Question 1

What is a cron expression?

Accepted Answer

A cron expression is a time-based job scheduler format used in Unix-like systems. It consists of five fields: minute, hour, day-of-month, month, and day-of-week.

Question 2

How do I read a cron expression?

Accepted Answer

Read from left to right: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day-of-month (1-31), month (1-12), day-of-week (0-7). For example, '0 9 * * 1-5' runs at 9:00 AM on weekdays.

Question 3

What do the special characters mean?

Accepted Answer

Common characters: * (any value), - (range like 1-5), , (list like 1,3,5), / (step values like */5), and L (last day of month). These create flexible scheduling patterns.

Question 4

How can I validate my cron expression?

Accepted Answer

Enter your expression in the tool above to see its human-readable translation. This helps verify the schedule matches your intended timing before implementation.

Cron Expression Generator

Generate and understand cron expressions (the human way)

📋 Common Examples