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Cron Checker (Java / Quartz)

Paste a cron expression and validate it for common Java schedulers (Quartz / Spring). This checker supports 5-field (UNIX), 6-field (Quartz without year), and 7-field (Quartz with year) formats, plus basic checks for special tokens like ?, L, W, and #.

Category: Developer · URL: /tools/cron-checker-java.html 


    
  



          

          

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How to use

      
Use this when you’re working with Java schedulers (Quartz / Spring) and want quick validation.
  1. Paste your cron expression.
  2. Select Auto (recommended) or force a format.
  3. Enable Strict Quartz if you want the common rule: exactly one of Day-of-Month or Day-of-Week must be ?.
  4. Click Validate to see detected format, normalized expression, and any errors/warnings.

      

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        Secondary intents covered: Check whether a cron expression is valid for Quartz vs UNIX format, Figure out why a cron expression fails (bad range, bad token, wrong field count), Confirm whether the expression is 5, 6, or 7 fields (auto-detect), Validate special Quartz tokens like ?, L, W, and #, Normalize an expression (trim/collapse spaces, uppercase month/day names), Get a quick field-by-field breakdown of what the expression targets, Check common Spring @Scheduled cron strings before deploying, Compare Java Quartz cron to classic Linux cron expectations
      

    


    

      
FAQ

    
What cron format does Java Quartz use?
Quartz typically uses 6 fields (seconds + 5) and optionally a 7th field for year.
Why does Quartz cron use '?' in day-of-month or day-of-week?
? means “no specific value” and is used so you can specify either day-of-month or day-of-week without conflicting.
Does Spring @Scheduled use 5 or 6 fields?
Spring cron commonly uses 6 fields (with seconds). Some environments/docs show 5-field UNIX cron, so confirm your scheduler.
What do 'L', 'W', and '#' mean in Quartz?
L is “last”, W targets the nearest weekday, and # selects the nth weekday of the month (e.g., MON#2).
Can this tool show the next run times?
No—this tool focuses on syntax/format validation and a field breakdown, not computing future fire times.
How strict is the validation here?
It checks field counts, numeric ranges, lists/ranges/steps, and common Quartz rules; exact behavior can still vary by scheduler version/config.
Is Sunday 0 or 1 in day-of-week?
UNIX cron often uses 0 (or 7) for Sunday; Quartz usually uses 1-7. If you use 0 in Quartz, treat it as scheduler-specific.