How to automatically run a python script when Google Cloud Compute Instance starts

Question

I would like to have gcp turn on my instance in the morning and run a python script all day without me using ssh. I have added the startup-script metadata to the instance I have also added a cronjob to the Linux side but none of it works so please could someone help me. p.s I'm new to Linux and GCP

[my shell script]

#!/bin/bash
cd '/home/issaca/main/'
nohup python3 main.py &

it receives forex prices and calculates indicators. I'm new to the cloud so I chose the most common option of a VM. please could you explain if serverless is better in this scenario — Issac Abraham
– Issac Abraham, Commented Jul 5, 2021 at 10:31

jabbson · Accepted Answer · 2021-07-04 18:46:42Z

3

You need to:

have a script stored on the vm

sudo cat /root/main.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
from time import sleep
while True:
    sleep(5)

metadata startup-script to run your script on startup:

#!/bin/bash
/root/main.py

Instance scheduler to start and stop your machine at the time of your choosing

Then if you can check whether your script is running with

sudo ps aux | grep [m]ain

or

pgrep -a -u root python3

if your script is not running, check the logs with sudo journalctl -u google-startup-scripts.service or in the /var/log/[messages,syslog,daemon].log files.

answered Jul 4, 2021 at 18:46

jabbson

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5 Comments

Issac Abraham Over a year ago

with the startup-script will it run without ssh terminal or do I have to use something like nohup

jabbson Over a year ago

does your script need ssh terminal for some reason? if not it should be fine. example above works without any nohups

Issac Abraham Over a year ago

no, I just need it to run all day. but suppose I open ssh to make some changes or to check up on it I still need it to work in the background without closing even when I quit ssh

jabbson Over a year ago

Let me know if it doesn't work for you, we will think of something else

Issac Abraham Over a year ago

yes, it works I just had to also use nohup and & and also had to move it out of root into \main\main.py as there were some directory errors in python but thanks for your help.

dany L · Accepted Answer · 2021-07-04 18:33:57Z

1

This feature did not use to exist. It seems it just came out. Please have a look at this doc on how to schedule to start your instance. It is implemented within the compute engine UI.

Previously, one had to go through Cloud Scheduler.

answered Jul 4, 2021 at 18:33

dany L

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