Cron Explainer
Translate a 5-field cron expression into plain English. The explanation updates as you type.
Cron expression
Analyze
Explanation
Results update as you type.
Private by design
This conversion runs entirely in your browser. Your text is not sent to a server.
Tip
Use five fields: minute hour day-of-month month weekday. * means every. */15 means every 15.
How to inspect with Cron Explainer
Paste a URL, Unix timestamp, date, or 5-field cron expression.
The parsed parts update as you type — nothing is uploaded.
Use Analyze to open URL Parser, Timestamp Converter, or Cron Explainer.
Copy the parts you need. Invalid input shows an error instead of a result.
When should you use it?
URLs
Split a link into host, path, query, and hash without a debugger.
Time
Convert Unix seconds to ISO UTC, or a date string back to Unix.
Cron
Read a 5-field expression before you paste it into a scheduler.
Stays here
Links, timestamps, and expressions never leave this tab.
Your values stay private.
URL parsing, timestamp conversion, and cron explanations run entirely in your browser.
About reading cron expressions in the browser
Cron Explainer translates a 5-field expression (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week) into plain language as you type. Lists, ranges, steps, names like MON-FRI, and * are supported. ? is treated like * for day fields. Seconds (6-field) expressions are not supported — that is Quartz/Spring, not classic crontab. There is no Run button. Input is not persisted.
This page does not fire jobs and does not know your server’s timezone. Next-run estimates, if shown, are planning hints in this browser, not a guarantee from cron or systemd. Day-of-month and day-of-week together still follow the usual “or” confusion of Vixie cron — read the explanation instead of assuming AND. Use Cron Builder if you need to assemble fields from dropdowns instead of decoding a string you were given.
Related: Cron Builder to compose. Timestamp Converter for a single instant. Timer and Pomodoro if you needed a countdown in this tab, not a server schedule. Working Days Calculator is unrelated civil-day math.
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Cron Explainer examples
Weekday range
Inspect and convert
Cron Explainer FAQ
Paste a 5-field expression (minute hour day month weekday). The explanation updates as you type. Lists, ranges, steps, and names like MON-FRI work. Use Cron Builder if you need to assemble the fields instead.
No. Seconds fields are Quartz/Spring, not classic crontab. ? is treated like * for day fields. This page does not fire jobs and does not know your server timezone.
No. Decoding stays in this browser. Input is not persisted. Day-of-month and day-of-week together still follow Vixie cron’s usual “or” behavior — read the explanation.