Categories: Automation
Tags: gmail, automation
slug: “python-email-auto-sort”
date: 2025-09-08
status: “publish”

How to Automatically Sort Emails with Python

Introduction

Is your inbox overflowing with unread messages? Manually sorting emails into folders can be time-consuming and stressful. With a small Python script, you can automate this process and let your computer do the boring work. In this article, we’ll build a simple script that labels Gmail messages automatically.

Requirements

• Python 3
• A Gmail account
• Gmail API access
• Libraries: google-api-python-client, google-auth-httplib2, google-auth-oauthlib

Install the libraries:

bash
pip install --upgrade google-api-python-client google-auth-httplib2 google-auth-oauthlib

Step 1: Enable the Gmail API

1. Open Google Cloud Console and create a project.
2. Enable Gmail API for that project.
3. Create OAuth 2.0 Client ID (Desktop app) credentials.
4. Download credentials.json and place it in your project folder.

Step 2: Authenticate and Connect

“`python
from future import print_function
import os.path
from google.auth.transport.requests import Request
from google.oauth2.credentials import Credentials
from google_auth_oauthlib.flow import InstalledAppFlow
from googleapiclient.discovery import build

SCOPES = [‘https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.modify’]

def get_service():
creds = None
if os.path.exists(‘token.json’):
creds = Credentials.from_authorized_user_file(‘token.json’, SCOPES)
if not creds or not creds.valid:
if creds and creds.expired and creds.refresh_token:
creds.refresh(Request())
else:
flow = InstalledAppFlow.from_client_secrets_file(‘credentials.json’, SCOPES)
creds = flow.run_local_server(port=0)
with open(‘token.json’, ‘w’) as f:
f.write(creds.to_json())
return build(‘gmail’, ‘v1’, credentials=creds)
“`

Step 3: Create or Find Labels

We’ll need a label ID to apply to messages. The function below finds a label by name (e.g., GitHub) or creates it if it doesn’t exist.

python
def get_or_create_label_id(service, label_name):
labels = service.users().labels().list(userId='me').execute().get('labels', [])
for lb in labels:
if lb['name'].lower() == label_name.lower():
return lb['id']
body = {
'name': label_name,
'labelListVisibility': 'labelShow',
'messageListVisibility': 'show'
}
created = service.users().labels().create(userId='me', body=body).execute()
return created['id']

Step 4: Sort Incoming Emails

Example: apply the GitHub label to all messages from notifications@github.com.

“`python
def sort_emails(service):
label_id = get_or_create_label_id(service, ‘GitHub’)
results = service.users().messages().list(
userId=’me’, q=”from:notifications@github.com”, maxResults=50
).execute()
messages = results.get(‘messages’, [])

if not messages:
    print("No GitHub emails found.")
    return

for msg in messages:
    msg_id = msg['id']
    service.users().messages().modify(
        userId='me',
        id=msg_id,
        body={'addLabelIds': [label_id]}
    ).execute()
    print(f"Labeled message: {msg_id}")

“`

Step 5: Run the Script

python
if __name__ == "__main__":
svc = get_service()
sort_emails(svc)

Conclusion

With the Gmail API and Python, you can take control of your inbox and eliminate repetitive sorting. Extend this idea by labeling newsletters, creating daily digests, or even auto-responding to specific senders.

Full source code and updates: (GitHub link to be added)