Cron expression generator
A cron expression has five fields: minute, hour, day of month, month and day of week. Together they describe a schedule, for example 0 9 * * 1-5 runs at 09:00 on weekdays.
Type a schedule in plain English, such as “every 5 minutes” or “first of the month at noon”, or paste an expression. Zest explains it and lists the next five run times in your time zone.
Cron expression
0 9 * * 1-5At 09:00, on weekdays (Monday through Friday)| Minute | Hour | Day of month | Month | Day of week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 9 | * | * | 1-5 |
Next runs
- Thu, Oct 29, 2026, 09:00 AM · in 13 hours
- Fri, Oct 30, 2026, 09:00 AM · in 2 days
- Mon, Nov 2, 2026, 09:00 AM · in 5 days
- Tue, Nov 3, 2026, 09:00 AM · in 6 days
- Wed, Nov 4, 2026, 09:00 AM · in 7 days
How to use it
- Describe the schedule or paste an expression.
- Check the plain-English reading.
- Verify the next run times, then copy the expression into your crontab.
This tool is also built into Zest search, so you can type your question into the search box and get the same answer above the results.
Common questions
- What does */5 * * * * mean?
- Run every five minutes. The slash is a step: */5 in the minute field means 0, 5, 10 and so on.
- What time zone does cron use?
- The server's, which is often UTC. Zest shows run times in your own time zone, so convert if your server differs.
- How do I run something at midnight every day?
- Use 0 0 * * *. That is minute 0 of hour 0, every day, every month, every weekday.