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HQ8T

Cron Expression Explainer

Cron schedules in plain English with next runs.

At 09:00 AM, Monday through Friday
0
Minute
9
Hour
*
Day of month
*
Month
1-5
Day of week

Format: minute (0–59) · hour (0–23) · day of month (1–31) · month (1–12 or JAN–DEC) · day of week (0–6 or SUN–SAT). Use * for any, , for lists, - for ranges and / for steps.

How to use

  1. 1Type a cron expression like 0 9 * * 1-5, or pick a preset.
  2. 2Read what it means in plain English.
  3. 3Check the next run times in your time zone.
  4. 4Copy the expression into your crontab or scheduler.

Frequently asked questions

What do the 5 parts of a cron expression mean?

Minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week, in that order. * means “every”.

How do I run a job every 15 minutes?

Use */15 * * * *. The /15 means every 15th minute starting at 0.

What if both day of month and day of week are set?

Standard cron runs the job when either matches. For example 0 0 1 * MON runs on the 1st and on every Monday.

Which time zone are the next runs in?

Your device's time zone. Servers often run cron in UTC, so the real run time may differ.

Are @daily and @hourly supported?

Yes: @yearly, @monthly, @weekly, @daily and @hourly are understood.

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