Cron Expression

A Cron expression is a syntax used to specify a repeating sequence of time. A Cron expression comprises of six mandatory fields and one optional field. All expressions are separated by a space. The fields are described in the following table:

Field name	Allowed values	Allowed special characters
Seconds	0-59	, - * /
Minutes	0-59	, - * /
Hours	✔	✔
Day-of-month	✔	✔
Month	✔	✔
Day-of-Week	✔	✔
Year (optional)	✔	✔

To define a cron expression

• Specify a repetition interval in Quarz scheduler cron format:
      Secs Mins Hrs DayOfMon Mon DayOfWk Yr
  where:

• Values are separated by one or more spaces
• Seconds, minutes, and hours are zero-based
• Day and month values are 1-based
• Month can be specified as either 1-12 or JAN-DEC
• Day of week can be specified as either 1-7 or SUN-SAT
• Values can be specified as:

• ? - Don't care
• * - All
• A range - Two values separated by a hyphen: 0-3 (first through fourth)
• An interval - A starting value an interval separated by a slash: 0/5 (zeroth and every fifth)
• A list - Multiple values separated by values: 0,1,3-6,10/10
• Nearest weekday - Value followed by a "W": 15W
• Last - An "L" by itself (last day of month), or value followed by an "L": 5L (last Friday)

Tip: To specify a scheduling end date, use a range. For example, to run a job for 3 months starting in April, specify month as APR-JUN. To run it for 2 years starting in 2010, specify year as 2010-2011. And so on.

Example - 10 * 13 1,14 * ? *

Seconds = 10 (10 second)

Minutes = * (all)

Hours = 13 (1 pm)

Day of Month = 1,14 (First and fourteenth one-based)

Month = * (all)

Day of Week = ? (don't care)

Year (optional) = * (all)

Learn more: Quartz scheduler cron format

Class CronExpression