Cronexplain

Explain cron expressions in plain English and calculate next run times. Use when asked to decode a crontab entry, understand a cron schedule, check when a cr...

Cron expression explainer with next-run calculator.

Commands

# Explain a cron expression
python3 scripts/cronexplain.py "30 9 * * 1-5"
# → at minute 30; at 09:00; on Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri

# Show next N run times
python3 scripts/cronexplain.py "0 */4 * * *" -n 5

# Monthly schedule
python3 scripts/cronexplain.py "0 0 1,15 * *" -n 3

Supported Syntax

• Wildcards: *
• Ranges: 1-5 (Mon-Fri)
• Steps: */15 (every 15 minutes)
• Lists: 1,15 (1st and 15th)
• Combined: 0-30/10 (every 10 min in first half hour)

Fields (standard 5-field cron)

minute hour day_of_month month day_of_week