Change process priority in Python, cross-platform

Question

I've got a Python program that does time-consuming computations. Since it uses high CPU, and I want my system to remain responsive, I'd like the program to change its priority to below-normal.

I found this: Set Process Priority In Windows - ActiveState

But I'm looking for a cross-platform solution.

Answer 1

Here's the solution I'm using to set my process to below-normal priority:

lowpriority.py

def lowpriority():     """ Set the priority of the process to below-normal."""      import sys     try:         sys.getwindowsversion()     except AttributeError:         isWindows = False     else:         isWindows = True      if isWindows:         # Based on:         #   "Recipe 496767: Set Process Priority In Windows" on ActiveState         #   http://code.activestate.com/recipes/496767/         import win32api,win32process,win32con          pid = win32api.GetCurrentProcessId()         handle = win32api.OpenProcess(win32con.PROCESS_ALL_ACCESS, True, pid)         win32process.SetPriorityClass(handle, win32process.BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS)     else:         import os          os.nice(1) 

Tested on Python 2.6 on Windows and Linux.

Answer 2

You can use psutil module.

On POSIX platforms:

>>> import psutil, os >>> p = psutil.Process(os.getpid()) >>> p.nice() 0 >>> p.nice(10)  # set >>> p.nice() 10 

On Windows:

>>> p.nice(psutil.HIGH_PRIORITY_CLASS)