Build a Cron Minute Interval
Start with */5 * * * * for every five minutes at minutes 0, 5, 10 through 55. The interval builder lets you change the spacing, add an offset or restrict the hours, then apply that draft to the expression and preview its next ten wall-clock runs. Offset 1 gives 1-59/5 * * * *. Intervals must divide 60 evenly; otherwise a step restarts at the next hour and the gap changes. Pick the same timezone as your scheduler and inspect the DST notes.
Build a minute interval
*/5 * * * * · Preview this draft by applying it to the schedule below.
Offsets are counted from the start of each hour. The hour window includes every minute in its last hour. Outside that window the schedule pauses. These are wall-clock times in the selected zone; daylight saving changes can skip or repeat a time.
*/5 * * * *
Every 5 minutes
fire times appear once this browser reports its clock
- Reads as
- Every 5 minutes
- Next run
- reading
*/5 * * * *. Every 5 minutes.
Both day fields are open, so every day matches.
- every 15 minutes, on the quarter hour
- the 1st OR any Monday, not both required
- refused, minutes run 0 to 59
What each field takes
| Field | Range | Takes |
|---|---|---|
| minute | 0 to 59 | a star, a list like 0,30, a range like 0-29, or a step like */15 |
| hour | 0 to 23 | a star, a list like 9,17, a range like 9-17, or a step like */2 |
| day of month | 1 to 31 | a star, a list like 1,15, a range like 1-7, or a step like */2 |
| month | 1 to 12 | numbers, or the three-letter names JAN to DEC |
| day of week | 0 to 7 | numbers, or the three-letter names SUN to SAT, and 0 and 7 are both Sunday |
Every field takes a star for all values, a number, a list such as 1,15, a range such as 9-17, a step on a star such as the one in the quarter-hour example, and a step on a range such as 9-17/4. The fire times above are the first 10 this expression produces after the clock shown, searching up to 3,653 days ahead and saying so when a schedule is rarer than that. An expression up to 200 characters is read. The expression and the zone stay in this browser so they are here when you come back, and the Start over button above the tool forgets them.
Common questions
- How do I run every five minutes during business hours?
- Choose interval 5, offset 0, first hour 9 and last hour 17, then apply it. */5 9-17 * * * includes 17:00 through 17:55. It runs on every calendar day; set the weekday field to MON-FRI if you want weekdays only.
- Can I start at minute one instead of minute zero?
- Use offset 1 with interval 5. The result 1-59/5 * * * * selects 1, 6, 11 through 56 each hour. An offset must be smaller than the interval to preserve equal gaps across hour boundaries.
- Why is every 45 minutes refused by the builder?
- 45 does not divide 60 evenly. */45 fires at minute 0 and minute 45, with a 15-minute gap before the next hour. A fixed 45-minute cadence needs a different scheduler or multiple expressions; this builder does not substitute an uneven pattern.
- Will applying this expression create a cron job?
- No. Applying updates the local expression and preview. Copy the schedule and configure your own scheduler separately, checking its dialect, timezone and daylight-saving behavior.
The expression is built and read back by the same parser, so the sentence underneath always describes the five fields on screen. When day-of-month and day-of-week are both restricted, standard cron fires on either, and the description says OR in those words. Next runs are shown in the timezone you pick, and a time that falls in a daylight-saving gap is named as one rather than quietly skipped.