Cron Expression Explainer
Guide: How to Read a Cron Expression (With Examples)
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How to use
- 1Type a cron expression, or click a preset such as "Weekdays at 9:00".
- 2Read the plain-English description.
- 3Check the five fields to see what each one means.
- 4Look at the next run times, in UTC or your own time zone.
Frequently asked questions
What are the five cron fields?
Minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week, in that order. A star means "every", a slash sets a step (*/15 is every 15), a dash is a range and a comma is a list.
What happens when both day fields are set?
Standard cron runs the job when either the day of month or the day of week matches, not only when both do. The explanation points this out.
Does it support seconds, Quartz or special characters?
It supports the standard five-field format plus @hourly, @daily, @weekly, @monthly and @yearly. Six-field formats with seconds, and Quartz extras such as L, W and #, aren't supported.
Which time zone do cron jobs use?
The server's time zone, which is often UTC. Check yours, and use the UTC and My time zone switch to see both.
Read the guides
Learn how this works and how to get the most from it.
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