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How to Send Emails from Gmail Using Python

Sending emails programmatically is a valuable skill for automation, communication, and data-driven workflows. Python makes this easy with its built-in smtplib library, which allows you to interact with the SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server to send emails.

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Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure the following:

1. Python Installed
   Make sure Python 3 is installed on your system. You can download it from the official Python website.
2. Email Account with SMTP Access
   You need an email account (like Gmail) and its SMTP credentials. Gmail uses smtp.gmail.com as the server and port 587 for TLS.

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Understanding SMTP

SMTP is the protocol used to send emails over the internet. Python’s smtplib library allows you to:

• Connect to an email server.
• Authenticate with your email credentials.
• Send messages to recipients.

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Steps to Send Email Using Python

Step 1: Import the smtplib library

import smtplib

Step 2: Create an SMTP session

s = smtplib.SMTP('smtp.gmail.com', 587)

• 'smtp.gmail.com' → Gmail SMTP server
• 587 → Port number for TLS encryption

Step 3: Start TLS for security

s.starttls()

TLS encrypts the communication between your Python script and the SMTP server.

Step 4: Authenticate

s.login("sender_email_id", "sender_email_password")

• Replace "sender_email_id" and "sender_email_password" with your Gmail credentials.

Step 5: Prepare and Send the Message

message = "Message_you_need_to_send"
s.sendmail("sender_email_id", "receiver_email_id", message)

• Parameters: sender, receiver, and message.

Step 6: Terminate the SMTP Session

s.quit()

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Send Email to Multiple Recipients

To send the same message to multiple email addresses, you can use a for loop:

import smtplib

email_list = ["[email protected]", "[email protected]"]

for dest in email_list:
    s = smtplib.SMTP('smtp.gmail.com', 587)
    s.starttls()
    s.login("sender_email_id", "sender_email_password")
    message = "Message_you_need_to_send"
    s.sendmail("sender_email_id", dest, message)
    s.quit()

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Important Notes

• This method sends plain text emails without attachments or subjects.
• Gmail usually delivers these emails to the primary inbox, not spam.
• You can extend this by reading recipient email IDs from a file or sending emails with attachments.
• For attachments, you can use Python’s email library to build MIME messages.

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Next Steps

• Learn how to send emails with subjects and HTML content.
• Automate sending reports or notifications with Python scripts.
• Integrate with Excel or CSV files to send personalized emails in bulk.

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