0

Wanting to run an hourly cron job as a specific user (xfeautomation) and python virtual environment. Running as a specific user, will I have to add the script location into PATH? My current cron job looks like this:

0 * * * *  xfeautomation /opt/scripts/wf_venv/bin/python /opt/scripts/wf_api_linux.py 2>&l /opt/scripts/log.txt

Is this the correct or optimal way? TIA

Brandon Pham
  • 1

2 Answers2

1

switch to that user.

sudo su - xfeautomation

Run

crontab -e

A file editor with empty file will appear. Add your job without user name there and save it.

0 * * * * /opt/scripts/wf_venv/bin/python /opt/scripts/wf_api_linux.py 2>&l /opt/scripts/log.txt

Verification:

sudo su - xfeautomation crontab -l

OR

sudo crontab -u xfeautomation

Jamil Ahmed
  • 11
  • 1
0

Running as a specific user, will I have to add the script location into PATH?

You usually don't need to modify the PATH environment variable when you're using absolute paths such as you're doing now with /opt/scripts/wf_venv/bin/python /opt/scripts/wf_api_linux.py 2>&l /opt/scripts/log.txt

As sysadmin you have several options to create scheduled batch jobs that run under a different user ID:

  1. As explained in this answer: set up a personal crontab for that user. Jobs in a personal crontab will always run under the user ID of their owner.
    Note that when you as the administrator set up a personal crontab for another user, that user will be able to modify and delete that cron job specification, undoing your work.

  2. Alternatively you can schedule a system job from the system crontab. The system crontab (typically /etc/crontab and/or drop-in files in /etc/cron.d/) is owned by root and can't be modified by unprivileged users. The job specification in the system crontab supports an extra field not present in personal crontab files: field #6 needs a username, such as xfeautomation of the user ID that will be used to execute the job.
    The syntax you posted is correct for an entry in /etc/crontab or a drop-in file like /etc/cron.d/wf_api_linux

    0 * * * *  xfeautomation /opt/scripts/wf_venv/bin/python /opt/scripts/wf_api_linux.py 2>&l /opt/scripts/log.txt

Since you're logging all output and errors not a concern, but normally cron will email standard output and errors to root when you set up a system crontab and directly to the user when using a personal crontab.

As far as I know effectively both methods result in the same conditions for the job and aside from the concerns about ownership of the job spec and emails, they are equivalent.

bob
  • 191
  • 1