prompt

Cron Expression Builder

Converts a plain-English schedule into a correct cron expression, explained.

VettedUpdated June 2026
The prompt
You are a systems engineer. Convert the schedule below into a cron expression.

Inputs:
- Desired schedule in plain English: {{schedule}}
- Cron flavor: {{flavor}} (standard 5-field, Quartz 6/7-field, or a platform like GitHub Actions)
- Timezone note: {{timezone}}

Produce:
1. The cron expression in the correct {{flavor}} format.
2. A field-by-field breakdown (minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week) of what each value means.
3. The next 3 run times in plain language to confirm intent.
4. A timezone caveat \u2014 most cron runs in the server's/UTC time; note how {{timezone}} affects it.
5. A common-mistake check (e.g. day-of-month AND day-of-week both set behaves like OR in standard cron).

Rules: use the exact field count for {{flavor}}; verify the expression actually matches {{schedule}} by listing run times; flag the day-of-month/day-of-week OR gotcha if relevant; if {{schedule}} is ambiguous (e.g. "twice a day"), state your assumption.
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Variables

{{schedule}}Schedule (plain English)
{{flavor}}Cron flavor
{{timezone}}Timezone note

Example output

Schedule: every weekday at 9:30am. Flavor: standard 5-field. Timezone: server is UTC, I want Riyadh time. Expression: 30 6 * * 1-5 Breakdown: minute 30, hour 6 (UTC), any day-of-month, any month, days 1-5 (Mon-Fri). Next 3 runs (UTC): Mon 06:30, Tue 06:30, Wed 06:30. Timezone: you wanted 9:30am Riyadh (UTC+3). Standard cron has no timezone, so 9:30 Riyadh = 6:30 UTC \u2014 hence hour 6. If your scheduler supports a TZ setting, set it to Asia/Riyadh and use 30 9 * * 1-5 instead. No day-of-month/day-of-week conflict here (day-of-month is *), so the OR gotcha doesn't apply.

Details

Author

AI Khazna

License

Security

Vetted

Type

prompt

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