find_or_start_scraper.sh

#! /bin/bash

### IMPORTANT ###
# Remove all 3 instances of /path/to/ and replaces them with proper paths
#################

logfile='/path/to/logs.txt'
start_text='Starting MGS_scraper.py'
current_time=$(date)

find_or_start_scraper() {
  if ! ps -ef | grep "/path/to/MGS_scraper.py" | grep -v "grep"
  then
    python /path/to/MGS_scraper.py &
    echo "$start_text $current_time" >> $logfile
  fi
}

find_or_start_scraper