Fetching email attachments via Gmail API: How to do it?

Other Questions Gmail
1

I’m trying to grab attachments from my Gmail using the Gmail API. I’m working with Python and the Google API client library.

The docs show an example, but when I try it, I get this error:

AttributeError: 'Resource' object has no attribute 'user'

This happens on this line:

message = service.user().messages().get(userId=user_id, id=msg_id).execute()

I tried changing user() to users(), like this:

message = service.users().messages().get(userId=user_id, id=msg_id).execute()

Now it runs, but I can’t find part['body']['data'] when I loop through message['payload']['parts'].

Any ideas what I’m doing wrong? How can I get those attachments?

2

I’ve worked with the Gmail API before, and there are a few quirks to be aware of. First, ensure you’re using the correct service object. It should be something like gmail_service = build('gmail', 'v1', credentials=creds).

For fetching attachments, you’ll need to iterate through the parts and check for attachments. Here’s a snippet that might help:

parts = message['payload'].get('parts', [])
for part in parts:
    if part.get('filename'):
        attachment_id = part['body']['attachmentId']
        attachment = gmail_service.users().messages().attachments().get(userId='me', messageId=msg_id, id=attachment_id).execute()
        file_data = base64.urlsafe_b64decode(attachment['data'].encode('UTF-8'))
        # Save or process file_data as needed

Remember to handle potential errors and edge cases. Good luck with your project!

3

I’ve been down this road before, and it can be tricky. One thing to keep in mind is that not all messages have attachments in the ‘parts’ section. Sometimes, especially for inline images, you might need to check the ‘body’ of the message directly.

Here’s what worked for me:

def get_attachments(service, user_id, msg_id):
    message = service.users().messages().get(userId=user_id, id=msg_id, format='full').execute()
    parts = message['payload'].get('parts', [])
    
    for part in parts:
        if part.get('filename'):
            if 'data' in part['body']:
                data = part['body']['data']
            else:
                att_id = part['body']['attachmentId']
                att = service.users().messages().attachments().get(userId=user_id, messageId=msg_id, id=att_id).execute()
                data = att['data']
            file_data = base64.urlsafe_b64decode(data.encode('UTF-8'))
            # Process file_data here

    # Don't forget to check the main body too
    if 'body' in message['payload'] and 'attachmentId' in message['payload']['body']:
        # Handle attachment in main body

This approach has been pretty reliable for me. Just remember to handle potential errors and edge cases.

4

hey there! i had similar issues. try this:

check if ‘parts’ exists in message[‘payload’]. if not, look for ‘body’ directly in message[‘payload’].

for attachments, you might need to use:

attachment = service.users().messages().attachments().get(userId=‘me’, messageId=msg_id, id=att_id).execute()

hope this helps!