Cron Explainer
Enter a 5-field cron expression and get a clear English explanation of when it fires, broken down field by field. Supports named shortcuts (@daily, @weekly, etc.) and validates each field's range. No external API — runs in your browser.
Break a common five-field or six-field cron expression into readable field-by-field explanations locally, with support for several familiar named shortcuts.
How to explain a cron expression
- Enter a five-field cron expression, a six-field expression with seconds, or a supported shortcut such as @daily.
- Let the tool validate the numeric ranges for each field.
- Read the explanation for seconds, minutes, hours, day of month, month, and day of week as applicable.
Supported syntax and scope
The explainer handles *, step forms, ranges, comma-separated values, range steps, and the shortcuts @yearly, @annually, @monthly, @weekly, @daily, @midnight, and @hourly.
Validation is intentionally simple and does not model every cron implementation, special token, calendar interaction, timezone, or scheduler-specific rule.
Privacy and limitations
Your cron text is interpreted entirely in the browser. Nothing is scheduled or executed, and the tool does not connect to a server, job runner, or system crontab.
Cron Explainer FAQ
Does it run the cron job?
No. It only explains the text.
Can it read six fields?
Yes. Six fields are treated as seconds plus the usual five fields.
Are named shortcuts supported?
Yes, for the shortcuts listed in the tool implementation.
Does it support every cron dialect?
No. Advanced or vendor-specific syntax may not be understood.
Is the expression uploaded?
No. It stays in the browser.