Advanced Python Scheduler (APScheduler)

Common errors

Warnings

Install

Install compatibility verified last tested: 2026-05-12

Imports

• BackgroundScheduler

  from apscheduler.schedulers.background import BackgroundScheduler

• BlockingScheduler

  from apscheduler.schedulers.blocking import BlockingScheduler

• AsyncIOScheduler

  from apscheduler.schedulers.asyncio import AsyncIOScheduler

• IntervalTrigger

  from apscheduler.triggers.interval import IntervalTrigger

• CronTrigger

  from apscheduler.triggers.cron import CronTrigger

• DateTrigger

  from apscheduler.triggers.date import DateTrigger

Quickstart last tested: 2026-04-24

This quickstart demonstrates a `BackgroundScheduler` which runs jobs in a separate thread without blocking the main application. It schedules a simple function to run every 5 seconds using an `IntervalTrigger`. The `while True: time.sleep(2)` loop keeps the main thread alive, allowing the background scheduler to operate. A `KeyboardInterrupt` handler ensures a graceful shutdown of the scheduler.

import time
from datetime import datetime
from apscheduler.schedulers.background import BackgroundScheduler
from apscheduler.triggers.interval import IntervalTrigger

def my_job():
    print(f"Hello from APScheduler! The time is: {datetime.now()}")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    scheduler = BackgroundScheduler()
    scheduler.add_job(my_job, IntervalTrigger(seconds=5), id='my_scheduled_job')
    
    print('Starting scheduler. Press Ctrl+C to exit.')
    scheduler.start()

    try:
        # This is here to simulate application activity (for BackgroundScheduler)
        while True:
            time.sleep(2)
    except (KeyboardInterrupt, SystemExit):
        scheduler.shutdown()
        print("Scheduler shut down successfully.")