Convert plain English schedules into standard cron expressions.
Cron Expression Generator converts natural language schedule text into standard five-field cron expressions. Submit phrases up to 200 characters to receive the matching cron syntax, with paid plans adding written explanations.
Try it — live request, no key required
No key required to try it. Get a key to use it in your app.
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
"schedule": "every weekday at 9am",
"expression": "0 9 * * 1-5",
"description": "Runs every weekday at 9:00 AM."
}
}
About the Cron Expression Generator API
Cron Expression Generator works by analyzing natural language schedule descriptions and using AI to generate accurate cron expressions. Perfect for setting up automated tasks and scheduled jobs.
What people use it for
- Task Automation
- Convert natural language schedules into cron expressions for automated task scheduling in Linux, Jenkins, or CI/CD pipelines
- Backup Scheduling
- Generate cron expressions for automated backup schedules without memorizing complex cron syntax
- Report Generation
- Create cron expressions for scheduled report generation and email delivery tasks
- System Maintenance
- Generate cron expressions for maintenance windows, cleanup tasks, and system health checks
Ways to call it
One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.
- JSON
- Default REST response
- XML
- Markup format
- YAML
- Human-readable
- CSV
- Tabular export
- GraphQL
- Query language
- MCP
- For AI agents
Other ways to use Cron Expression Generator
Same data, same APIVerve account, same credit balance — one key works on all of them.
What cron format does the generator output?
Do I get the human-readable explanation on the Free plan?
Is there a length limit on the schedule input?
How far does the Starter plan go for schedule conversions?
Can it generate schedules for maintenance and backup jobs?
Request parameters — GET /v1/crongenerator
Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.
Required
| Parameter | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
scheduleRequired | string | every weekday at 9am | Natural language description of the schedule (max 200 characters) length 0-200 |
curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/crongenerator?schedule=every%20weekday%20at%209am" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"Authentication
Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.
| Header | When | Value |
|---|---|---|
x-api-keyRequired | Every request | Your API key. Header names are case-insensitive, so X-API-Key is the same header. |
AuthorizationAlternate | Instead of the above | Bearer <key> — for clients that only expose bearer auth. Resolves to the same account and the same billing. |
A 401 means the key is missing, invalid or expired. A 403 means the key is valid but not permitted here — blocked by a key restriction or an IP allow-list. Running out of credits is a 429.
Response — GET /v1/crongenerator
Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.
{
"status": "ok",
"error": null,
"data": {
"schedule": "every weekday at 9am",
"expression": "0 9 * * 1-5",
"description": "Runs every weekday at 9:00 AM."
}
}
Response fields
Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.
| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
schedule | string | "every weekday at 9am" | Original natural language schedule description provided |
expression | string | "0 9 * * 1-5" | Generated cron expression in standard 5-field format |
descriptionPremium | string | "Runs every weekday at 9:00 AM." | Human-readable explanation of the cron expression behavior |
Response headers
Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.
| Header | What it carries |
|---|---|
x-api-remaining-credits | Credits left in the current cycle |
x-api-credits-used | Credits spent in the current cycle |
x-api-max-credits | The allowance for the cycle |
x-api-version | Version of the endpoint that answered |
Errors
Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.
| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
400 | Input was rejected | Read error; it names the parameter that has to change. |
401 | Key missing or invalid | Check the header name and the key value. |
403 | Key valid, but not permitted here | A key restriction or an IP allow-list — never a bad key. |
429 | Rate limited, or out of credits | Read error to tell them apart, then back off or top up. |
What a call costs — 10 credits per call
Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.
| Plan | Per month | Credits | Cron Expression Generator calls | Per 1,000 calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 200 | 20 | Free |
| Starter | $29.99 | 200,000 | 20,000 | $1.50 |
| Pro | $99.99 | 1,000,000 | 100,000 | $1.00 |
| Mega | $299.99 | 4,000,000 | 400,000 | $0.75 |
Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.
Call it from cURL — GET /v1/crongenerator
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/crongenerator with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/crongenerator" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Node.js — GET /v1/crongenerator
Install the Node.js SDK, then call the Cron Expression Generator API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
npm install @apiverve/crongeneratorconst res = await fetch("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/crongenerator", {
headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
});
const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Python — GET /v1/crongenerator
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/crongenerator with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
import requests
res = requests.get(
"https://api.apiverve.com/v1/crongenerator",
headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
print(res.json()["data"])Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from C# / .NET — GET /v1/crongenerator
Install the C# / .NET SDK, then call the Cron Expression Generator API with your key. The client wraps the same HTTPS request, so anything it returns is what the endpoint returns.
dotnet add package APIVerve.API.CronExpressionGeneratorusing var client = new HttpClient();
client.DefaultRequestHeaders.Add("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY");
var json = await client.GetStringAsync("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/crongenerator");
Console.WriteLine(json);Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Go — GET /v1/crongenerator
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/crongenerator with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/crongenerator", nil)
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer res.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from PHP — GET /v1/crongenerator
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/crongenerator with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
$ch = curl_init("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/crongenerator");
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, ["x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"]);
$response = curl_exec($ch);
echo $response;Resources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Call it from Ruby — GET /v1/crongenerator
No SDK to install — this is a plain HTTPS call to /v1/crongenerator with your key in the x-api-key header. Swap in a real key and it runs as-is.
require "net/http"
uri = URI("https://api.apiverve.com/v1/crongenerator")
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["x-api-key"] = "YOUR_API_KEY"
res = Net::HTTP.start(uri.hostname, uri.port, use_ssl: true) { |h| h.request(req) }
puts res.bodyResources
Also published for
Only the languages APIVerve ships a client for are listed — the rest call the endpoint directly over HTTPS.
Zero-code embed — one snippet, no backend
Drop an interactive Cron Expression Generator form onto any page. The widget calls the API for you, so no key ever appears in your markup and there is nothing to deploy.
Changelog — Cron Expression Generator API
Every change to this endpoint, newest first. Breaking changes ship as a new version and the previous one keeps serving — response fields are added, never removed or retyped in place, so an integration written against v1 keeps working.
Entries are picked up from dated catalog snapshots, so the first one appears after the next snapshot that moves something. A period where nothing changed produces no entry — silence is a valid changelog for the Cron Expression Generator API.
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