The document describes how to automate running a Python script on a schedule using Windows Task Scheduler. It involves: 1. Creating a Python script that outputs logs to the command prompt and saves them to a log file. 2. Creating a batch file that calls the Python script to ensure the logs are generated correctly. 3. Configuring the batch file to run on a schedule using Windows Task Scheduler. The key is making sure the batch file points to the correct path where the Python script and log file exist, to avoid errors when Task Scheduler runs it from a different directory. This allows automating routine tasks by scheduling Python scripts to run periodically.

1. Run Python from Windows
Task Scheduler
Norifumi Irie

2. Design
Task Scheduler
1. Kick at 6pm
test.bat
1. Call python
2. Get result log
Output_log.py
1. Execute program

3. Motivation
• I wanted to automate some of my routine tasks at work
• I could call Python from Windows Tasks Scheduler before, but it was
not sophisticated since no log was output.
• I did not have clear understanding in Batch since I have never
implemented it

4. Step1. Create Python code
Python code should have 2 functions.
• 1. Output logs into CMD
• 2. Create a log file and save the logs into it

5. Python code

6. Step2. Create batch
Batch is just used to invoke Python.
In testing, I made sure that the log of python is correctly output, and
the log file is generated.

7. Batch file
Comment:
Batch file is simply something you write in Command Prompt.
If you have Windows, by changing the file extension, you are ready to make the file.
“python” above is basically set in environment. Basically it is as same as the location of python.exe.
If you code like “python XXX.py”, python code in XXX.py will be called.

8. Result of batch file
Comment:
When you run the batch file, make sure the log of the python code is
output in Command Prompt.

9. Step3. Set the batch file into Task Scheduler
• This step is pretty common. If you google it, there are lots of websites
explaining the details. For example, see:
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-schedule-batch-file-run-
automatically-windows-7

10. Result of Task Scheduler
Task Scheduler says “No such fule or directory” because Windows Tasks are executed at
the path: ‘C:WINDOWSsystem32’ where I did not create the temp folder.
My solution is to point the system at the path where temp folder exists in the batch layer.
How do you do that? I put “cd [temp folder’s path] before executing Python in test.bat.

11. Modified Batch file

12. Result of batch file

13. What can you do with this?
• You can do many cool things with this infrastructure. You can send
emails automatically at night, download stock price data every day
from a website, or say ‘love you’ to your girlfriend through social
media at night.