Cron Hour Field Regex for Python

What this pattern does

This page provides a comprehensive, battle-tested regular expression for matching cron hour field, ported and verified for Python. A rigorously tested regex reduces debugging time and protects your application from edge-case failures. The snippet below is ready to drop into your Python project — whether you're validating in a Django view, a FastAPI endpoint, or a standalone data processing script.

Python Implementation

# Cron Hour Field
# ReDoS-safe | RegexVault — Dev & Systems > Cron

import re

cron_hour_field_pattern = re.compile(r'^(?:\*(?:/[1-9]|/1[0-9]|/2[0-3])?|(?:[01]?[0-9]|2[0-3])(?:-(?:[01]?[0-9]|2[0-3]))?(?:/[1-9]|/1[0-9]|/2[0-3])?(?:,(?:[01]?[0-9]|2[0-3]))*)$')

def validate_cron_hour_field(value: str) -> bool:
    return bool(cron_hour_field_pattern.fullmatch(value))

# Example
print(validate_cron_hour_field("*"))  # True

Test Cases

When to use this pattern

This pattern is drawn from the Dev & Systems > Cron category and carries a ReDoS-safe certification. That matters for Python developers because particularly important in Python web servers where CPU-bound regex operations can stall concurrent request handling. RegexVault audits patterns against known backtracking attack vectors, ensuring you have the necessary context before using this regex in a high-stakes production environment.

Common Pitfalls

Technical Notes

Business hours scheduling: 9-17 for 9am-5pm. The step */6 fires at 0, 6, 12, 18.