How to Send Email in Python

To send an email using Python, use the following functions from the smtplib library.

• SMTP(SMTP_SERVER, SMTP_PORT) - creates an SMTP session as per the SMTP server and the SMTP port details.
• starttls() - to start the TLS for the security setup.
• login(SMTP_USERNAME, SMTP_PASSWORD) - for providing the email sender’s authentication details.
• sendmail(EMAIL_FROM, EMAIL_TO, the_message) - to send the message from the Sender to the Receiver.
• quit() to quit the SMTP Session.

Here is an example that demonstrates the sending of mail through the Gmail SMTP server.

import smtplib

SMTP_SERVER = "smtp.gmail.com"
SMTP_PORT = 587
SMTP_USERNAME = "sender_username_here@gmail.com"
SMTP_PASSWORD = "sender_password_here"
EMAIL_FROM = "sender_username_here@gmail.com"
EMAIL_TO = "receiver_username_here@gmail.com"
EMAIL_SUBJECT = "Attention:Subject here"
EMAIL_MESSAGE = "The message here"

s = smtplib.SMTP(SMTP_SERVER, SMTP_PORT)
s.starttls()
s.login(SMTP_USERNAME, SMTP_PASSWORD)
message = "Subject: {}\n\n{}".format(EMAIL_SUBJECT, EMAIL_MESSAGE)
s.sendmail(EMAIL_FROM, EMAIL_TO, message)
s.quit()

The output may look as follows as per the connection built at that point in your system -

(221, b"2.0.0 closing connection t12sm4676768pfc.133 - gsmtp")

As a result, the email is sent. The receiver receives the message successfully.

Note:

• In case of Gmail, provide the following SMTP details :

SMTP_SERVER = "smtp.gmail.com"
SMTP_PORT = 587

Also, the following setting needs to be enabled in Gmail before executing the code.

https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps

• In case of Yahoo Mail, provide the following SMTP details :

SMTP_SERVER = "smtp.mail.yahoo.com"
SMTP_PORT = 587

Also, generate a Yahoo App Password before executing the code. Check the link below.

https://help.yahoo.com/kb/generate-separate-password-sln15241.html

• Similarly, if you wish to use any other mail provider, use its respective SMTP server details and pre-requisites.