How to run python program as a daemon?

Question

I write the following program to run my program as a daemon but it is not getting run; when i run the program from python debugger it works.

I am using Mac os x.

/User/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.bobbob.osx.test.plist:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC -//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd >
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>com.bobbob.osx.test</string>
<key>Program</key>
<string>/Users/vivekbhintade/Desktop/test.py</string>
<key>RunAtLoad</key>
<true/>
</dict>
</plist>

/Users/vivekbhintade/Desktop/test.py:

import urllib2
from datetime import datetime
import smtplib
from smtplib import SMTPException
import threading

def checkerror():

    #my code which works fine individually, which sends mail after 5 seconds to recipients.

checkerror()

And also i run the program from terminal with following command.

launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.bobbob.osx.test.plist

This does not result in any errors.

does launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.bobbob.osx.test.plist work? — User
– User, Commented Sep 10, 2013 at 12:46
But does launchctl also send the email you expect? How do you run it from the terminal? With $ python test.py? It seems to me that #!/bin/env python is missing at the beginning of your file, so the os doesn't know how to run it. — Ludo
– Ludo, Commented Sep 10, 2013 at 13:20

FarmerGedden · Accepted Answer · 2013-12-11 18:08:44Z

2

You have almost certainly realised this in the intervening 3 months since posting, but there seems to be some confusion here between Launch Daemons and Launch Agents which I though it would be worth clearing up - especially since Agents are often referred to as Daemons.

Paraphrasing the Apple Developer library:

Daemons run as root at startup, are unable to present UI elements, and are located in /Library/LaunchDaemons/.
Agents run in a user context at login, and are able to present UI elements to the user. These are located in /Users/username/Library/LaunchAgents/.

Your program will not run as it's located in /User/Library - it needs to go into one or another of the paths mentioned above, depending on how you plan to use it.

answered Dec 11, 2013 at 18:08

FarmerGedden

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 11:44:11Z

1

Have you tried launchctl?

I believe this stack answers your question:

Running Python in background on OS X

edited May 23, 2017 at 11:44

CommunityBot

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answered Sep 19, 2013 at 19:23

nicklocicero

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