在cron作业（Python）中，-m标志代表什么以及如何使用？

Question

I am trying to set up a cron job which is executing a python file of mine. The python file is using some manually installed modules. The cron job now throws an error, as it 'cannot find' the specified module (yes, I tested it: if executed manually the script does work & have access to the module).

I did now recieve the cryptic info (from the hoster's support) to ' try adding the -m flag to the command, followed by the path to the module that it cannot find. ' Unfortunatelly I do not quite understand this advice.

Assuming that my cron job command ( via Cpanel ) would out of the box be:

0 * * * * python /home/public_html/cgi-bin/cronrun.py

which works if the python script does not rely on external modules.

So my questions are:

• Is the -m flag appropriate?
• If so, how do I use it?
• And what do I do, if there is more than just one additional module that the script needs?

Thank you very much in advance!

Answer 1

Your cron job won't likely be running with the same environment that you have. To see this, first run env > [somepath_that_you_can_reach]. Then set up a cron to do the same thing in a shell script using a different path. Compare the two. You will need your PYTHONPATH to be the same for the cron job to work. If that is the problem, then in your python script:

import sys
sys.path.append('[the path part that you need for it to work]')

before your import statements.