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Every minute
AI Cron Generator
Claude
Describe your schedule in plain English and get the cron expression instantly with a human-readable explanation.
🔒 Your schedule stays in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
A cron expression is a string format used in Unix-like operating systems to schedule tasks (called "cron jobs") to run automatically at specified times or intervals. The name comes from "chronos," the Greek word for time. Cron expressions consist of 5 or 6 fields separated by spaces, each representing a different time unit.
Cron is essential for automating repetitive tasks like backups, log rotation, sending scheduled emails, running maintenance scripts, or triggering batch processes. Instead of manually running these tasks, you define a cron expression that tells the system exactly when to execute them.
This cron generator helps you create valid cron expressions either by using the visual builder or by describing your schedule in plain English. The AI-powered generator understands natural language like "every weekday at 9 AM" and converts it to the correct cron syntax.
| Field | Values | Special Characters |
|---|---|---|
| Minute | 0-59 | * , - / |
| Hour | 0-23 | * , - / |
| Day of Month | 1-31 | * , - / ? |
| Month | 1-12 or JAN-DEC | * , - / |
| Day of Week | 0-6 or SUN-SAT (0=Sunday) | * , - / ? |
0 * * * * - Runs at the start of every hour (00 minutes). Perfect for hourly data syncs or status checks.
0 0 * * * - Runs every day at 12:00 AM. Common for daily backups, reports, or cleanup tasks.
0 9 * * 1 - Runs every Monday at 9:00 AM. Useful for weekly reports or maintenance windows.
0 0 1 * * - Runs on the 1st of every month at midnight. Perfect for monthly billing or reports.
*/5 * * * * - Runs every 5 minutes. Great for frequent monitoring or data collection tasks.
0 9 * * 1-5 - Runs Monday through Friday at 9:00 AM. Ideal for business-hours automation.
Use the visual builder to select minute, hour, day, month, and weekday values, OR click AI Generate to describe your schedule in plain English.
If using the builder, select values from the dropdowns. If using AI, type something like "every weekday at 3 PM" or "first Monday of each month at 9 AM".
The cron expression appears at the top with a human-readable explanation. Check the "Next Run Times" to verify it matches your expectations.
Click Copy Expression to copy the cron syntax. Paste it into your crontab, task scheduler, or application configuration.
A cron expression is a string of 5 or 6 fields separated by spaces that represents a schedule for automated tasks. Each field specifies when a task should run: minute (0-59), hour (0-23), day of month (1-31), month (1-12), and day of week (0-6, where 0 is Sunday).
The asterisk (*) is a wildcard that means "every" or "any". For example, * in the hour field means "every hour", and * in the day field means "every day". It's the most commonly used symbol in cron expressions.
Use "1-5" in the day of week field. For example, "0 9 * * 1-5" runs at 9:00 AM every weekday (Monday through Friday). You can also use "MON-FRI" in some cron implementations.
Yes! Click "AI Generate" and describe your schedule in plain English (e.g., "every weekday at midnight" or "first day of every month at 3 PM"). The AI will generate the correct cron expression and explain what it means.
Use "*/5" in the minute field. The slash (/) means "every N units". So "*/5 * * * *" runs every 5 minutes, "*/15" runs every 15 minutes, and so on. This is useful for frequent monitoring or polling tasks.