How to auto run a server when boot the Raspberry Pi

Question

I run into a question that I want to auto run a server in python when boot the Raspberry Pi every time. I tried several methods but they all don't work for me. Assume my python file is

/home/pi/Desktop/server.py

I tried to use crontab and wrote

@reboot python /home/pi/Desktop/server.py &

But it doesn't work. I check the the server doesn't start. I also tried to wrote in /etc/rc.local

python /home/pi/Desktop/server.py &

Still doesn't work.

Only wrritten in

/home/pi/.bashrc

works now. But it needs me to use ssh to remote login in and then start run the server. What I want is just the server would auto run after I reboot the Pi, not needing to login in. Anyway has ideas?

Answer 1

Since you call your script a server, I assume it needs network connection to run properly. Therefore you should consider running it via systemd with network-online.target as a dependency:

Create a file /etc/systemd/system/my_server.service:

[Unit]
Description=my server
After=network-online.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/home/pi/Desktop/server.py

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

and run:

sudo systemctl enable my_server

Don't forget to add a shebang line to your script as @Ghanima has explained in the comments.

Answer 2

Try the next things:
1. Edit /etc/rc.local
2. At the end, add the next command: sudo python /home/pi/Desktop/server.py &
Let me know if it helps.

UPDATE:

Lets try a different method:
1) in /etc/init.d/ folder create file (ex. mypythonscript)
2) give it execution permissions: sudo chmod 755 mypythonscript
3) in the file, add the next code:

#!/bin/sh
#/etc/init.d/mypythonscript

case "$1" in
  start)
    echo "Starting My Python Script"
    python /home/pi/Desktop/server.py &
    ;;
  stop)
    echo "Stopping My Python Script"
    killall python
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Usage: /etc/init.d/mypythonscript{start|stop}"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

exit 0

4) After that run the next command:

sudo update-rc.d /etc/init.d/mypythonscript defaults

Let me know if it helps.