Cron Expression Generator
Generate cron expressions for scheduling tasks in Unix-like systems. Select your desired schedule and get a valid cron expression with human-readable description.
Cron expressions consist of 5 fields: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. Perfect for configuring scheduled jobs, backups, or automated tasks.
* * * * *
Every minute
Format: minute hour day month weekday
Examples: 0 */2 * * * (every 2 hours), 30 1 * * 0 (1:30 AM every Sunday)
Common Use Cases
Automated Backups
Schedule daily database backups at 2 AM with 0 2 * * *
CI/CD Pipelines
Run nightly builds or scheduled deployments in GitHub Actions or GitLab CI.
Report Generation
Generate weekly reports every Monday at 9 AM with 0 9 * * 1
Cache Cleanup
Clear temporary files hourly with 0 * * * *
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a cron expression?
A cron expression is a string of 5 fields that defines a schedule for running automated tasks.
The fields represent: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-6, where 0 is Sunday).
Use * for "every" and */n for "every n intervals".
Where can I use cron expressions?
Cron expressions are used in: Linux/Unix crontab, GitHub Actions (schedule),
AWS CloudWatch Events, Kubernetes CronJobs, CI/CD tools (Jenkins, GitLab CI), and many programming
language schedulers (Node.js node-cron, Python APScheduler).
What's the difference between 5 and 6-field cron?
Standard cron uses 5 fields (minute, hour, day, month, weekday). Some systems like Quartz or Spring add a 6th field for seconds at the beginning. This tool generates standard 5-field expressions compatible with Linux crontab and most scheduling systems.