What are the 5 fields in a cron expression?

In order: Minute (0–59), Hour (0–23), Day of month (1–31), Month (1–12), and Day of week (0–6, Sunday = 0). An asterisk (*) means 'every value'. For example, '0 9 * * 1-5' runs at 9:00 AM every weekday.

What does */5 mean in a cron expression?

The step syntax */N means 'every N units'. So */5 in the minute field means every 5 minutes (0, 5, 10, 15 ...). In the hour field, */2 means every 2 hours.

Is this compatible with GitHub Actions schedules?

Yes. GitHub Actions uses standard 5-field cron syntax under the 'schedule' trigger. Note that GitHub Actions runs in UTC, so account for timezone offset when setting your schedule.

Can I use this for Kubernetes CronJob?

Yes. Kubernetes CronJob spec.schedule accepts standard 5-field cron expressions. The expressions generated here are fully compatible.

What is the minimum cron interval?

Standard cron has a resolution of one minute — the smallest field is Minute. For sub-minute scheduling you need a different tool, such as a task queue or sleep loop in your application.

Does this support 6-field cron with seconds?

Currently the generator targets the standard 5-field format used by most schedulers. Some platforms (e.g. Spring, Quartz) use a 6-field format with a leading Seconds field — you can prepend '0' to the generated expression for those.

Cron Expression Generator — Cron Syntax Builder & Translator

Build Cron Expressions Visually, Right in Your Browser

Cron expressions are a compact notation for scheduling recurring tasks, but they're notoriously hard to read and write. Zolkit's Cron Generator lets you build any schedule using a visual editor and translates the resulting expression into plain English — no memorizing field order required.

Visual Builder

Pick modes (every, specific value, range, step) for each of the five cron fields. The expression updates in real time as you configure each field.

Instant Translation

The generated expression is translated to human-readable English so you can verify your schedule at a glance before copying it.

Standard 5-Field Syntax

Generates standard cron expressions compatible with crontab, GitHub Actions, Kubernetes CronJob, AWS EventBridge, and most Unix schedulers.

Quick Presets

One-click presets for the most common schedules: every minute, hourly, daily midnight, daily noon, weekly, monthly, and weekdays at 9 AM.

100% Private

Everything runs in your browser. No expression data is sent to any server.

Free Forever

No account, no rate limits, no paywalls. Cron expression building is free.

How to Generate a Cron Expression

1
Choose a preset for common schedules like hourly or daily, or start from scratch with the visual builder.
2
Adjust the Minute, Hour, Day, Month, and Weekday fields by selecting a mode (Every, Specific, Range, or Step) and entering values.
3
Copy the finished expression from the top bar and paste it into your crontab, CI config, or scheduler.

Cron Generator