Running Python scripts from the command line is an essential skill for any Python developer. It allows you to execute your Python code without the need for an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) or a graphical user interface (GUI). Being able to run scripts from the command line is particularly useful in the context of automation, where scripts are often scheduled to run at specific times or as part of a larger workflow. In this tutorial, we will explore how to run Python scripts from the command line and discuss some best practices and techniques for executing scripts in an automated manner. Before we dive into the details, make sure you have Python installed on your system. If you haven’t installed Python yet, please refer to the tutorial “Python installation on Linux” to set up Python on your Linux machine. Once you have Python installed, you can begin running Python scripts from the command line. To do this, open a terminal or console window and navigate to the directory where your Python script is located. You can use the `cd` command to change to the appropriate directory. Once you are in the correct directory, you can run a Python script by typing `python` followed by the name of the script file. For example, if your script is named `hello.py`, you would run it by typing `python hello.py` and pressing Enter. The Python interpreter will then execute the script and display any output or error messages in the terminal. In addition to simply running a script, you can also pass command line arguments to your Python scripts. Command line arguments are values that you can specify when running a script that can be accessed within the script using the `sys.argv` list. For example, consider the following script, `greet.py`: “`python import sys name = sys.argv[1] print(f”Hello, {name}!”) “` If you run this script with the command `python greet.py John`, it will output `Hello, John!`. The value `John` is passed as a command line argument and accessed within the script via `sys.argv[1]`. To incorporate command line arguments into your scripts, you can use a library such as `argparse` to define and parse command line arguments more easily. `argparse` provides a wide range of capabilities for handling command line arguments, such as specifying required arguments, specifying default values, and defining arguments with various data types. To learn more about `argparse`, refer to the tutorial “Working with Command Line Arguments in Python”. Running Python scripts from the command line is not only useful for manual execution but also for automation. For example, you can schedule a Python script to run at specific times using tools like `cron` on Linux. To schedule a script using `cron`, you need to create a `cron` job that specifies the script’s execution frequency and command. To learn more about scheduling Python scripts using `cron`, refer to the tutorial “Scheduling Python Scripts with Cron”. Another way to execute Python scripts from the command line is by using the shebang line at the beginning of your script. The shebang line tells the operating system what interpreter to use when executing the script. To use the shebang line, you need to add the following line as the first line of your script: “`python #!/usr/bin/env python “` Make sure to specify the correct interpreter in the shebang line if you are using a virtual environment or a different Python version. Once you have added the shebang line, you can make your script executable by running `chmod +x script.py` in the terminal. After making the script executable, you can run it from the command line by simply typing `./script.py`. By running Python scripts from the command line, you gain more flexibility and control over how and when your scripts are executed. Whether you are manually running scripts, passing command line arguments, scheduling scripts using `cron`, or using the shebang line, being able to execute Python scripts from the command line is a crucial skill for Python automation. In this tutorial, we have explored how to run Python scripts from the command line. We have discussed various techniques, such as running scripts with arguments, scheduling scripts using `cron`, and using the shebang line. By mastering these techniques, you will have the necessary knowledge to automate tasks and workflows using Python. Happy scripting!