{"uid":"cap_a95G97Ct-sF7uc1ukJ1O6","slug":"saylor-innovations-cron-expression-explainer-next-run-calculator-f1065d23","name":"Saylor Innovations Cron Expression Explainer & Next-Run Calculator","description":"Cron expression explained in plain English with the next run times in any time zone - validates a 5-field cron and handles DST","url":"https://saylorinnovations.com/api/cron/next?utm_source=zero.xyz","method":"GET","headers":{},"bodySchema":{"type":"object","$schema":"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema","required":["input"],"properties":{"input":{"type":"object","required":["type","method"],"properties":{"type":{"type":"string","const":"http"},"method":{"enum":["GET","POST","PUT","PATCH","DELETE","HEAD"],"type":"string"},"queryParams":{"type":"object","required":["expr"],"properties":{"tz":{"type":"string","default":"UTC","examples":["America/New_York","Europe/London","Asia/Tokyo"],"description":"IANA time zone the schedule is evaluated in (default UTC)"},"expr":{"type":"string","examples":["30 9 * * mon-fri","*/15 * * * *","@daily"],"description":"Standard 5-field cron (minute hour day-of-month month day-of-week) or @hourly, @daily, @weekly, @monthly, @yearly; names like mon-fri and jan are accepted"},"from":{"type":"string","examples":["2026-10-12T12:00:00Z"],"description":"ISO 8601 instant to start from (default: now)"},"count":{"type":"string","default":"5","pattern":"^[0-9]{1,2}$","description":"How many upcoming run times to return, 1 to 20 (default 5)"}}}},"additionalProperties":false},"output":{"type":"object","required":["type"],"properties":{"type":{"type":"string","const":"json"},"example":{"type":"object","required":["expression","description","next_runs"],"properties":{"from":{"type":["string","null"],"description":"Start of the range"},"count":{"type":"number","description":"Number of run times returned"},"timezone":{"type":"string","description":"Time zone the schedule was evaluated in"},"next_runs":{"type":"array","items":{"type":"object","properties":{"utc":{"type":"string","description":"Run time in UTC (ISO 8601)"},"local":{"type":"string","description":"Run time in the requested time zone"},"weekday":{"type":"string","description":"Weekday of the local run time"}}},"description":"Upcoming run times in order"},"semantics":{"type":["string","null"]},"checked_at":{"type":["string","null"],"description":"Time the check was run (UTC)"},"expression":{"type":"string","description":"The normalised cron expression"},"description":{"type":"string","description":"Plain-English reading of the schedule"}}}}}}},"responseSchema":null,"example":null,"exampleRequest":null,"tags":["x402"],"displayCostAmount":"0.01","displayCostAsset":"USDC","priceDynamic":false,"priceHint":null,"priceStatus":"priced","priceSource":"probe","requiresHandshake":false,"reviewCount":0,"rating":{"score":"0.00","successRate":"0.00","reviews":0,"stars":null,"state":"unrated"},"availabilityStatus":"unknown","priceObserved":null,"sessionDeposit":null,"pricing":{"kind":"static","summary":"$0.01/call","primary":{"kind":"static","protocol":"x402","network":"base","amountUsd":"0.01","per":"call","confidence":"exact"},"accepted":[{"kind":"static","protocol":"x402","network":"base","amountUsd":"0.01","per":"call","confidence":"exact"}]},"paymentMethods":[{"uid":"pm_zqDs_K24DWUJmU6BEO4WP","protocol":"x402","methodType":"crypto","chain":"base","mode":"charge","costAmount":"0.01","costPer":"request","priority":0,"asset":"0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913","unit":"request","depositMicros":null,"planRef":null}],"brandName":null,"brandSlug":null,"brandBaseUrl":null,"brandDocsUrl":null,"whatItDoes":"Validates a cron expression, returns a plain-English description of the schedule, and calculates upcoming run times in any IANA time zone with DST handling","exampleAgentPrompt":"Explain the cron expression '30 9 * * mon-fri' in plain English and show me the next 5 run times in America/New_York, starting from 2026-01-05T00:00:00Z.","exampleUseCases":[{"title":"Debugging a production cron schedule","prompt":"I have a cron job set to '0 2 * * *' and I need to know exactly when it will fire next — give me the next 10 run times in Europe/London timezone starting from now."},{"title":"Verifying a DST-safe cron in US Eastern","prompt":"Can you explain what '30 9 * * mon-fri' means in plain English and show me the next 5 upcoming run times in America/New_York so I can confirm it handles daylight saving time correctly?"},{"title":"Previewing a complex monthly job schedule","prompt":"What does the cron expression '0 0 1,15 * *' do? Show me the next 7 run times in Asia/Tokyo starting from 2026-10-01T00:00:00Z so I can verify it triggers on the right days."}],"resultDescription":"Returns a JSON object with the original cron expression, a plain-English description of the schedule, the timezone used, how many runs were computed, the start-of-range timestamp, the time the check was performed, and an ordered array of upcoming run times each containing UTC time, local time in the requested timezone, and the weekday name.","failureModes":["Invalid or malformed cron expression returns a validation error","Unrecognized IANA time zone string returns an error","Count parameter outside 1-20 range is rejected","Malformed ISO 8601 'from' datetime returns a parsing error","Payment not provided or insufficient results in 402 Payment Required"],"whenToPreferThis":"Choose this endpoint when you need to explain, validate, or preview the schedule of a cron expression in any IANA time zone — especially when DST correctness matters. It is ideal for developer tooling, automation configuration UIs, and agent workflows that need to reason about scheduled task timing without running cron locally. Prefer this over home-rolled parsing when you need human-readable explanations alongside computed run times.","instructions":null,"reviewSummary":null,"reviewSummaryHighlights":null,"reviewSummaryConcerns":null,"reviewSummaryGeneratedAt":null,"activationCount":0,"lastUsedAt":null,"lastSuccessfullyRanAt":null,"lastHealthCheckAt":"2026-10-13T12:47:11.832Z","isFirstParty":false,"canonicalSlug":"saylor-innovations-cron-expression-explainer-next-run-calculator-f1065d23"}