Sending emails using the AWS SDK for Python

In this tutorial, you will learn how to send emails via Yandex Cloud Postbox using the AWS SDK for Python (Boto3).

To start sending emails:

1. Get your cloud ready.
2. Configure a directory for authentication data.
3. Create and run the application.
4. Check the result.

If you no longer need the resources you created, delete them.

Get your cloud readyGet your cloud ready

Sign up for Yandex Cloud and create a billing account:

1. Navigate to the management console and log in to Yandex Cloud or create a new account.
2. On the Yandex Cloud Billing page, make sure you have a billing account linked and it has the ACTIVE or TRIAL_ACTIVE status. If you do not have a billing account, create one and link a cloud to it.

If you have an active billing account, you can navigate to the cloud page to create or select a folder for your infrastructure.

Learn more about clouds and folders here.

Required paid resourcesRequired paid resources

The infrastructure support costs include:

• Fee for using Yandex Cloud Postbox (see Yandex Cloud Postbox pricing).
• Fee for public DNS queries and DNS zones, if you are creating a resource record in Cloud DNS (see Cloud DNS pricing).

Set up resourcesSet up resources

1. Create a service account.
2. Assign the postbox.sender role to the service account.
3. Create a static access key for the service account. Save the ID and secret key.
4. Create an address.
5. Pass a domain ownership check.

Configure a directory for authentication dataConfigure a directory for authentication data

1. Create a directory to store the authentication data in and navigate to it:

   For macOS and Linux:

   mkdir ~/.aws/
   

   For Windows:

   mkdir C:\Users\<user_name>\.aws\
   

2. In the .aws directory, create a file named credentials, copy the credentials you got when creating a static access key, and paste them into it:

   [default]
   aws_access_key_id = <static_key_ID>
   aws_secret_access_key = <secret_key>
   

3. Create a file named config with the default region settings and copy the following information to it:

   [default]
   region = ru-central1
   endpoint_url = https://postbox.cloud.yandex.net
   

Using environment variablesUsing environment variables

By default, the AWS SDK uses authentication data from environment variables if they are set. These variables have priority over authentication data from the .aws/credentials file.

The following environment variables are supported:

• AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: Static key ID.
• AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: Secret key.

To set environment variables, depending on your operating system, follow these steps:

export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<static_key_ID>
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<secret_key>

$Env:AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<static_key_ID>
$Env:AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<secret_key>

Create and run the applicationCreate and run the application

1. Get the application code:

   Repository

   Manually

   1. Clone the repository:

      git clone https://github.com/yandex-cloud-examples/yc-postbox-examples
      

   2. Navigate to the folder in the cloned / repository.

   3. In the raw.py file, specify the following:

      • Sender's email address in the SENDER field.

        The sender's email domain must match the one specified in the Yandex Cloud Postbox address you created when getting started. For example, if your verified domain is yourdomain.com, you can use addresses like noreply@yourdomain.com or admin@yourdomain.com but not user@mail.yourdomain.com.

      • Recipient's email address in the RECIPIENT field, e.g., receiver@yourdomain.com. You will need access to this email address for the next step.

   1. Create a directory named postbox-python and open it.

   2. Create a file named raw.py and paste this code into it:

      import boto3
      from botocore.config import Config
      from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart
      from email.mime.text import MIMEText
      from email.mime.application import MIMEApplication
      import os
      
      # The sender's address must be verified using Amazon SES.
      SENDER = "<sender_address>"
      
      # Recipient's address.
      RECIPIENT = "<recipient_address>"
      
      # Email subject:
      SUBJECT = "Yandex Cloud Postbox Raw Email Test via AWS SDK for Python"
      
      # Path to the file you need to attach to the email.
      ATTACHMENT = "attachment.txt"
      
      # HTML text of the email.
      HTML_BODY = """<h1>Amazon SES Raw Email Test (AWS SDK for Python)</h1>
      <p>This email was sent with <a href='https://yandex.cloud/en/docs/postbox/quickstart'>Yandex Cloud Postbox</a> using the 
      <a href='https://aws.amazon.com/sdk-for-python/'>AWS SDK for Python</a> with raw email format.</p>
      <p>Please see the attached file.</p>"""
      
      # Email text for email clients without HTML support.
      TEXT_BODY = "This email was sent with Yandex Cloud Postbox using the AWS SDK for Python with raw email format. Please see the attached file."
      
      # Character encoding in the email.
      CHARSET = "UTF-8"
      
      def main():
          # Creating a custom endpoint resolver for Yandex Cloud Postbox
          endpoint_url = "https://postbox.cloud.yandex.net"
      
          # Configuring a SES client with a custom endpoint
          config = Config(
              region_name="ru-central1",
              # Uncomment the following line to enable debug logging
              # parameter_validation=False,
          )
      
          # Creating a SES client
          # By default, the SDK uses the default credential provider chain.
          # You can use static credentials by uncommenting and changing the following lines:
          # session = boto3.Session(
          #     aws_access_key_id='accessKeyID',
          #     aws_secret_access_key='secretAccessKey',
          # )
          # ses_client = session.client('sesv2', config=config, endpoint_url=endpoint_url)
      
          # Using default credentials
          ses_client = boto3.client('sesv2', config=config, endpoint_url=endpoint_url)
      
          # Creating a parent multipart/mixed container
          msg = MIMEMultipart('mixed')
          # Adding lines: subject, from, to
          msg['Subject'] = SUBJECT
          msg['From'] = SENDER
          msg['To'] = RECIPIENT
      
          # Creating a child multipart/alternative container
          msg_body = MIMEMultipart('alternative')
      
          # Enconding the content in text and HTML formats and setting the character encoding
          textpart = MIMEText(TEXT_BODY.encode(CHARSET), 'plain', CHARSET)
          htmlpart = MIMEText(HTML_BODY.encode(CHARSET), 'html', CHARSET)
      
          # Adding parts with text and HTML content to the child container
          msg_body.attach(textpart)
          msg_body.attach(htmlpart)
      
          # Identifying the part with attachments and enconding it with MIMEApplication
          try:
              att = MIMEApplication(open(ATTACHMENT, 'rb').read())
              # Adding a header to inform the email client that this part is an attachment
              att.add_header('Content-Disposition', 'attachment', filename=os.path.basename(ATTACHMENT))
              # Assigning the attachment to the parent container
              msg.attach(att)
          except FileNotFoundError:
              print(f"Warning: Attachment file {ATTACHMENT} not found. Sending email without attachment.")
      
          # Assigning the child multipart/alternative container to the parent multipart/mixed container
          msg.attach(msg_body)
      
          # Converting the MIME message into a string and then into bytes
          raw_message = str(msg)
          raw_message_bytes = bytes(raw_message, CHARSET)
      
          try:
              # Sending an email
              response = ses_client.send_email(
                  FromEmailAddress=SENDER,
                  Destination={
                      'ToAddresses': [RECIPIENT]
                  },
                  Content={
                      'Raw': {
                          'Data': raw_message_bytes
                      }
                  }
              )
              # Printing the email ID
              print(f"Email sent! Message ID: {response['MessageId']}")
          except Exception as e:
              print(f"Error sending email: {e}")
              raise
      
      if __name__ == "__main__":
          main()
      

   3. In the raw.py file, specify the following:

      • Sender's email address in the SENDER field.

        The sender's email domain must match the one specified in the Yandex Cloud Postbox address you created when getting started. For example, if your verified domain is yourdomain.com, you can use addresses like noreply@yourdomain.com or admin@yourdomain.com but not user@mail.yourdomain.com.

      • Recipient's email address in the RECIPIENT field, e.g., receiver@yourdomain.com. You will need access to this email address for the next step.

   4. Create a file named requirements.txt and insert this line into it: boto3.

   5. Create a file named attachment.txt and insert any text into it.

2. Create a virtual environment and install the dependencies:

   Linux/MacOS

   Windows

   python -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

   python -m venv venv
   source venv\Scripts\activate
   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

   Result:

   ...
   Successfully installed boto3-1.39.4 botocore-1.39.4 jmespath-1.0.1 python-dateutil-2.9.0.post0 s3transfer-0.13.0 six-1.17.0 urllib3-2.5.0
   

3. Run the application:

   python raw.py
   

   Result:

   Email sent! Message ID: DB9WSLG38TUS.11PW8********@ingress2-klg
   

Check the resultCheck the result

Make sure the recipient specified in the file named raw.py in the RECIPIENT field has received an email with the specified parameters. The email should contain the attachment, i.e., the attachment.txt file.

How to delete the resources you createdHow to delete the resources you created

To stop paying for the resources you created:

1. Delete the address.
2. Delete the DNS zone if you created a resource record in it.