How do I schedule a Python script to run every day?

Question

I have a script that downloads exchange rates (USD/HTG) and saves them to a database. I want it to run every morning at 7am on my Ubuntu server.

Accepted Answer

Use **cron**. Run `crontab -e` and add:

```
0 7 * * * cd /opt/rates && /opt/rates/.venv/bin/python fetch_rates.py >> /var/log/rates.log 2>&1
```

Important details:
- Use **absolute paths**. Cron has a minimal `PATH` and doesn't activate your venv, so call the venv's Python directly.
- Redirect output to a log file, otherwise errors vanish.
- Cron uses the server's timezone. Check it with `timedatectl`. Haiti is `America/Port-au-Prince`.

On a systemd-based server, a **systemd timer** is a good alternative with better logging (`journalctl -u rates`), and `Persistent=true` runs missed jobs after a reboot.

Also make the script **idempotent**: re-running it the same day should update, not duplicate.

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