What's the best way to use Perl for sending emails via Gmail?

Other Questions Gmail
1

Hey everyone,

I’m trying to figure out how to use Perl to send emails through my Gmail account. I’ve been looking around for a good solution, but I’m kinda stuck.

I tried using a CPAN library called Mail::Webmail::Gmail, but it didn’t work out for me. Plus, it doesn’t seem like it’s being updated much.

Right now, I just need to send simple messages. But I’m also interested in more advanced stuff for future projects. Like, maybe accessing my contacts or doing something when I get new emails with specific labels.

Has anyone here successfully sent emails through Gmail using Perl? What libraries or methods did you use? Any tips or code examples would be super helpful!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can share!

2

hey, try net::smtp::tls for gmail. its super simple if u set your app pass correctly. basic example: create net::smtp::tls object, set user/pass, send email. works fine for me. give it a try!

3

I’ve been using the Email::Sender::Simple module with great success for sending emails via Gmail. It’s a bit more modern and flexible than some other options out there.

Here’s the gist of how I set it up:

  1. Install Email::Sender::Simple and Email::Sender::Transport::SMTP::TLS from CPAN.
  2. Create an app password in your Google account settings.
  3. Use something like this in your Perl script:
use Email::Sender::Simple qw(sendmail);
use Email::Sender::Transport::SMTP::TLS;
use Email::Simple;
use Email::Simple::Creator;

my $transport = Email::Sender::Transport::SMTP::TLS->new({
    host => 'smtp.gmail.com',
    port => 587,
    username => '[email protected]',
    password => 'your_app_password',
});

my $email = Email::Simple->create(
    header => [
        To      => '[email protected]',
        From    => '[email protected]',
        Subject => 'Test Email',
    ],
    body => 'This is a test email sent from Perl.',
);

sendmail($email, { transport => $transport });

This approach has been reliable for me and handles most email tasks I need. For more advanced Gmail-specific features, you might want to explore Google’s APIs directly.

4

I’ve had success using the Net::SMTP::SSL module for sending emails through Gmail with Perl. It’s straightforward and works well with Gmail’s SMTP server. You’ll need to set up an app password in your Google account for security.

Here’s a basic example:

use Net::SMTP::SSL;
use MIME::Lite;

my $smtp = Net::SMTP::SSL->new('smtp.gmail.com', Port => 465);
$smtp->auth('[email protected]', 'your_app_password');

my $msg = MIME::Lite->new(
    From    => '[email protected]',
    To      => '[email protected]',
    Subject => 'Test email',
    Data    => 'This is a test email sent from Perl.'
);

$smtp->mail('[email protected]');
$smtp->to('[email protected]');
$smtp->data($msg->as_string);
$smtp->quit;

This method is reliable and covers most basic email sending needs. For more advanced features like accessing contacts or processing incoming emails, you might want to look into the Gmail API and use a module like WebService::Google::Client.