How to run a Python script 24/7

Keeping a script running reliably requires an always-on machine, automatic restart supervision, persistent state storage, and monitoring, rather than laptop-based tools such as nohup or tmux, which do not survive reboots or recover crashed processes. GitHub Actions cron can be a free option for infrequent, stateless repository-focused jobs, but it has a five-minute minimum schedule interval and may be disabled after 60 days of inactivity in public repositories, while serverless platforms are unsuitable for long-running or stateful workloads because of execution time limits and lack of persistent local storage. For continuous bots, workers, scrapers, and API pollers, the recommended approach is a Linux virtual machine running a systemd service configured to start at boot and restart after failures; cron or systemd timers can handle scheduled tasks. The piece uses boxd’s Ubuntu virtual machines as an example platform, emphasizing persistent disk, isolated machines, usage-based billing, optional HTTPS proxies for web services, and built-in development tools. It also recommends adding heartbeat monitoring through services such as Healthchecks.io or Uptime Kuma to detect silent failures promptly.

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