What is a cron expression?

A cron expression is a string of five (or six) fields that define when a scheduled task runs on Unix-like systems. The standard five fields are: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. Example: 0 4 * * * runs every day at 04:00.

What does 0 4 * * * mean?

0 4 * * * means "at minute 0, hour 4, every day of the month, every month, every day of the week" — in other words, every day at 4:00 AM. This is a popular time slot for Minecraft server restarts and nightly backups when player counts are lowest.

What does */5 * * * * mean?

*/5 in the minute field means "every 5 minutes." The full expression */5 * * * * runs the command every five minutes, all day, every day. Use this for frequent health checks or lightweight polling scripts.

How do I add a cron job on Linux?

Run crontab -e to edit your user crontab, add a line in the format "cron_expression command", save, and exit. Example: 0 3 * * * /home/minecraft/backup.sh runs a backup script daily at 3 AM. Use crontab -l to list current jobs.

What is the difference between day-of-month and day-of-week?

The fourth field (day of month, 1–31) and fifth field (day of week, 0–6, Sunday=0) can both restrict when a job runs. In Vixie cron, if both are restricted (not *), a match on either field triggers the job (OR logic). If one is *, only the other applies.

Can I schedule Minecraft server restarts with cron?

Yes. Linux and VPS hosts commonly use cron to restart Paper, Spigot, or Fabric servers during low-traffic hours. A typical line: 0 4 * * * /opt/minecraft/restart.sh. Always warn players before automated restarts and ensure the script stops the server gracefully.

What are cron macros like @daily and @hourly?

@hourly expands to 0 * * * * (top of every hour). @daily and @midnight expand to 0 0 * * * (midnight daily). @weekly is 0 0 * * 0 (Sunday midnight). @monthly is 0 0 1 * * (first of month). @yearly is 0 0 1 1 * (January 1). @reboot runs once at system startup.

Does this tool support 6-field cron with seconds?

Yes. Enable the "6-field (with seconds)" toggle to add a leading seconds field. This format is used by some Java schedulers, Quartz, and systemd timers. Standard Linux crontab uses five fields without seconds.

Is my cron data sent to a server?

No. All parsing, generation, and next-run calculation runs entirely in your browser. Expressions and commands never leave your device.

What timezone does cron use?

System crontab on Linux uses the server's local timezone unless TZ is set in the crontab file. The "next runs" preview in this tool uses your browser's local timezone. Always verify the host timezone when scheduling production jobs.

Tools · Scheduling

Cron Command Generator & Parser

Generate and parse cron expressions for scheduling tasks on Linux, Unix, and other automation systems. Build schedules visually, decode existing expressions, preview next run times, and copy ready-to-paste crontab lines — all in your browser.

Generator + parser · presets · next-run preview5 & 6-field cron · 100% client-side

6-field (with seconds)

Quick presets

Cron expression

* * * * *

Minute: *Hour: *Day: *Month: *DOW: *

Minute

Hour

Day (month)

Month

Day (week)

Plain English

Runs every minute

Minute:every minute

Hour:every hour

Day of month:every day

Month:every month

Day of week:every day of the week

Next scheduled runs (local timezone)

Jun 10, 2026, 8:53:00 PM
Jun 10, 2026, 8:54:00 PM
Jun 10, 2026, 8:55:00 PM
Jun 10, 2026, 8:56:00 PM
Jun 10, 2026, 8:57:00 PM
Jun 10, 2026, 8:58:00 PM
Jun 10, 2026, 8:59:00 PM
Jun 10, 2026, 9:00:00 PM

Crontab line

User (optional, for system crontab)

Command or script path

* * * * * /home/user/backup.sh

Add this line with crontab -e. For Minecraft server restarts: 0 4 * * * /path/to/restart.sh

How cron expressions work

Cron is the standard job scheduler on Linux and macOS. Each line in a crontab file contains a schedule followed by a command. The schedule uses space-separated fields:

Field	Range	Special characters
Minute	0–59	`` any · `/5` every 5 · `0,30` list
Hour	0–23	`*/6` every 6 hours · `9-17` range
Day (month)	1–31	`1` first of month · `15` mid-month
Month	1–12	Names like `jan`, `dec` also work
Day (week)	0–6 (Sun=0)	`1-5` weekdays · `0,6` weekends

Cron schedules for Minecraft servers

VPS and dedicated hosts running Paper, Spigot, Purpur, or Fabric often rely on cron for maintenance tasks that keep worlds healthy and backups current. Common patterns:

Task	Example cron	Notes
Daily restart	0 4 * * *	4 AM local — clears memory leaks from plugins
World backup	0 3 * * *	Run before restart; use `save-all` first
Log rotation	0 0 * * 0	Weekly on Sunday midnight
Health check	/15 * * *	Ping server; restart if down — pair with our Status Checker
Plugin cleanup	0 2 * * 1	Weekly Monday 2 AM for chunk or entity purges

Before scheduling restarts, estimate RAM needs with our RAM Calculator and confirm the host meets full requirements via the Requirements Calculator. Automated scripts should use screen, tmux, or a process manager like systemd so the server survives SSH disconnects.

Common crontab examples

# Edit your crontab
crontab -e

# Every day at 4 AM — restart Minecraft server
0 4 * * * /opt/minecraft/restart.sh

# Every 6 hours — run save-all via RCON script
0 */6 * * * /opt/minecraft/save-all.sh

# Every Monday at 6 AM — weekly full backup
0 6 * * 1 /opt/minecraft/full-backup.sh

# First day of each month — archive old logs
0 0 1 * * /opt/minecraft/archive-logs.sh

# At reboot — start the server
@reboot /opt/minecraft/start.sh

Frequently asked questions

Why does my cron job not run at the expected time?

Check the server timezone (timedatectl), confirm the script path is absolute and executable (chmod +x), and inspect /var/log/syslog or journalctl for cron errors. Use this tool's parser to verify your expression and preview next runs.

Can I parse an existing cron string?

Yes. Switch to Parser mode, paste any five- or six-field expression (or a macro like @daily), and the tool breaks down each field in plain English with upcoming run times.

Do plugins replace cron for Minecraft tasks?

In-game plugins (Essentials, CoreProtect schedulers, etc.) handle tasks while the server is running. Cron handles OS-level work: starting/stopping the JVM, filesystem backups, log rotation, and health monitoring when the server process may be down.