copy the expression.
Frequently asked questions
What do the five cron fields mean?
In order: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12) and day of week (0-6, Sunday is 0).
What does */5 mean?
It is a step value: run every 5 units of that field. In the minute field, */5 means every five minutes.
What happens if I set both day of month and day of week?
Standard cron treats them as OR, so the job runs when either matches. That surprises people expecting both conditions to apply.
Which timezone do the next run times use?
Your device timezone. Servers usually run cron in UTC, so check the server setting before relying on the times.
Does @daily work?
Yes. The common shortcuts @hourly, @daily, @weekly, @monthly and @yearly are expanded automatically.