Why Use This Cron Generator?
Remembering cron syntax is a waste of brain space. Whether you're setting up a GitHub Action schedule, a Kubernetes CronJob, or a simple Linux crontab, one misplaced asterisk can mean the difference between "runs every hour" and "runs every minute forever." This tool shows you exactly when your schedule will fire, in plain English, before you deploy it.
5-Field Cron Syntax
| Field | Values | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0-59 | */15 (every 15 min), 0 (on the hour), 30 (half past) |
| Hour | 0-23 | 9 (9 AM), */2 (every 2 hours), 0,12 (midnight and noon) |
| Day of month | 1-31 | 1 (1st), 15 (15th), L (last day) |
| Month | 1-12 | 1 (Jan), */3 (quarterly), 6,12 (mid-year + end) |
| Day of week | 0-6 (Sun-Sat) | 1-5 (weekdays), 0,6 (weekends), 5 (Friday) |
Common Cron Patterns
- Every hour:
0 * * * *— Runs at minute 0 of every hour. - Daily at midnight:
0 0 * * *— Runs at 12:00 AM every day. - Every Monday at 9 AM:
0 9 * * 1— Weekly report generation. - Every 15 minutes:
*/15 * * * *— Frequent health checks or polling. - First day of month at 2 AM:
0 2 1 * *— Monthly billing or report generation. - Weekdays at 9 AM:
0 9 * * 1-5— Business-hours only jobs.
Where Cron Expressions Are Used
- GitHub Actions: Schedule workflows with the
scheduletrigger. - Kubernetes CronJobs: Automate pod execution on a repeating schedule.
- Linux crontab: System maintenance, backups, log rotation, and custom scripts.
- Vercel Cron Jobs: Serverless scheduled functions for Next.js and SvelteKit apps.
- AWS CloudWatch Events: Trigger Lambda functions or Step Functions on a schedule.
- CI/CD pipelines: Nightly builds, dependency updates, security scans.