Regex for Cron Expression

Validates standard 5-field cron expressions (minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week).

Pattern

/^(\*|[0-5]?\d)(\/\d+)?(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|2[0-3])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-3]?\d)(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|1[0-2])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-7])(\/\d+)?)$/

Live Tester

Enter a string to test

Examples

✓ * * * * *

✓ 0 12 * * 1

✓ 30 6 15 1 *

✗ * * *

✗ 60 * * * *

✗ not a cron

Pattern Breakdown

(\*|[0-5]?\d)(\/\d+)? — minute (0-59 or * with optional step)

(\*|[01]?\d|2[0-3])(\/\d+)? — hour (0-23 or *)

(\*|[0-3]?\d)(\/\d+)? — day of month (0-31 or *)

(\*|[01]?\d|1[0-2])(\/\d+)? — month (0-12 or *)

(\*|[0-7])(\/\d+)? — day of week (0-7 or *)

Code Snippets

Javascript

const regex = /^(\*|[0-5]?\d)(\/\d+)?(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|2[0-3])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-3]?\d)(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|1[0-2])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-7])(\/\d+)?)$/;
regex.test("0 12 * * 1"); // true

Python

import re
pattern = r"^(\*|[0-5]?\d)(\/\d+)?(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|2[0-3])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-3]?\d)(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|1[0-2])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-7])(\/\d+)?)$"
bool(re.match(pattern, "0 12 * * 1"))  # True

Php

$pattern = '/^(\*|[0-5]?\d)(\/\d+)?(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|2[0-3])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-3]?\d)(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|1[0-2])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-7])(\/\d+)?)$/';
preg_match($pattern, "0 12 * * 1"); // 1

Related Patterns

Email Address /^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$/ URL /^https?:\/\/(www\.)?[a-zA-Z0-9@:%._+~#=]{1,256}\.[a-zA-Z0-9()]{1,6}\b([a-zA-Z0-9()@:%_+.~#?&/=-]*)$/ Phone Number (International) /^\+?[1-9]\d{1,14}$/ Phone Number (US) /^$?[2-9]\d{2}$?[-.\s]?\d{3}[-.\s]?\d{4}$/ Phone Number (EU) /^\+?[1-9][0-9]{0,3}[\s.-]?$?[0-9]{1,5}$?[\s.-]?[0-9]{1,5}[\s.-]?[0-9]{1,5}$/ IPv4 Address /^((25[0-5]|2[0-4]\d|[01]?\d\d?)\.){3}(25[0-5]|2[0-4]\d|[01]?\d\d?)$/

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the regex for Cron Expression?▾

The regex pattern for Cron Expression is /^(\*|[0-5]?\d)(\/\d+)?(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|2[0-3])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-3]?\d)(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[01]?\d|1[0-2])(\/\d+)?)(\s+(\*|[0-7])(\/\d+)?)$/. Validates standard 5-field cron expressions (minute, hour, day-of-month, month, day-of-week).

How do I use the Cron Expression regex in JavaScript?▾

In JavaScript you create the pattern with a regex literal or the RegExp constructor and call .test() to check a string against it. A ready-to-copy example is shown in the Code Snippets section above, alongside Python and PHP versions.

What does the Cron Expression pattern match?▾

It matches strings like * * * * *; it rejects strings like * * *. See the Examples section above for the full list of matching and non-matching cases.