What is the difference between 5-field and 6-field cron?

Standard cron uses 5 fields (minute hour dom month dow). Some systems add a sixth field for seconds (at the start) or year (at the end). Quartz cron uses 6-7 fields. Check your target system's format before generating.

Why does my cron run at the wrong time?

Cron runs in the server's timezone (usually UTC for cloud platforms). '0 9 * * *' means 9:00 server time, not your local time. Either adjust the expression for your timezone offset or set TZ in the crontab/environment.

TASK

Parse a cron expression and explain its schedule in plain English

Decode a cron expression (e.g. '0 9 * * 1-5') into a human-readable schedule, and generate cron expressions from natural language.

1

Cron expressions are compact but cryptic: five fields (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week) encode complex schedules. Parsing them into plain English prevents scheduling mistakes; generating them from description avoids syntax errors.
2

Cron Expression Parser →
Paste a cron expression (e.g. '*/15 9-17 * * 1-5'). The tool explains it in plain English ('At every 15th minute past the hour, between 09:00 and 17:00, Monday through Friday') and lists the next few execution times.
3

Cron Expression Generator →
Describe the schedule in words or pick common patterns (daily at 9am, every weekday, first of month). The tool emits the correct cron expression.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between 5-field and 6-field cron?: Standard cron uses 5 fields (minute hour dom month dow). Some systems add a sixth field for seconds (at the start) or year (at the end). Quartz cron uses 6-7 fields. Check your target system's format before generating.
Why does my cron run at the wrong time?: Cron runs in the server's timezone (usually UTC for cloud platforms). '0 9 * * *' means 9:00 server time, not your local time. Either adjust the expression for your timezone offset or set TZ in the crontab/environment.