How to Run a Python Script Automatically Every Day

In Python, we can use a series of scripts to automate various tasks, which is one of the many reasons to learn Python as a beginner.

You may need to make sure that a particular script runs every day at a specific time to guarantee the completion of a process.

This article will guide you on how to run a Python script automatically every day using the Task Scheduler of your operating system.

Step 1: Create Your Python Script

The first step is to create the Python script that you want to run on a daily basis. Let’s say, as an example, you have a Python script that downloads data from the web every day. The name of the script file may be “daily_data_download.py”.

Create a Python file with the name “daily_data_download.py” and copy the following lines of code into it.

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import datetime
print("Data has been successfully downloaded on: ", datetime.datetime.now())

Step 2: Configure Task Scheduler

Now that we have our Python script, the next step is to program the script to run automatically every day using the Windows Task Scheduler. Here’s how to do it:

  • Open the Windows Task Scheduler by searching for ‘Task Scheduler’ in the start menu.
  • Click ‘Create Basic Task…’
  • Enter the name of the task and a description (optional).
  • Select ‘Daily’ for the Task Trigger.
  • Configure the Start time and Start date for when you want the task to run.
  • In the ‘Action’ field, select ‘Start a program’.
  • In the ‘Program/script’ field, enter the path where the python.exe file is located. (You can find the path by typing ‘where python’ in your command prompt.)
  • In the ‘Add arguments (optional)’ field, enter the path to your script file like this ‘C:\your_folder_path\daily_data_download.py’
  • Proceed with the final steps and click on ‘Finish’ to complete the task creation.

Your task should now be set up in the Task Scheduler, and it will run your Python script each day at the time you set it.

Full code from this article:

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import datetime
print("Data has been successfully downloaded on: ", datetime.datetime.now())

Conclusion

In summary, setting up a Python script to run automatically every day involves creating your Python script and setting it up in Task Scheduler. With this, you can have peace of mind in knowing that your important scripts will run reliably every day. Python is a great language for automation and this feature makes it an essential tool for many developers.