Top 15 Python Email Libraries in 2024

The smtplib module will define an SMTP client session object which we can use for sending email to any machine connected to the internet with an ESMTP or SMTP listener daemon. 

We can use Python for sending an email in many ways, like an email with an attachment, an HTML/Markdown-formatted email message, or plain text. Many third-party libraries are available in the market, like EmailReplyParser for parsing the response from email threads, EmailMessage module in Python’s Standard Library, Mailgun-py, which is an official and actively maintained library, and Flanker which is a parsing and validation library. 

We have handpicked the top 15 Python Email Libraries in 2024 which fulfill all the developer requirements: 

GHunt

• Is an offensive Google Framework that is designed to evolve effectively.  
• Is fully asynchronous and uses CLI & modules.  
• Will automatically use venvs to avoid dependency conflicts with other projects. 

mailinabox

• Helps us in taking back control of our email by defining an easy-to-deploy, one-click SMTP+everything else server: a mail server in a box. 
• Promotes innovation, privacy, and decentralization on the web. 
• Has auditable, idempotent, and automated configuration. 

Mailpile

• Is a fast web-mail client, modern, with user-friendly privacy and encryption features.  
• Places emphasize providing an elegant user interface and a clean and pleasant user experience. 
• Allows email to be organized with tags and lets us automatically configure tag incoming email depending on Bayesian classifiers or static rules. 

theHarvester

• Is a simple yet powerful tool designed for use during the reconnaissance stage of a penetrated or a red team assessment test. 
• Performs Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) by gathering help in determining a domain’s external threat landscape. 
• Gathers emails, subdomains, URLs, names, and IPs with the help of multiple public resources. 

pyWhat

• Will easily let you identify IP addresses, emails, and more. 
• Helps in filtering outputs, exporting, and sorting according to your requirements. 
• Supports filters like bug bounties and many more. 

sync-engine

• Offers a RESTful API on top of a powerful email sync platform to make it easier to build apps on top of the email. 
• The API service will provide a REST API to help interact with your data. 
• The sync engine will automatically begin synchronizing your account with your current provider. 

yagmail

• Is an SMTP/GMAIL client which aims to make sending emails the simplest and easiest task. 
• With yagmail, sending emails to many people by offering a list of email strings rather than mentioning a single string is possible. 
• Is a wrapper library on top of smtplib that is a standard library to send emails using Python. 

mailin

• Is an SMTP server that listens to emails, parses them, and posts them in json format to the URL you choose.  
• Checks incoming email’s spf, spam score, and dkim to tell you the language in which it is written.  
• Can be used as a standalone application embedded inside a node application or directly from the command line. 

offlineimap

• Is software that helps download your email mailbox or mailboxes as local Maildirs.  
• OfflineIMAP will synchronize both sides using IMAP.  
• Allows you to read your email offline without requiring your mail reader to support your IMAP operations. 

gmail

• Is a Pythonic interface for Google’s Gmail with all the necessary tools.  
• Will search, archive, delete, read, and send multipart emails, manage labels, and mark as read/unread emails. 
• Connects with live Gmail for accessing real-time data. 

flanker

• Is an open source parsing library in Python which contains an address and a MIME parsing library.  
• Both can parse addresses, validate them, and convert headers to Unicode, which detects and preserves encodings when possible. 
• Stores the message in a single string, tracks changes, and returns unchanged parts during serialization. 

inbox.py

• Is an asynchronous simplest SMTP server.  
• Can handle one instance of over one thousand emails per second.  
• Is a library for managing email inboxes that provides an API for creating, deleting, reading, and retrieving emails. 

django-anymail

• Let's send and receive an email in Django with your choice of transactional Email Service Provider (ESPs). 
• Includes integration to each ESP’s sending APIs into Django’s built-in email package, simplified inline images from HTML email, and ‘Batch Transactional’ sends with your ESP’s merging and templating features.  
• Maintains compatibility with all Django versions and is extensively tested on all Python versions which Django supports. 

python-o365

• Aims in making interact with Office 365 and Microsoft Graph in a Pythonic and easy way. 
• Helps with access to Calendar, OneDrive, Email, and Contacts. 
• Provides automatic handling between local and server datetimes. 

SimplyEmail

• Is an email recon that is easy and quick using the framework built on.  
• Uses built-in Parsers for the rawest results.  
• Multiprocessing Queue for modules and Results Queue for easy Email data handling. 

FAQ:  

1. What is the email module used for in Python programming?  

The Python 'email' module can create, send, receive, and manage email messages. It helps you with email messages, different email types, and functionalities. You can use the 'email' module to write and send plain text and HTML emails. It also lets you handle headers and add attachments.  

Key Features:  

• Message Composition: It helps create and format email messages with various MIME types. It includes plain text, attachments, and HTML.  
• Header Manipulation: It provides methods to manipulate and add headers to email messages. Headers are crucial to route and identify emails correctly.  
• MIME types: It supports different MIME types. It allows you to send emails with rich content like video, audio, and images.  
• SMTP Integration: You can use the 'smtplib' module with the 'email' module to send emails over an SMTP server.  
• Message Parsing: You can use the module to parse incoming email messages. It can be helpful when you need to extract information from received emails.  
• Internationalization: It supports international character encodings. It provides features to send emails in various languages and character sets.  
• Attachment Handling: You can add files to your email using the 'email' module. This is useful for sending documents, images, or other files along with your emails.  

2. How does the listener daemon work in Python's email libraries?  

Python's email libraries do not include a dedicated concept for listening to demons. But you may want to make a program that listens for emails using 'imaplib' and 'email.  

Here is how it works:  

Checking for New Emails:   

The program connects to the IMAP server using 'imaplib.' To start, log in using the right login information. Then, choose the mailbox you want and look for new or unread emails. Once you find new emails, you can use the 'email' module to parse and process the content of these emails.  

Internet Message Access Protocol:  

IMAP is a protocol to access and manage email messages stored on a mail server. POP3 usually downloads emails to the device and deletes them from the server. It allows you to manage emails on the server itself. Python's 'imaplib' module provides a way to interact with IMAP servers.  

Listener Setup:  

To create an email listener in Python, you typically use the 'imaplib' module to connect to an IMAP server. It periodically checks for new emails in a specified mailbox (folder) on the server.  

3. What does the smtplib module include in its features?  

The 'smtplib' module in Python provides a way to send emails using SMTP. SMTP server uses it to deliver email messages. It offers several features and functionalities that facilitate sending emails programmatically.  

Here are the key features included within the 'smtplib' module:  

SMTP Connection Management:  

• SMTP (host, port): Using the constructor to create an SMTP instance. It provides the hostname and port of the server.  
• Login (user, password): Authenticates with the server using the specified username and password.  
• starttls(): Initiates a secure TLS connection with the server.  

Debugging and Logging:  

• has_extn(name): Checks if the server supports a specific extension.  
• set_debugLevel(level): Sets the debug output level for the SMTP connection.  

Email Sending:  

• quit(): Closes the SMTP connection.  
• sendmail (from_addr, to_addrs, msg): The function sendmail sends an email. It takes three arguments: from_addr, to_addrs, and msg.  
• send_message(msg): Sends an email message object directly using the SMTP connection.  

Exception Handling:   

• SMTPConnectError: Raised if the connection to the SMTP server fails.  
• SMTPException: Base class for exceptions raised by the 'smtplib' module.  
• SMTPAuthenticationError: Raised if authentication with the SMTP server fails.  

Authentication and Security:  

• starttls(): Initiates a TLS/SSL encrypted session to secure communication.  
• login (user, password): Enter your username and password to log in. This will allow you to authenticate with the SMTP server.  

4. How do Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) help with mail transmission?  

MIME helps emails send more than just plain text by including multimedia content. It is important for mail transmission. Email messages follow an Internet standard. This standard allows for character encodings, attachments, and content types. It enhances the capabilities of email messages. It makes them more versatile and capable of handling rich content.  

Here is how MIME helps with mail transmission:  

• Support for Non-Text Content  
• Attachments  
• Content Type Identification  
• Content-Encoding  
• Compatibility  
• Header Information  
• Message Structure  
• Multi-Part Messages  
• Inline Images and Styling  

MIME improves email messages by consistently handling various content types. Emails can carry multimedia attachments, styled HTML content, and other non-text elements. It makes email communication more versatile and expensive.  

5. What should you consider when selecting an email service provider for Python apps?  

It would help to consider many things when picking an email service for Python apps. Make sure your chosen provider meets your application's needs and requirements.  

Here are some key considerations:  

• API Documentation and Support  
• Email Deliverability  
• Ease of Integration  
• Email Sending Limits  
• Authentication and Security  
• Scalability  
• Template Support  
• Cost and Pricing Model  
• Analytics and Tracking  
• Geographical Coverage  
• Vendor Lock-in  
• Compliance and Regulations  
• Customization and Branding  
• Service Uptime and Reliability  

6. How can I create an SMTP client session object to send emails through a server?  

To create an SMTP client session object to send emails through a server, you can use the 'smtplib' module. Here are the steps to make an SMTP client session and send emails using the module: 

• Import the 'smtplib' module: Import the 'stmplib' module. It provides methods and classes to send emails using the SMTP protocol.  
• Create an SMTP connection: Use the 'SMTP' class to show a connection with the server. You should provide the hostname and port number of the SMTP server. The standard ports are 25 (unencrypted) and 587 (encrypted with STARTTLS). If you use SSL/TLS, you might need to use a different port.  
• Start TLS Encryption: Use the 'starttls()' method to make a secure connection. Use it if your email server has TLS encryption.  
• Login to the server: Authenticate with the SMTP server using your email credentials. Replace ‘your_email@example.com' and 'your_password' with your actual email and password.  
• Create an Email message: Use the 'email' module to create an email message. This could include setting the sender, subject, recipients, and message body. You can also attach files and format the email content.  
• Send the email: Use the 'sendmail()' method to send the email. Provide the sender's email address, the message content, and the recipient's email address.  
• Quit the SMTP connection: To end the SMTP connection, close it after sending emails.