Automating daily email reports using Python can be achieved using libraries like `smtplib` for sending
emails and `schedule` for scheduling tasks. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set it up:
### Step 1: Install Required Libraries
Make sure you have `smtplib` and `schedule` installed. You can install them using pip:
```bash
pip install secure-smtplib schedule
```
### Step 2: Set Up Your Email Credentials
You’ll need an email account to send emails from. For this example, I'll use Gmail, but the process is
similar for other providers. You’ll also need to enable "Less Secure Apps" in your Gmail settings or use
App Passwords if 2-factor authentication is enabled.
```python
# Email configuration
EMAIL_HOST = 'smtp.gmail.com'
EMAIL_PORT = 587
EMAIL_ADDRESS = '[email protected]'
EMAIL_PASSWORD = 'your-email-password'
```
### Step 3: Write the Email Sending Function
Create a function that sets up an SMTP connection and sends an email. Here’s a basic example:
```python
import smtplib
from email.mime.text import MIMEText
from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart
def send_email(subject, body, to_email):
msg = MIMEMultipart()
msg['From'] = EMAIL_ADDRESS
msg['To'] = to_email
msg['Subject'] = subject
msg.attach(MIMEText(body, 'plain'))
try:
smtp_server = smtplib.SMTP(EMAIL_HOST, EMAIL_PORT)
smtp_server.starttls()
smtp_server.login(EMAIL_ADDRESS, EMAIL_PASSWORD)
smtp_server.sendmail(EMAIL_ADDRESS, to_email, msg.as_string())
smtp_server.quit()
print(f"Email sent successfully to {to_email}")
except Exception as e:
print(f"Failed to send email to {to_email}. Error: {str(e)}")
```
### Step 4: Create the Report Generation Function
Write a function that generates your daily report. This can include fetching data from databases, APIs, or
files, formatting it, and returning the report content as a string.
```python
def generate_daily_report():
# Example report content
report = """
Daily Report
------------
Here is your daily report content.
"""
return report
```
### Step 5: Schedule the Email Sending
Use the `schedule` library to schedule sending the email daily at a specific time. Here’s an example:
```python
import schedule
import time
def send_daily_report():
recipient = '[email protected]' # Replace with recipient's email address
subject = 'Daily Report'
body = generate_daily_report()
send_email(subject, body, recipient)
# Schedule sending the daily report every day at 8:00 AM
schedule.every().day.at("08:00").do(send_daily_report)
# Infinite loop to keep the script running
while True:
schedule.run_pending()
time.sleep(60) # Wait 60 seconds before checking schedule again
```
### Step 6: Run Your Script
Save your script as `daily_email_report.py` and run it using Python:
```bash
python daily_email_report.py
```
### Notes
- Make sure your script is running continuously (using a server, VPS, or a computer that stays on).
- Handle exceptions and errors gracefully to ensure reliability.
- Test your script thoroughly before deploying it in a production environment.
- Depending on your email provider, you may need to adjust the SMTP settings and security
configurations.
This setup will automate sending daily email reports using Python, allowing you to focus on other tasks
without manually sending emails every day.
