What does "0 9 * * 1-5" mean in plain English?

It means "At 09:00 (9am) every Monday through Friday." The fields are: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week.

What are the five fields of a standard cron expression?

The five fields are: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), and day of week (0–6, where 0 = Sunday). Some systems add a sixth field for seconds.

What does the asterisk (*) mean in cron?

An asterisk means "every" — it matches all valid values for that field. For example, * in the hour field means "every hour".

How do I schedule a job every 15 minutes?

Use "*/15 * * * *" — the */n syntax means "every n units." This runs at minutes 0, 15, 30, and 45 of every hour.

Outils de Développement

Analyser et expliquer les expressions cron dans un format lisible

Explicateur d'Expression Cron

Analyser et expliquer les expressions cron dans un format lisible

100% Hors LigneConfidentialitéTemps Réel

Explicateur d'Expression Cron

Format Cron

Expression Cron

Format : minute heure jour-du-mois mois jour-de-la-semaine

Référence des Champs Cron

Minute

0-59

Minute de l'heure

Heure

0-23

Heure du jour (format 24h)

Jour du Mois

1-31

Jour du mois

Mois

1-12

Mois de l'année

Jour de la Semaine

0-7

Jour de la semaine (0 et 7 = Dimanche)

Exemples Cron Courants

Learn more about Cron Expression Explainer

About Cron Expression Explainer

Enter any cron expression and get a clear, plain-English description of when it runs, plus the next several scheduled execution times. Supports 5-field standard cron and 6-field extended cron with seconds.

Key features

Converts any cron expression to plain English
Shows next 5 (or more) scheduled run times
Validates cron syntax and reports errors
Supports 5-field standard and 6-field (with seconds) cron
Quick presets for common schedules (every hour, daily, weekly)

How to use Cron Expression Explainer

1Enter a cron expression (e.g. "0 9 * * 1-5" for weekdays at 9am)
2The plain-English explanation is shown immediately
3View the next scheduled run times in your local timezone
4Use the presets to start from a common schedule

Frequently asked questions

What does "0 9 * * 1-5" mean in plain English?: It means "At 09:00 (9am) every Monday through Friday." The fields are: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week.
What are the five fields of a standard cron expression?: The five fields are: minute (0–59), hour (0–23), day of month (1–31), month (1–12), and day of week (0–6, where 0 = Sunday). Some systems add a sixth field for seconds.
What does the asterisk (*) mean in cron?: An asterisk means "every" — it matches all valid values for that field. For example, * in the hour field means "every hour".
How do I schedule a job every 15 minutes?: Use "*/15 * * * *" — the */n syntax means "every n units." This runs at minutes 0, 15, 30, and 45 of every hour.