Cron syntax validator with human readable output

Question

! Duplicates questions 43733

Is there any validator for training purposes where you can enter cron syntax like

0 0/5 9-17 * *

and it will print out:

more detailed errors and suggestions
pronounced, readable text format (Option -h ;) )
- e.g. "every 5 hours between 9th and 17th each month"

Unless you're using a different version of cron than I am, that line does not represent "every 5 minutes between 9 and 17 o'clock every day". I guess that's *why* a readable text format output is required. :-) — Ladadadada, Aug 15 '12 at 13:56
rofl, sorry, got confused while writing "crons" for jira: https://confluence.atlassian.com/x/gAISCw — childno͡.de, Aug 15 '12 at 14:38
Possible duplicate of [Is there a way to validate /etc/crontab’s format?](http://serverfault.com/questions/43733/is-there-a-way-to-validate-etc-crontab-s-format) — childno͡.de, Dec 06 '15 at 16:59

score 4 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 15 '12 at 12:21

4

You can use crontab -e which will open an editor allowing you to edit cron jobs. It will report errors in case you mistyped the cron job line.

answered Aug 15 '12 at 12:21

Khaled

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shure, but I need something for really stupid guys who want to learn what they enter ;) (sometimes it's boring teaching this again and again to the trainees – childno͡.de Aug 15 '12 at 12:31
@childno.de: It seems that you did not describe your question properly in the first time. – Khaled Aug 15 '12 at 12:43
yes you're right, I'm sorry about that – childno͡.de Aug 15 '12 at 12:51

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 03 '15 at 06:25

I highly recommend http://crontab.guru for this. Using your example above, it tells me:

“At every 0th minute past the 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20th hour on the 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17th of every month.”

It also give hints for each field you're editing as well as general cron tips with informative links for configuring cron on servers.

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 04 '15 at 18:02

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A command line tool that gives you a readable description of the cron expression is available at https://github.com/mrferos/hcron (implemented in JS for node.js). However, it doesn't do any validation or recommendations.

answered Dec 04 '15 at 18:02

Christian Pekeler

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thx for the hint crontab.guru ; that's what I was looking for ;) – childno͡.de Dec 06 '15 at 16:50

Cron syntax validator with human readable output

3 Answers3