Automation & scripting
CLI tools, scheduled jobs, filesystem tasks, and glue scripts that save time.
How to Schedule Local Tasks Without Cron in Python
Run periodic tasks on a loop using the schedule library to mimic cron-like behavior from within Python.
import schedule
import time
from datetime import datetime
def greet():
print(f"Hello at {datetime.now().strftime('%H:%M:%S')}")
def check_time():
now = datetime.now()
print(f"Current time: {now:%H:%M:%S}")
schedule.every(5).seconds.do(greet)
schedule.every(10).seconds.do(check_time)
schedule.every(1).mi…Parse cron expression and compute next run datetime in Python
Parse a 5-field cron expression and compute the next matching datetime starting from a given base time.
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
import re
def parse_cron_and_next_run(cron_expr, base_time=None):
"""Parse a cron expression and compute the next run time."""
if base_time is None:
base_time = datetime.now().replace(second=0, microsecond=0)
fields = cron_expr.split()
if len(fields) !…Schedule Daily Task in Python
Use the schedule library to queue a daily task at a fixed time, then simulate a loop that checks for pending jobs.
import schedule
import time
from datetime import datetime
def daily_task():
print(f"Task executed at {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')}")
schedule.every().day.at("10:30").do(daily_task)
if __name__ == "__main__":
for _ in range(3):
schedule.run_pending()
time.sleep(1)Browse by section
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