README.md

Python Examples

Python scripts for monitoring cron jobs with DeadManPing.

Quick Start

1. Install dependencies: pip install requests
2. Replace YOUR_MONITOR_ID in each script with your actual monitor ID from deadmanping.com
3. Make script executable: chmod +x script.py
4. Add to crontab: 0 3 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/script.py

Examples

Basic Monitoring

• detect_empty_backup_file_cron.py - Detect when backup files are empty
• verify_cron_job_actually_ran.py - Verify job execution with timestamps
• verify_cron_job_completed.py - Confirm job finished successfully

Error Detection

• cron_job_exit_code_not_zero.py - Check exit codes
• cron_job_exit_status_check.py - Verify exit status
• detect_cron_job_wrong_exit_code.py - Detect false success

Silent Failures

• silent_cron_failures.py - Detect silent failures with try-finally
• cron_job_silent_failure_detection.py - Always ping on success

Backup Monitoring

• detect_empty_backup_file.py - Check backup file size
• detect_backup_file_missing.py - Verify backup file exists
• backup_file_zero_bytes.py - Detect zero-byte backups
• verify_backup_file_size.py - Validate file size ranges

API Response Validation

• curl_success_but_wrong_response.py - Validate API responses
• curl_returns_200_but_wrong_data.py - Check response body content

Output Validation

• verify_cron_output.py - Validate script output
• verify_script_output_content.py - Check output content

Advanced

• detect_cron_job_partial_failure.py - Verify multi-step jobs
• cron_job_returns_success_but_fails.py - Validate results
• cron_job_not_executing.py - Detect non-execution
• detect_cron_job_skipped.py - Catch skipped jobs

Best Practices

1. Use try-finally - Ensure ping is sent even on exception
2. Check results - Don't just trust exit codes, verify actual results
3. Handle exceptions - Catch and report errors properly
4. Use subprocess.run() - Better control over exit codes than os.system()
5. Validate JSON - Always validate JSON responses before using

Dependencies

All examples require:

pip install requests

Documentation

See deadmanping.com for detailed documentation on each problem and solution.