What is a cron expression?

A cron expression is a string of five fields (minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week) that defines a schedule for recurring tasks in Unix/Linux systems.

What does * mean in cron?

The asterisk (*) means 'every'. For example, * in the minute field means 'every minute'. */5 means 'every 5 minutes'. You can also use ranges (1-5) and lists (1,3,5).

How do I run a job every 5 minutes?

Use the expression */5 * * * * which means 'every 5th minute of every hour of every day'. You can select this from our presets for quick setup.

What is the format of a cron expression?

The standard format is: minute (0-59) hour (0-23) day-of-month (1-31) month (1-12) day-of-week (0-6, where 0=Sunday). Special characters: * (any), / (step), - (range), , (list).

Can I see when my cron job will run next?

Yes! Our tool calculates and displays the next 5 run times for any cron expression, so you can verify your schedule before deploying it.

📅

Crontab Generator

Generate and parse cron expressions with visual builder

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Presets

Minute0-59

Hour0-23

Day of Month1-31

Month1-12

Day of Week0-6 (Sun=0)

Cron Expression

* * * * *

Every minute

Next 5 Run Times

#16/21/2026, 7:51:00 AM

#26/21/2026, 7:52:00 AM

#36/21/2026, 7:53:00 AM

#46/21/2026, 7:54:00 AM

#56/21/2026, 7:55:00 AM

How It Works

Set Fields

Configure each field or use a preset schedule

Review Expression

See the generated cron expression and its description

Verify Schedule

Check the next 5 run times to confirm your schedule

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Last updated: Feb 27, 2026