How to Implement Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) API in Python

Install Boto3 Library

• Boto3 is the Amazon Web Services (AWS) SDK for Python that allows Python developers to work with Amazon services, including SES.

 

• To install Boto3, use the following command:

pip install boto3

Configure AWS Credentials

• Before using Amazon SES, you'll need to configure your AWS credentials. One of the ways to do this is by setting the AWS Access Key ID and Secret Access Key in a file located at ~/.aws/credentials.

 

• The credentials file should look like this:

[default]
aws_access_key_id = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
aws_secret_access_key = YOUR_SECRET_KEY

Initialize the Boto3 SES Client

• To interact with SES, you need to create a client. Make sure to specify the region SES is available in, such as us-west-2.

import boto3

# Initialize a session using Amazon SES
ses_client = boto3.client('ses', region_name='us-west-2')

Verify Email Addresses

• Before sending emails, the addresses must be verified. This is a security measure by Amazon SES to prevent unauthorized use.

 

• To verify an email address, use the following code:

response = ses_client.verify_email_identity(
    EmailAddress='example@example.com'
)
print(response)

Send an Email

• Once you have a verified email address, you can send an email using the send\_email method. Define the sender, recipient, subject, and body of the email.

response = ses_client.send_email(
    Source='sender@example.com',
    Destination={
        'ToAddresses': ['recipient@example.com'],
    },
    Message={
        'Subject': {
            'Data': 'Test Email',
            'Charset': 'UTF-8'
        },
        'Body': {
            'Text': {
                'Data': 'This is a test email sent from Amazon SES using Boto3.',
                'Charset': 'UTF-8'
            },
            'Html': {
                'Data': '<h1>This is a test email</h1>',
                'Charset': 'UTF-8'
            }
        }
    }
)

print(response)

Error Handling and Debugging

• Consider wrapping your email sending logic in a try-except block to handle exceptions and errors gracefully.

try:
    response = ses_client.send_email(
        Source='sender@example.com',
        Destination={
            'ToAddresses': ['recipient@example.com'],
        },
        Message={
            'Subject': {
                'Data': 'Test Email',
                'Charset': 'UTF-8'
            },
            'Body': {
                'Text': {
                    'Data': 'This is a test email sent from Amazon SES using Boto3.',
                    'Charset': 'UTF-8'
                },
                'Html': {
                    'Data': '<h1>This is a test email</h1>',
                    'Charset': 'UTF-8'
                }
            }
        }
    )

except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error occurred: {e}")

Optional: Send Bulk Emails

• For sending bulk emails, use send_bulk_templated\_email. You need to create an email template in Amazon SES first.

response = ses_client.send_bulk_templated_email(
    Source='sender@example.com',
    Template='MyTemplate',
    Destinations=[
        {
            'Destination': {
                'ToAddresses': ['recipient1@example.com'],
            },
            'ReplacementTemplateData': '{}'
        },
        {
            'Destination': {
                'ToAddresses': ['recipient2@example.com'],
            },
            'ReplacementTemplateData': '{}'
        }
    ]
)
print(response)