Running python script from crontab?

Question

I need some help running a python script from crontab:

The script looks for subfolders from current path and does something to them, also extracts a zip file located in the same folder of the script into each found subfolder.

When I go with cd /folder/folder then python script.py is all good. But when run it with crontab it runs in users home folder and not where the script is placed.

To overcome this I placed in crontab something like this:

* * * * cd /folder_of_scrpit/ && /python_path/python script.py >> log.txt

and works as needed but feels weird, is there a better way of achieving this?

phd · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-17 12:58:39Z

2

You can cd in crontab the way you do it. Or you can call os.chdir() in your script. In the latter case you can write the directory in the script or pass it as a command line argument: /python path/python script.py /folder/folder.

answered Jun 17, 2017 at 12:58

phd

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3 Comments

Sandu Andrei Luis Over a year ago

When using cd in crontab it feels un-natural or hardcoded that's why i'm trying to find a better way.

phd Over a year ago

In my opinion it's more natural. But it's pure opinionated. :-)

phd Over a year ago

Oh, I've forgotten to include 2 more variants: read the directory from an environment variable or from a config file. I'm sure you could invent such methods yourself. And I still think that for a simple case cd in the shell/cron is the simplest and cleanest way. Good luck!

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