How to download Gmail attachments using Python 3.7 and the Gmail API?

Other Questions Gmail
1

Struggling with Gmail attachment downloads in Python 3.7

I’m trying to automate a process that involves getting a CSV file from Gmail. The goal is to download the attachment and then run some analysis on it. But I’m having trouble figuring out the right way to do this with the Gmail API in Python 3.7.

Here’s what I’ve managed to do so far:

  1. I can get message IDs from Gmail.
  2. I’ve set up authentication with the API.

But I’m stuck on a few things:

  1. How do I search for a specific email with the attachment I need?
  2. The attachment isn’t saving where I want it to.
  3. I need to process this CSV file with another Python script.

Has anyone done something similar? Any tips on how to make this work smoothly? I’m new to working with APIs, so any advice would be great.

Here’s a snippet of what I’ve tried:

def fetch_attachment(service, user_id, msg_id):
    try:
        message = service.users().messages().get(userId=user_id, id=msg_id).execute()
        for part in message['payload']['parts']:
            if part['filename']:
                attachment = service.users().messages().attachments().get(
                    userId=user_id, messageId=msg_id, id=part['body']['attachmentId']
                ).execute()
                file_data = base64.urlsafe_b64decode(attachment['data'].encode('UTF-8'))
                return file_data
    except Exception as e:
        print(f'Error: {e}')
    return None

Any help would be awesome. Thanks!

2

hey mate, i’ve done smthing similar before. for searching specific emails, try using labels or keywords in ur search query. like this:

query = ‘has:attachment filename:csv’

for saving, make sure u got write permissions. also, pandas is gr8 for csv stuff. u can do:

df = pd.read_csv(io.BytesIO(file_data))

Hope dis helps!

3

I’ve worked with the Gmail API for a similar project, and I can offer some insights. For searching specific emails, use the ‘q’ parameter in the messages().list() method. You can filter by subject, sender, or even attachment name.

To save the attachment correctly, ensure you’re writing the file_data to a file:

with open(‘/path/to/save/attachment.csv’, ‘wb’) as f:
f.write(file_data)

For processing the CSV, consider using the pandas library. You can directly read the file_data into a DataFrame:

import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv(io.StringIO(file_data.decode(‘utf-8’)))

This approach streamlines the process without saving the file intermediately. Hope this helps with your automation efforts!

4

Having worked on a similar project, I can share some insights that might help you out. For searching specific emails, you can use Gmail’s search operators in your query string. Something like ‘subject:“Monthly Report” has:attachment’ can narrow down your search effectively.

As for saving the attachment, ensure you’re using the correct file path and have the necessary permissions. Here’s a quick snippet that might help:

file_path = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), ‘downloads’, part[‘filename’])
with open(file_path, ‘wb’) as file:
file.write(file_data)

For processing the CSV, I’d recommend using pandas as others have mentioned. It’s incredibly efficient for data manipulation and analysis. You can load the CSV directly into a DataFrame without saving it first:

import pandas as pd
import io

df = pd.read_csv(io.BytesIO(file_data))

This approach can streamline your workflow significantly. Remember to handle exceptions and implement proper error logging to make debugging easier. Good luck with your project!