Need to quickly download Gmail attachments without opening each email manually? Whether it’s invoices, resumes, or memes — you can automate it all with Python. In this beginner-friendly guide, I’ll walk you through a simple script to search Gmail and bulk-download attachments in just a few steps.
🧠 What You’ll Learn
- How to use the
ezgmailPython library - Search emails with attachments using Gmail queries
- Download attachments from Gmail threads
- Build a complete command-line script, even as a beginner
🔧 Prerequisites
Before diving in, make sure you’ve got:
✅ Python 3 installed
✅ A Gmail account
✅ Basic knowledge of Python
✅ Some command-line comfort
You’ll also need to install and set up ezgmail, a beginner-friendly library for Gmail automation.
📦 Step 1: Install ezgmail
Open your terminal and run:
pip install ezgmail
🔐 Step 2: Set Up Gmail API Access (First-Time Only)
- Go to the Google Developer Console.
- Create a project.
- Enable the Gmail API.
- Create OAuth client ID credentials.
- Download the
credentials.jsonfile and save it in your project folder. - Run this once to authenticate:
import ezgmail
ezgmail.init()
This creates a token.json file for future access.
✅ Now you’re ready to automate Gmail!
🧾 Step 3: The Complete Script
Here’s the full Python code, explained step-by-step:
import ezgmail
We import the ezgmail library to access Gmail through Python.
📁 Step 4: Define the Attachment Downloader Function
def attachmentdownload(resulthreads):
This function takes Gmail search results as input.
countofresults = len(resulthreads)
We count how many threads (conversations) matched the query.
🔁 Loop Through Threads and Messages
try:
for i in range(countofresults):
Loop through each thread.
if len(resulthreads[i].messages) > 1:
If the thread has multiple messages (a long conversation):
for j in range(len(resulthreads[i].messages)):
resulthreads[i].messages[j].downloadAllAttachments()
Loop through each message in the thread and download attachments.
else:
resulthreads[i].messages[0].downloadAllAttachments()
If the thread has only one message, just download that one.
print("Download complete. Please check your root directory.")
Prints a success message.
except:
raise Exception("Error occurred while downloading attachment(s).")
Handles any unexpected errors during download.
📥 Step 5: The Main Script
if __name__ == '__main__':
Standard Python entry point.
query = input("Enter search query: ")
Ask the user for a Gmail search query (like "from:boss@example.com" or "subject:invoice").
newquery = query + " + has:attachment"
We force Gmail to only return emails with attachments using has:attachment.
📝 Learn more Gmail search operators here.
🔍 Step 6: Search for Matching Emails
resulthreads = ezgmail.search(newquery)
Search Gmail with our updated query.
if len(resulthreads) == 0:
print("Result has no attachments:")
No matches? Let the user know.
else:
print("Result(s) with attachments:")
Found something? Let’s show the subject line for each email.
for threads in resulthreads:
print(f"Email Subject: {threads.messages[0].subject}")
Print the subject of the first message in each thread.
📎 Step 7: Ask User Before Downloading
try:
ask = input("Do you want to download attachment(s) in result(s) (Yes/No)? ")
Get user confirmation.
if ask == "Yes":
attachmentdownload(resulthreads)
else:
print("Program exited")
If “Yes”, download. Otherwise, exit politely.
except:
print("Something went wrong")
Catch unexpected errors.
📦 Full Script Recap
import ezgmail
def attachmentdownload(resulthreads):
countofresults = len(resulthreads)
try:
for i in range(countofresults):
if len(resulthreads[i].messages) > 1:
for j in range(len(resulthreads[i].messages)):
resulthreads[i].messages[j].downloadAllAttachments()
else:
resulthreads[i].messages[0].downloadAllAttachments()
print("Download complete. Please check your root directory.")
except:
raise Exception("Error occurred while downloading attachment(s).")
if __name__ == '__main__':
query = input("Enter search query: ")
newquery = query + " + has:attachment"
resulthreads = ezgmail.search(newquery)
if len(resulthreads) == 0:
print("Result has no attachments:")
else:
print("Result(s) with attachments:")
for threads in resulthreads:
print(f"Email Subject: {threads.messages[0].subject}")
try:
ask = input("Do you want to download attachment(s) in result(s) (Yes/No)? ")
if ask == "Yes":
attachmentdownload(resulthreads)
else:
print("Program exited")
except:
print("Something went wrong")
📍 Where Are My Attachments Saved?
By default, they’re downloaded to the current directory where you run the script. You can easily change the download path in downloadAllAttachments() if needed.
💡 Pro Tips
- Use precise Gmail queries like
subject:"invoice" after:2025/01/01. - You can modify the script to filter by file type or sender.
- Want to download from a label? Use
label:your-label.
🧠 Wrapping Up
This tiny script can save hours of manual downloading if you get lots of attachments — whether it’s for work, taxes, or even memes 😄
You’ve now:
- Connected Python to Gmail
- Fetched emails with attachments
- Downloaded everything with one click
👉 What’s Next?
If you loved this, check out our other Python automation tutorials:
- How to Predict Your Salary Using Python and Machine Learning
- Build a Powerful AI Motivational Quote Generator in Python
- Master Angle Detection in Images Using OpenCV – A Python Tutorial You’ll Love
🛠 Want Us to Automate Your Inbox?
Explore Ossels AI’s Services — we help businesses automate everything with smart, scalable AI.
💬 Got questions? Drop them in the comments or ping us on Instagram. Let’s automate smart!
