Cron basics

Cron runs commands on a schedule.

Common gotchas:

• minimal PATH
• different working directory

Pattern

• use absolute paths
• redirect outputs

Example crontab entry:

0 9 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/job.py >> /home/user/job.log 2>&1

0 9 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /home/user/job.py >> /home/user/job.log 2>&1

Tip

Use logging in the script, not only stdout.

🧪 Try It Yourself

Exercise 1 – List Files with os.listdir

Exercise 2 – Join Paths with os.path.join

Exercise 3 – Write and Read a File