Skip to main content
Version: 0.15.50

How to deploy a scheduled Checkpoint with cron

This guide will help you deploy a scheduled CheckpointThe primary means for validating data in a production deployment of Great Expectations. with cron.

Prerequisites: This how-to guide assumes you have:

Steps​

1. Verify Checkpoint suitability​

First, verify that your Checkpoint is runnable via shell: 

great_expectations checkpoint run my_checkpoint

2. Get great_expectations full path​

To prepare for editing the cron file, you'll need the full path of the project's great_expectations directory. You can get full path to the great_expectations executable by running: 

which great_expectations
/full/path/to/your/environment/bin/great_expectations

3. Open your cron schedule​

A text editor can be used to open the cron schedule. On most operating systems, crontab -e will open your cron file in an editor.

4. Add your Checkpoint to the cron schedule​

To run the Checkpoint my_checkpoint every morning at 0300, add the following line in the text editor that opens: 

0  3  *  *  *    /full/path/to/your/environment/bin/great_expectations checkpoint run ratings --directory /full/path/to/my_project/great_expectations/
note
  • The five fields at the start of your cron schedule correspond to the minute, hour, day of the month, month, and day of the week.
  • It is critical that you use full paths to both the great_expectations executable in your project's environment and the full path to the project's great_expectations/ directory.

5. Save your changes to the cron schedule​

Once you have added the line that runs your Checkpoint at the desired time, save the text file of the cron schedule and exit the text editor.

Additional notes​

If you have not used cron before, we suggest searching for one of the many excellent cron references on the web.