{"uid":"cap_kh8pSepEuuhMYaz0XGiQG","slug":"cron-expression-validator-explainer-43b33edd","name":"Cron Expression Validator & Explainer","description":"Validate a 5-field cron expression (ranges, steps, names, @daily aliases), explain it in plain English and list its next run times in any time zone, DST-aware.","url":"https://api.vextorium.com/v1/cron-explain?utm_source=zero.xyz","method":"POST","headers":{},"bodySchema":{"type":"object","$schema":"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema","required":["input"],"properties":{"input":{"type":"object","required":["type","method","bodyType","body"],"properties":{"body":{"required":["expression"],"properties":{"zone":{"type":"string","description":"IANA time zone (default UTC)"},"since":{"type":"string","description":"Start from this ISO date-time (default now)"},"upcoming":{"type":"integer","maximum":50,"minimum":1,"description":"Next runs to list (1-50, default 5)"},"expression":{"type":"string","description":"Cron expression, e.g. 0 8 * * 1-5 or @hourly"}}},"type":{"type":"string","const":"http"},"method":{"enum":["POST"],"type":"string"},"bodyType":{"enum":["json","form-data","text"],"type":"string"}},"additionalProperties":false},"output":{"type":"object","required":["type"],"properties":{"type":{"type":"string"},"example":{"type":["object","null"],"properties":{"zone":{"type":["string","null"]},"valid":{"type":["boolean","null"]},"next_runs":{"type":["array","null"],"items":{"type":["null","string"]}},"expression":{"type":["string","null"]},"explanation":{"type":["string","null"]},"max_runs_per_day":{"type":["number","null"]}}}}}}},"responseSchema":{"type":"json","example":{"zone":"Europe/Madrid","valid":true,"next_runs":["2026-10-02T16:45+02:00","2026-10-02T17:00+02:00"],"expression":"*/15 9-17 * * mon-fri","explanation":"minute 0, 15, 30, 45, hour 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, any day of month, every month, weekday Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday","max_runs_per_day":36}},"example":null,"exampleRequest":null,"tags":["x402"],"displayCostAmount":"0.003","displayCostAsset":"USDC","priceDynamic":false,"priceHint":null,"priceStatus":"priced","priceSource":"registry","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":"$0.003/call","primary":{"kind":"static","protocol":"x402","network":"base","amountUsd":"0.003","per":"call","confidence":"exact"},"accepted":[{"kind":"static","protocol":"x402","network":"base","amountUsd":"0.003","per":"call","confidence":"exact"}]},"paymentMethods":[{"uid":"pm_cjRIKZ9lwfhAuz4GaxJTw","protocol":"x402","methodType":"crypto","chain":"base","mode":"charge","costAmount":"0.003","costPer":"request","priority":0,"asset":null,"unit":"request","depositMicros":null,"planRef":null}],"brandName":null,"brandSlug":null,"brandBaseUrl":null,"brandDocsUrl":null,"whatItDoes":"Validates a cron expression, translates it into plain English, and lists its next scheduled run times in any DST-aware time zone.","exampleAgentPrompt":"Can you validate the cron expression '0 8 * * 1-5' and explain it in plain English, then show me the next 10 run times in the Europe/London time zone?","exampleUseCases":[{"title":"Debugging a misconfigured CI pipeline schedule","prompt":"My CI pipeline is set to run on the cron schedule '0 2 * * *' — can you validate it and tell me what it means in plain English, and show me the next 5 times it'll fire in America/New_York?"},{"title":"Planning a business hours job with DST awareness","prompt":"I want to make sure my scheduled job uses '*/15 9-17 * * mon-fri' — can you confirm it's valid, explain exactly when it runs, and list the next 20 occurrences in Europe/Madrid so I can check DST is handled correctly?"},{"title":"Checking a @weekly alias before deployment","prompt":"Before I deploy, can you verify that '@weekly' is a valid cron expression, tell me what it actually means, and show the next 3 run times in Asia/Tokyo?"}],"resultDescription":"A JSON object containing: a boolean validity flag, the original expression, a plain English explanation of each field (minutes, hours, days, months, weekdays), the IANA time zone used, an array of upcoming run timestamps (ISO 8601 with UTC offset), and the maximum number of times the job can run per day.","failureModes":["Invalid cron expression returns valid:false with no next_runs","Unrecognized IANA time zone string causes an error response","Upcoming count outside 1-50 range is rejected","Malformed or missing expression field returns a validation error","Invalid ISO datetime in 'since' field causes a parse error"],"whenToPreferThis":"Choose this endpoint when you need to programmatically validate, interpret, or debug a cron expression — especially when DST-correct scheduling in a specific time zone matters, or when you need to enumerate upcoming execution times. It handles 5-field expressions, step and range syntax, day/month names, and @aliases like @daily and @hourly, making it more thorough than a simple syntax checker.","instructions":null,"reviewSummary":null,"reviewSummaryHighlights":null,"reviewSummaryConcerns":null,"reviewSummaryGeneratedAt":null,"activationCount":0,"lastUsedAt":null,"lastSuccessfullyRanAt":null,"lastHealthCheckAt":"2026-10-11T18:55:04.927Z","isFirstParty":false,"canonicalSlug":"cron-expression-validator-explainer-43b33edd"}