n8n-nodes-cron-parser


Parse cron expressions and calculate next/previous run times with timezone support for n8n workflows.

Features

- ⏰ Next Run Time - Calculate when a cron job will run next
- 📅 Multiple Run Times - Get multiple upcoming execution times
- ⏮️ Previous Run Time - Calculate when a cron job last ran
- ✅ Validation - Validate cron expressions before use
- 🌍 Timezone Support - Full IANA timezone database support
- 📊 Multiple Output Formats - ISO strings, timestamps, or formatted dates
- 🔧 Flexible Input - Use expressions to pull data from previous nodes

Installation

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1. Go to Settings > Community Nodes in your n8n instance
2. Select Install
3. Enter n8n-nodes-cron-parser in the search field
4. Click Install

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For self-hosted n8n instances:

``bash
npm install n8n-nodes-cron-parser
`

Then restart your n8n instance.

Usage

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Calculate when a cron job will execute next:

Input:
- Cron Expression: 0 0 * (daily at midnight)
- Current Date/Time: 2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z
- Timezone: UTC

Output:
`json
{
"next_run_time": "2024-01-16T00:00:00.000Z",
"cron_expression": "0 0 *",
"timezone": "UTC",
"current_date_time": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
}
`

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You can reference data from previous nodes using n8n expressions:

Cron Expression: {{ $json.cron_expression }}
Current Date/Time: {{ $json.current_date_time }}
Timezone: {{ $json.timezone }}

Example workflow:
`javascript
// Previous node output
{
"cron_expression": "0 0 *",
"current_date_time": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z",
"timezone": "America/New_York"
}

// Cron Parser node will calculate next run time
`

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Calculate multiple upcoming execution times:

Settings:
- Cron Expression: 0 (every hour)
- Count: 5
- Current Date/Time: 2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z

Output:
`json
{
"next_run_times": [
"2024-01-15T11:00:00.000Z",
"2024-01-15T12:00:00.000Z",
"2024-01-15T13:00:00.000Z",
"2024-01-15T14:00:00.000Z",
"2024-01-15T15:00:00.000Z"
],
"count": 5,
"cron_expression": "0 ",
"timezone": "UTC"
}
`

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Calculate when a cron job last executed:

Input:
- Cron Expression: 0 0 *
- Current Date/Time: 2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z

Output:
`json
{
"previous_run_time": "2024-01-15T00:00:00.000Z",
"cron_expression": "0 0 *",
"timezone": "UTC"
}
`

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Check if a cron expression is valid:

Input:
- Cron Expression: 0 0 *

Output:
`json
{
"isValid": true,
"cronExpression": "0 0 *"
}
`

For invalid expression:
`json
{
"isValid": false,
"cronExpression": "invalid cron",
"error": "Invalid cron expression"
}
`

Cron Expression Format

This node uses standard 5-field cron format:

`
┌───────────── minute (0 - 59)
│ ┌───────────── hour (0 - 23)
│ │ ┌───────────── day of month (1 - 31)
│ │ │ ┌───────────── month (1 - 12)
│ │ │ │ ┌───────────── day of week (0 - 6) (Sunday to Saturday)
│ │ │ │ │
*
`

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| Expression | Description |
|------------|-------------|
| * | Every minute |
| 0 | Every hour |
| 0 0 * | Every day at midnight |
| 0 0 0 | Every Sunday at midnight |
| 0 0 1 | First day of every month |
| /5 * | Every 5 minutes |
| 0 9-17 1-5 | Every hour from 9am-5pm on weekdays |
| 0 0 1 1 * | January 1st at midnight (yearly) |

Timezone Support

The node supports all IANA timezone names:

- UTC (default)
- America/New_York
- America/Los_Angeles
- Europe/London
- Europe/Paris
- Asia/Tokyo
- Australia/Sydney
- And many more...

Full timezone list

Output Formats

Choose how to format the output dates:

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`json
{
"next_run_time": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z"
}
`

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`json
{
"next_run_time": 1705318200000
}
`

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`json
{
"next_run_time": "Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:30:00 GMT"
}
`

Options

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Include additional information about the calculation (enabled by default):
- Cron expression used
- Timezone used
- Current date/time used for calculation

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When enabled, the node will continue processing other items even if one fails, outputting error information instead of stopping the workflow.

Use Cases

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Calculate when the next maintenance window occurs and send reminders.

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Check if scheduled jobs are running on time by comparing actual run times with expected cron schedules.

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Calculate multiple upcoming report generation times for scheduling purposes.

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Calculate job execution times across different timezones for global operations.

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Validate and test cron expressions before deploying them to production systems.

Example Workflow

`
[Get Scheduled Jobs]
→ [Cron Parser - Get Next Run Time]
→ [Compare with Current Time]
→ [Send Alert if Overdue]
`

Error Handling

The node provides detailed error messages:

- Invalid cron expression: Clear explanation of what's wrong
- Invalid timezone: Notification if timezone name is not recognized
- Invalid date format: Help with accepted date formats

Enable "Continue on Error" option to handle errors gracefully and continue processing.

Development

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`bash
npm install
npm run build
`

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`bash
npm test
npm run test:coverage
`

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`bash
npm run lint
npm run lint:fix
``

Dependencies

- cron-parser - Robust cron expression parser

License

MIT

Support

- GitHub Issues
- n8n Community Forum

Author

Roney Dsilva
- Email: roney.dsilva@cdmx.in
- GitHub: @cdmx-in

Related Packages

- @cdmx/n8n-nodes-schema-validator - JSON Schema validation for n8n