Hey folks, I’m stuck with a frustrating problem while trying to build a script to fetch attachments from my Gmail account. Every time I run it, I get this annoying error:
I’ve set up 2FA and enabled IMAP in my Gmail settings. I even generated a 16-digit app password since I heard the ‘less secure apps’ option is no longer available. But nothing seems to work!
Have you considered using OAuth2 instead of app passwords? It’s generally more secure and robust for accessing Gmail via IMAP. You’d need to set up a project in Google Cloud Console, enable the Gmail API, and obtain client credentials. Then use a library like google-auth-oauthlib to handle the authentication flow.
Here’s a basic example:
from google.auth.transport.requests import Request
from google.oauth2.credentials import Credentials
from google_auth_oauthlib.flow import Flow
from googleapiclient.discovery import build
# Set up OAuth2 flow
flow = Flow.from_client_secrets_file('path/to/client_secret.json', ['https://mail.google.com/'])
creds = flow.run_local_server(port=0)
# Use the credentials to access Gmail
service = build('gmail', 'v1', credentials=creds)
# Now you can use 'service' to interact with Gmail
This approach avoids the ‘Invalid credentials’ error you’re encountering and provides a more stable solution long-term.
yo, have u tried checkin ur firewall settings? sometimes they block imap connections. also, make sure ur using the right port (993 for ssl). if that dont work, try connectin from a different network or use a vpn. google can be weird bout ip addresses sometimes. good luck man!
I’ve dealt with this exact issue before, and it can be incredibly frustrating. One thing that often gets overlooked is the format of the app password. Make sure you’re entering it without any spaces. Sometimes, when you generate the app password, it’s displayed with spaces for readability, but you need to remove those when using it in your code.
Another potential pitfall is the email address. Double-check that you’re using the full email address, including the ‘@gmail.com’ part. I once spent hours debugging only to realize I’d left off the domain.
If those don’t work, try creating a new app password specifically for this script. I’ve had weird cases where an existing app password suddenly stopped working, but generating a fresh one solved the problem.
Lastly, if you’re still stuck, it might be worth checking your account’s security settings. Sometimes, Google can flag unusual activity and temporarily block access. A quick look at your account’s recent security events might provide some clues.