What Does This Cron Expression Mean?
Paste any cron expression below — get an instant plain-English explanation, next execution times, and validation against common platforms.
At 09:00 AM, Monday through Friday
Valid
- 1Thu, Apr 9, 2026, 9:00 AM
- 2Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 9:00 AM
- 3Mon, Apr 13, 2026, 9:00 AM
- 4Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 9:00 AM
- 5Wed, Apr 15, 2026, 9:00 AM
- 6Thu, Apr 16, 2026, 9:00 AM
- 7Fri, Apr 17, 2026, 9:00 AM
- 8Mon, Apr 20, 2026, 9:00 AM
- 9Tue, Apr 21, 2026, 9:00 AM
- 10Wed, Apr 22, 2026, 9:00 AM
Quick Reading Guide
1st Minute 0–59
*/5 = every 5 min 2nd Hour 0–23
9 = 9 AM 3rd Day 1–31
1 = 1st of month 4th Month 1–12
*/3 = quarterly 5th Weekday 0–6
1-5 = Mon-Fri Understanding Cron Syntax
How do I read a cron expression?
Read from left to right:
minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week. Example: 30 14 * * 1 = "at 2:30 PM every Monday." Paste any expression above and CronMaker translates it instantly.What does a <code>*</code> mean in a cron expression?
An asterisk (
*) means "every valid value" for that field. In the hour field it means "every hour." In the month field it means "every month." * * * * * means every minute.What does <code>/</code> mean in cron?
The slash defines a step value.
*/15 in the minute field means "every 15 minutes" — i.e. at :00, :15, :30, :45. 1-6/2 means "every 2nd value starting from 1": 1, 3, 5.What does <code>?</code> mean in Quartz cron?
In Quartz (6-field) cron,
? means "no specific value" for day-of-month or day-of-week, used when you specify the other. For example: 0 0 12 15 * ? fires at noon on the 15th regardless of day-of-week.What does <code>L</code> mean in cron?
L is a Quartz special character meaning "last." In the day-of-month field, L means the last day of the month. In day-of-week, 5L means the last Friday of the month.