linuxpathcron

How to get CRON to call in the correct PATHs


I'm trying to get cron to call in the correct PATHs. When I run a Python script from shell the script runs fine as it uses the PATHs set in bashrc but when I use cron all the PATHs are not used from bashrc. Is there a file I can enter the PATHs into for cron like bashrc or a way to call the PATHs from bashrc?

Sorry I don't think I worded this correctly, I can get the correct script to run (meaning the PATH to the script in crontab is not the problem here), it's just when that script is running I run a build and this uses the PATHs set in .bashrc. When I run the script when I'm logged in, the .bashrc PATHs are pulled in. Since cron doesn't run in a shell per say it does not pull in .bashrc. Is there a way of pulling this in without having to write a bash script wrapper?


Solution

  • I used /etc/crontab. I used vi and entered in the PATHs I needed into this file and ran it as root. The normal crontab overwrites PATHs that you have set up. A good tutorial on how to do this.

    The systemwide cron file looks like this:

    This has the username field, as used by /etc/crontab.
    # /etc/crontab: system-wide crontab
    # Unlike any other crontab you don't have to run the `crontab'
    # command to install the new version when you edit this file.
    # This file also has a username field, that none of the other crontabs do.
    
    SHELL=/bin/sh
    PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin
    
    # m h dom mon dow user   command
    42 6 * * *   root    run-parts --report /etc/cron.daily
    47 6 * * 7   root    run-parts --report /etc/cron.weekly
    52 6 1 * *   root    run-parts --report /etc/cron.monthly
    01 01 * * 1-5 root python /path/to/file.py