I can help you create a Python script to automate sending daily email reports, and below is a step-by-step guide with a sample script to get you started.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Set Up Your Environment:

   • Make sure you have Python installed.

   • Install necessary libraries using pip. You will need smtplib for sending emails and email for email composition. Optionally, you can use dotenv to manage environment variables securely.

    pip install python-dotenv

2. Create Environment Variables:

   • Create a .env file to store your email credentials and other configurations securely.

    EMAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
    EMAIL_PORT=587
    EMAIL_ADDRESS=your-email@gmail.com
    EMAIL_PASSWORD=your-email-password

3. Write the Python Script:

    import smtplib
    from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart
    from email.mime.text import MIMEText
    from datetime import datetime
    from dotenv import load_dotenv
    import os
   
    # Load environment variables from .env file
    load_dotenv()
   
    EMAIL_HOST = os.getenv('EMAIL_HOST')
    EMAIL_PORT = os.getenv('EMAIL_PORT')
    EMAIL_ADDRESS = os.getenv('EMAIL_ADDRESS')
    EMAIL_PASSWORD = os.getenv('EMAIL_PASSWORD')
   
    def send_email(subject, body, to_emails):
        # Create the email headers and body
        msg = MIMEMultipart()
        msg['From'] = EMAIL_ADDRESS
        msg['To'] = ', '.join(to_emails)
        msg['Subject'] = subject
   
        msg.attach(MIMEText(body, 'plain'))
   
        try:
            # Set up the server
            server = smtplib.SMTP(EMAIL_HOST, EMAIL_PORT)
            server.starttls()
            server.login(EMAIL_ADDRESS, EMAIL_PASSWORD)
   
            # Send the email
            server.sendmail(EMAIL_ADDRESS, to_emails, msg.as_string())
            server.quit()
   
            print("Email sent successfully!")
        except Exception as e:
            print(f"Failed to send email: {e}")
   
    def generate_daily_report():
        # Placeholder function to generate your report
        # You can replace this with your actual report generation logic
        report_date = datetime.now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
        report_body = f"Daily report for {report_date}\n\nAll systems operational."
        return report_body
   
    if __name__ == "__main__":
        # Email details
        subject = f"Daily Report - {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}"
        body = generate_daily_report()
        to_emails = ['recipient1@example.com', 'recipient2@example.com']
   
        # Send the email
        send_email(subject, body, to_emails)
   

4. Automate the Script:

   • Use a task scheduler to run your script daily.

   • For Windows, you can use Task Scheduler.

   • For macOS and Linux, you can use cron jobs.

Windows Task Scheduler:

1. Open Task Scheduler.

2. Create a new basic task.

3. Set the trigger to daily.

4. Set the action to start a program and select your Python script.

Cron Job (macOS/Linux):

1. Open your crontab file by running crontab -e in the terminal.

2. Add the following line to run your script daily at a specified time (e.g., 8 AM):

    0 8 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/your/script.py

Explanation

1. Environment Setup:

   • The script begins by loading the environment variables for email configuration.

   • It uses dotenv to securely handle sensitive information like email credentials.

2. Email Sending Function:

   • send_email function composes the email and sends it using SMTP.

   • It handles connecting to the email server, logging in, and sending the message.

3. Report Generation:

   • generate_daily_report is a placeholder for generating your report content.

   • Replace this with the logic needed to create your actual daily report.

4. Automation:

   • The main script composes the email details and sends it.

   • Scheduling ensures the script runs automatically each day at the specified time.

This setup provides a secure and automated way to send daily email reports using Python.