# Cron Expression Parser

> Parse a 5-field cron expression and see when it will next fire, with a plain-English explanation.

URL: https://uttir.com/cron-parser
Categories: developer-tools, date-time-tools
Privacy: Parsing runs locally in your browser. No expression is sent to a server.

## About

A cron expression is a compact way to describe a recurring schedule. The classic format has five fields: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. Each field can be a wildcard (*), a single value, a list (1,15,30), a range (9-17), or a step (*/15, 9-17/2).

Paste any cron expression and the tool breaks it down field by field, shows you the next five times it will fire (in UTC), and gives you a plain-English summary so you can sanity-check what you wrote.

## How to use

1. **Paste a cron expression** — Five space-separated fields. Wildcards, lists, ranges, and steps are all supported.
2. **Read the breakdown** — Each field shows its raw value, allowed range, and matched values.
3. **Check the next runs** — Use the UTC time list to confirm the schedule fires when you expect.

## Examples

### Every 15 minutes

A very common heartbeat schedule.

Output:

```
*/15 * * * *
```

### Weekday mornings at 9:00

Monday through Friday, 9 AM sharp.

Output:

```
0 9 * * 1-5
```

### First of the month, midnight

Classic monthly job schedule.

Output:

```
0 0 1 * *
```

## FAQ

### Do you support seconds or year fields (6- or 7-field cron)?

Not yet. This tool targets the classic 5-field POSIX cron used by crontab, GitHub Actions scheduled events, and most CI systems. Extended formats (Quartz-style) are not supported.

### Why are next-run times in UTC?

Cron itself does not carry time zone information — it fires whenever the host clock matches the pattern. We display the next runs in UTC so the result is unambiguous regardless of where you are.

### What does "*" mean in a cron expression?

Every value. In the minute field, "*" means every minute. In the hour field, "*" means every hour. To restrict to specific values, replace "*" with a number (e.g. "5"), a list ("1,3,5"), a range ("1-5"), or a step ("*/15" = every 15).

## Related tools

- [Unix Timestamp Converter](https://uttir.com/unix-timestamp-converter) — Convert Unix timestamps to readable dates and back, with a live current-time readout.
- [Regex Tester](https://uttir.com/regex-tester) — Test and debug regular expressions with live matches, capture groups, and highlighted results.
- [JSON Formatter](https://uttir.com/json-formatter) — Format, beautify, and validate JSON with adjustable indentation — instantly in your browser.

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For the full HTML page with the live tool, visit https://uttir.com/cron-parser.
This file is the markdown rendering at https://uttir.com/cron-parser.md. See https://uttir.com/llms.txt for a site-wide summary.