How to Write a Script to Automate Sending Daily Email Reports in Python

Introduction
Prerequisites
Overview of Email Automation
Setting Up the Environment
- Installing Required Libraries
Understanding the Email Protocol: SMTP
Writing the Python Script
- Step 1: Importing Libraries
- Step 2: Defining Email Credentials
- Step 3: Creating the Email Content
- Step 4: Connecting to the SMTP Server
- Step 5: Sending the Email
- Step 6: Automating the Script with Scheduling
Customizing the Email Report
- Attaching Files (e.g., CSV, PDF)
- Formatting Email Body with HTML
Adding Error Handling
Securing Credentials
Automating with Task Schedulers
- Using Cron (Linux/macOS)
- Using Task Scheduler (Windows)
Testing and Debugging the Script
Conclusion

1. Introduction

Automation is a key component of modern workflows, and sending daily reports via email is one of the most common tasks that can be automated. Whether you’re sending performance summaries, sales data, or status updates, manually compiling and sending these reports can be time-consuming. Fortunately, Python makes it easy to automate this process.

This guide will walk you through how to write a Python script that automatically sends daily email reports. We will cover everything from setting up the environment to adding error handling and scheduling the task to run automatically every day.

2. Prerequisites

Before diving into the code, you should have the following:

Basic knowledge of Python
A valid email account (preferably Gmail, as we will be using Gmail’s SMTP server)
A local Python environment set up on your machine

3. Overview of Email Automation

The goal of this blog is to create a Python script that:

Connects to an email server (SMTP)
Sends an email with a report
Schedules the email to be sent daily

The basic process involves using the Python smtplib library to connect to an SMTP server and send emails. You will also learn how to automate this task using scheduling tools like Cron (Linux/macOS) or Task Scheduler (Windows).

4. Setting Up the Environment

Installing Required Libraries

To send emails with Python, you need to install a few packages. While smtplib is part of the Python standard library, other libraries can be useful for enhancing your script.

smtplib: For sending the email.
email.mime: For crafting the email content (text and attachments).

You can install any additional required packages using pip. First, open your terminal or command prompt and run:

bash

pip install schedule  # For task scheduling (optional)

5. Understanding the Email Protocol: SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the protocol that mail servers use to send and receive emails. In this guide, we’ll use Gmail’s SMTP server to send the email, but you can adjust the settings for any other email provider that supports SMTP.

Gmail SMTP Server: smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Port: 587 (TLS), 465 (SSL)

To use Gmail’s SMTP server, you will need to allow less secure apps to send emails from your account (or create an app-specific password if you have two-factor authentication enabled).

6. Writing the Python Script

Step 1: Importing Libraries

In the script, we need to import smtplib to connect to the SMTP server, ssl for a secure connection, and email.mime to compose the email content.

python

import smtplib
import ssl
from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart
from email.mime.text import MIMEText
from email.mime.base import MIMEBase
from email import encoders
import schedule
import time

Step 2: Defining Email Credentials

You’ll need to define the credentials for your email account. For security reasons, it’s recommended to use environment variables or store credentials in a separate configuration file.

python

sender_email = "your_email@gmail.com"
receiver_email = "receiver_email@gmail.com"
password = "your_email_password"

Step 3: Creating the Email Content

You can create both plain text and HTML content. HTML formatting allows you to create more visually appealing emails.

python

def create_email_content():
    msg = MIMEMultipart()
    msg['From'] = sender_email
    msg['To'] = receiver_email
    msg['Subject'] = "Daily Report"

    # Plain text part
    body = "Hi,\nPlease find attached the daily report."

    msg.attach(MIMEText(body, 'plain'))

    # Attachments (optional, covered in a later section)
    return msg

Step 4: Connecting to the SMTP Server

You’ll connect to the SMTP server using a secure connection.

python

def send_email():
    msg = create_email_content()

    context = ssl.create_default_context()
    with smtplib.SMTP("smtp.gmail.com", 587) as server:
        server.starttls(context=context)  # Secure the connection
        server.login(sender_email, password)
        server.sendmail(sender_email, receiver_email, msg.as_string())
    print("Email sent successfully!")

Step 5: Sending the Email

Now that the email content is created and the connection is established, you can send the email by calling the send_email() function.

python

send_email()

Step 6: Automating the Script with Scheduling

To automate the sending of the email, we will use the schedule library. You can define the time when you want the email to be sent daily.

python

def job():
    send_email()

# Schedule the job every day at 9:00 AM
schedule.every().day.at("09:00").do(job)

while True:
    schedule.run_pending()
    time.sleep(1)

7. Customizing the Email Report

Attaching Files (e.g., CSV, PDF)

You may need to attach files to your email, such as daily reports in PDF or CSV format.

python

def attach_file(msg, file_path):
    attachment = MIMEBase('application', 'octet-stream')
    with open(file_path, 'rb') as file:
        attachment.set_payload(file.read())
    encoders.encode_base64(attachment)
    attachment.add_header('Content-Disposition', f'attachment; filename={file_path}')
    msg.attach(attachment)

# Example usage
attach_file(msg, 'report.pdf')

Formatting Email Body with HTML

If you want to create a more visually appealing report, you can use HTML in your email body.

python

def create_html_email_content():
    msg = MIMEMultipart()
    msg['From'] = sender_email
    msg['To'] = receiver_email
    msg['Subject'] = "Daily Report"

    html_body = """
    <html>
    <body>
        <h2>Daily Report</h2>
        <p>Hi,</p>
        <p>Please find attached the daily report.</p>
    </body>
    </html>
    """
    msg.attach(MIMEText(html_body, 'html'))
    return msg

8. Adding Error Handling

It’s important to add error handling in case there are issues with the connection or email credentials.

python

try:
    send_email()
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Failed to send email: {str(e)}")

9. Securing Credentials

Instead of hardcoding your email password into the script, consider using environment variables or a .env file.

Environment Variables:
- Create environment variables for EMAIL_USER and EMAIL_PASS.
- In your Python script, use os.getenv to access them:
python

import os sender_email = os.getenv('EMAIL_USER') password = os.getenv('EMAIL_PASS')
.env File:
- Store the credentials in a .env file and load them using the python-dotenv package.

10. Automating with Task Schedulers

Using Cron (Linux/macOS)

To schedule your script to run daily on Linux or macOS, you can use Cron.

Open your terminal and type crontab -e to edit your Cron jobs.
Add the following line to run your Python script every day at 9 AM:

bash

0 9 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/your/script.py

Using Task Scheduler (Windows)

On Windows, you can use Task Scheduler to automate the script:

Open Task Scheduler and select “Create Basic Task”.
Set the trigger to “Daily” and specify the time.
In the “Action” tab, choose “Start a Program” and provide the path to the Python executable and your script.

11. Testing and Debugging the Script

It’s crucial to test the script thoroughly before putting it into production. Use the following tips to test and debug:

Test Email Sending: Run the script manually to ensure that emails are sent correctly.
Logging: Add logging to track when emails are sent and any errors that occur.

python

import logging

logging.basicConfig(filename='email_automation.log', level=logging.INFO)
logging.info("Email sent successfully!")

Debugging SMTP Issues: If your emails aren’t being sent, check the logs and ensure your SMTP credentials are correct.

12. Conclusion

Automating daily email reports using Python is a practical and efficient way to streamline repetitive tasks. By following this guide, you’ve learned how to:

Set up the environment for email automation
Create a Python script that connects to an SMTP server and sends an email
Customize the email with attachments and HTML formatting
Schedule the script to run automatically every day

With the script in place, you can now automate the process of sending reports, saving time and reducing the risk of human error. This setup can easily be extended for other automation tasks, such as weekly or monthly reports, reminders, or notifications.

Happy coding!

How to Write a Script to Automate Sending Daily Email Reports in Python

How to Write a Script to Automate Sending Daily Email Reports in Python

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Prerequisites

3. Overview of Email Automation

4. Setting Up the Environment

Installing Required Libraries

5. Understanding the Email Protocol: SMTP

6. Writing the Python Script

Step 1: Importing Libraries

Step 2: Defining Email Credentials

Step 3: Creating the Email Content

Step 4: Connecting to the SMTP Server

Step 5: Sending the Email

Step 6: Automating the Script with Scheduling

7. Customizing the Email Report

Attaching Files (e.g., CSV, PDF)

Formatting Email Body with HTML

8. Adding Error Handling

9. Securing Credentials

10. Automating with Task Schedulers

Using Cron (Linux/macOS)

Using Task Scheduler (Windows)

11. Testing and Debugging the Script

12. Conclusion

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