Gmail Multi-CLI: A Python Email Client for Multiple Accounts

Overview

Managing multiple Gmail accounts from the terminal? That’s what Gmail Multi-CLI does. Check emails, send messages, test connections - all from the command line without opening a browser.

Download: gmail_multi.py on GitHub

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Why I Built This

I have 3 Gmail accounts - personal, work, and a project-specific one. Constantly switching between browser tabs was inefficient. I wanted:

• Quick email checks without opening Chrome
• Send emails from terminal during coding sessions
• Test all accounts are working with one command
• Automate email notifications in scripts

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Features

Interactive Menu

Run python3 gmail_multi.py for the full menu:

Option	Feature
1	Check new emails
2	Check older emails
3	Read email by ID
4	Send email
5	Forward email
6	Search emails
7	Switch account
8	Exit

CLI Quick Commands

# List configured accounts
gmail --accounts

# Test connection to all accounts
gmail --test

# Quick check for new emails (default account)
gmail --check

# Check ALL accounts
gmail --check-all

# Send email interactively
gmail --send

# Send email with arguments
gmail --quick-send recipient@email.com "Subject" "Body text"

# Full help
gmail --help

Auto-Install Dependencies

The script checks for required packages on startup:

def check_and_install_packages():
    required_packages = {
        'colorama': 'colorama',
        'psutil': 'psutil',
    }
    # ... auto-installs if missing

No more ModuleNotFoundError surprises!

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Setup

1. Get Gmail App Password

Google requires App Passwords for third-party email clients:

1. Go to https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords
2. Select “Mail” and your device
3. Copy the 16-character password

2. Configure Accounts

Edit the EMAIL_ACCOUNTS dictionary in the script:

EMAIL_ACCOUNTS = {
    "personal": {
        "email": "your.email@gmail.com",
        "password": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx",  # App Password
        "imap_server": "imap.gmail.com",
        "smtp_server": "smtp.gmail.com"
    },
    "work": {
        "email": "work.email@gmail.com",
        "password": "yyyy yyyy yyyy yyyy",
        "imap_server": "imap.gmail.com",
        "smtp_server": "smtp.gmail.com"
    }
}

3. Run It

# Make executable
chmod +x gmail_multi.py

# Create alias for easy access
echo 'alias gmail="python3 ~/path/to/gmail_multi.py"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# Use it
gmail --check

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My Mistakes Building This

Mistake #1: Hardcoded External Drive Path

Original shebang:

#!/Volumes/KaliPro/Applications/miniconda3/envs/ranger/bin/python

When the external drive wasn’t mounted, the script wouldn’t run at all.

The fix:

#!/usr/bin/env python3

Mistake #2: No Auto-Install for Dependencies

Users would clone the repo and immediately get:

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'colorama'

The fix: Auto-detect and offer to install:

try:
    import colorama
except ImportError:
    print("colorama not found. Install now? (y/n)")
    if input().lower() == 'y':
        subprocess.check_call([sys.executable, '-m', 'pip', 'install', 'colorama'])

Mistake #3: No CLI Arguments

The original version was menu-only. To check emails, you had to:

1. Run the script
2. Select account
3. Navigate menu
4. Select “Check new emails”

Now it’s just: gmail --check

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Security Notes

NEVER commit your App Passwords to Git!

The repo includes a .env file template, but your actual passwords should be:

1. In a local-only file
2. Added to .gitignore
3. Or use environment variables

# Example using environment variables
export GMAIL_PERSONAL_PASS="xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"
export GMAIL_WORK_PASS="yyyy yyyy yyyy yyyy"

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Usage Examples

Morning Email Check

# Check all accounts at once
gmail --check-all

# Output:
# === personal@gmail.com ===
# 3 new emails
# === work@gmail.com ===
# 7 new emails

Quick Send from Terminal

gmail --quick-send boss@company.com "Status Update" "The deployment completed successfully."

Test All Connections

gmail --test

# Output:
# Testing personal@gmail.com... OK
# Testing work@gmail.com... OK
# All accounts connected successfully!

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Easter Egg

Try gmail --bunny for a colorful surprise!

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What I Learned

1. Portable shebangs are essential - Never hardcode paths to specific Python installations
2. Auto-install improves UX dramatically - Users shouldn’t fight dependency errors
3. CLI arguments > menu-only - Power users want quick commands
4. Security first - Never commit credentials, even to “private” repos

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Download

GitHub: gmail-multi-cli

Direct Link: gmail_multi.py

Version: 3.0.0

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Rangers lead the way!