Crontab Translator
Turn a cron schedule expression into plain English and check the syntax in your browser.
This runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded anywhere.
How to use this tool
Paste or type a standard 5-field cron expression into the box and press Translate. The
crontab translator reads each field, validates the cron time syntax, and writes out a plain
English sentence describing when the job runs. If a field is malformed or the wrong number of
fields is present, you get a clear error instead of a wrong answer. Use Copy result to grab the
sentence, or Clear to start over. A few examples to try: 0 9 * * 1-5,
*/15 * * * *, and 30 2 1 * *.
How cron time syntax works
Field 2: hour (0-23)
Field 3: day of month (1-31)
Field 4: month (1-12 or JAN-DEC)
Field 5: day of week (0-6, where 0 and 7 are Sunday, or SUN-SAT)
Operators: * any value , list - range */n step
A cron schedule expression is five space-separated fields. Each field accepts a single number,
a wildcard * meaning "every value", a comma list like 1,15,30, a range
like 1-5, or a step like */10 meaning "every 10th value". The job fires
when the current time matches every field at once. This cron time syntax checker handles the
common cases for each operator and tells you exactly what the combination means.
A real example
Take 0 9 * * 1-5. The minute field is 0, the hour field is
9, day-of-month and month are both *, and day-of-week is the range
1-5 (Monday through Friday). Read together, the tool explains it as: "At 09:00, on
every day-of-week from Monday through Friday." In practice that is a weekday 9 a.m. job, perfect
for a daily report that should skip weekends.
Common questions
What is a crontab translator?
It is a tool that converts a cron schedule expression into plain English so you can read what a job actually does without memorizing the field order or operators.
How many fields should a cron expression have?
Standard crontab uses five fields: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. This tool validates that count and rejects expressions with the wrong number of fields. Some systems add a sixth seconds field, which is not covered here.
What does the slash mean in cron?
The slash is a step value. */5 in the minute field means every 5 minutes, and 0-30/10 means every 10th value between 0 and 30. The tool reads these as "every Nth" phrases when it explains the schedule.
Does this cron time syntax checker handle names like MON or JAN?
Yes. Month names (JAN-DEC) and weekday names (SUN-SAT) are accepted in those fields, in addition to numbers, and are shown back to you as readable day and month names.
Is anything I paste sent to a server?
No. The entire crontab translator runs in your browser using plain JavaScript. Your expressions never leave your device, which makes it safe for internal or private schedules.