Question 1

What is a cron expression?

Accepted Answer

A cron expression is a string of 5 fields (minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week) that defines a schedule for running recurring tasks. For example, '0 9 * * 1-5' means 'every weekday at 9:00 AM'.

Question 2

How do I use the cron generator?

Accepted Answer

Set values for each field (minute, hour, day of month, month, day of week) or click a preset. The tool shows the full expression, a human-readable explanation, and the next 5 run times.

Question 3

What does * mean in cron?

Accepted Answer

The asterisk (*) means 'every' — it matches all possible values for that field. For example, * in the hour field means 'every hour'.

Question 4

What does */N mean?

Accepted Answer

The */N syntax means 'every N units'. For example, */5 in the minute field means 'every 5 minutes' (0, 5, 10, 15, ...).

Question 5

Are the next run times accurate?

Accepted Answer

The next run times are calculated based on your local system time and are meant as a preview. Actual run times depend on the system running your cron job and its timezone settings.

Cron Job Builder

Cron Job Builder