Cron Generator

How to Use the Cron Generator

Use the visual builder to select values for each cron field, or choose from common presets. The generator will show you a human-readable explanation of your schedule and let you copy it in various formats for different platforms.

Supported Export Formats

• Standard Cron - The basic 5-field cron expression
• Linux Crontab - Full crontab line with command placeholder
• AWS CloudWatch - AWS EventBridge/CloudWatch Events format
• GitHub Actions - Workflow schedule YAML syntax
• Kubernetes CronJob - Complete CronJob manifest template
• Node.js - node-cron package code snippet
• Python - APScheduler library code snippet

Useful with the Unix Timestamp Converter for scheduling verification and the YAML ↔ JSON Converter for config files.

Understanding Cron Expressions

A cron expression consists of 5 fields that define when a task should run:

┌───────────── minute (0-59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0-23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1-31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1-12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0-6, Sunday=0)
│ │ │ │ │
* * * * *

Special Characters

• * - Any value (wildcard)
• */n - Every n units (e.g., */5 = every 5 minutes)
• n,m - Specific values (e.g., 1,15 = 1st and 15th)
• n-m - Range of values (e.g., 1-5 = Monday to Friday)

Common Cron Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between standard cron and AWS cron?

AWS CloudWatch/EventBridge uses a 6-field format with an additional year field and uses '?' instead of '*' for day-of-week when day-of-month is specified (and vice versa). Our generator handles this conversion automatically.

Is my cron expression valid?

The generator validates your expression in real-time and shows a human-readable description. If there's an error, you'll see an error message explaining the issue.

How do I test my cron schedule?

The "Next Scheduled Runs" section shows when your cron job will execute next, helping you verify the schedule is correct before deploying.