Cron Expression Generator
Build and understand cron schedule expressions with presets and a plain-English description.
ToolsSoup's Cron Expression Generator is a free online tool that builds standard 5-field cron expressions and explains them in plain English, right in your browser. Pick a ready-made schedule preset or edit the minute, hour, day, month, and weekday fields by hand, then copy the result for crontab, Linux jobs, CI pipelines, or any scheduler — no uploads, no sign-up, and nothing ever leaves your device.
What is a cron expression?
A cron expression is a compact string of five fields — minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week — that tells a scheduler when to run a job. Each field accepts a single value, a list (1,3,5), a range (1-5), a step (*/15), or an asterisk (*) meaning every value. For example, 0 9 * * 1-5 runs at 09:00 every weekday. Cron is the backbone of scheduled tasks on Unix and Linux servers, and the same syntax is used by tools like Kubernetes CronJobs, GitHub Actions, and many CI/CD platforms.
How to build a cron expression online
Generating a cron schedule with ToolsSoup takes just a few seconds:
- Choose a schedule preset such as Every 5 minutes, Every day, or Every week to fill the fields automatically.
- Fine-tune any field — minute, hour, day of month, month, or day of week — using numbers, ranges, lists, or steps.
- Read the plain-English description to confirm the timing, then copy the cron expression with one click.
Understanding the five cron fields
Reading left to right, the fields are minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-6, where 0 and 7 both mean Sunday). An asterisk matches every value, a slash defines a step like */10 for every ten units, a hyphen sets a range, and a comma lists specific values. The job runs whenever the current time matches all the fields, so 30 2 1 * * fires at 02:30 on the first day of every month.
Why use this cron expression generator?
- 100% free with no ads, sign-up, or usage limits.
- One-click presets for the most common schedules.
- Live plain-English description so you always know what the expression does.
- Validates every field and flags out-of-range or malformed values.
- Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded to a server.
- Copy the expression with a single click for crontab or any scheduler.
Frequently asked questions
Is this cron generator free?
Yes. Every tool on ToolsSoup is completely free to use, with no account, sign-up, or hidden limits.
What do the five cron fields mean?
From left to right they are minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-6). The job runs when the current time matches all five fields.
What special characters can I use in a cron expression?
You can use an asterisk (*) for every value, a hyphen for a range (1-5), a comma for a list (1,3,5), and a slash for a step (*/15). This generator validates each of these as you type.
Does 0 and 7 both mean Sunday in the day-of-week field?
Yes. In standard cron the day-of-week field runs 0-6 from Sunday to Saturday, and 7 is also accepted as Sunday for compatibility with some systems.
Is my data safe?
Absolutely. The expression is built locally in your browser using JavaScript, so nothing you enter is ever sent to or stored on any server.
Does this support seconds or the special @daily syntax?
This generator produces classic five-field cron expressions used by standard crontab. It does not add a seconds field or named macros like @daily, but the equivalent presets (such as Every day at midnight) cover those cases.