What is the best way to send automated email reports from a Python script on a Droplet?

Question

I have a Python script running on a cron job on my DigitalOcean Droplet. Every morning it pulls data from a database, generates a summary report, and I want it to email the results automatically to a few team members.

I tried using Python’s smtplib directly but the emails are not going out. I am not sure if it is a configuration issue or something else entirely.

What is the recommended way to send automated emails from a Python script running on a DigitalOcean Droplet?

Bobby · Answer

Hi there, The most likely reason smtplib is not working is that DigitalOcean blocks outbound SMTP ports by default on all Droplets. This includes the standard ports 25, 465, and 587. Your code is probably fine, the connection just cannot get through. More context here: https://docs.digitalocean.com/support/why-is-smtp-blocked/ The fix is to use a dedicated SMTP service that supports an alternative port like 2525, which is not blocked. smtpfa.st works well for this and plugs straight into Python’s smtplib: import smtplib from email.mime.text import MIMEText from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart def send_report(subject, body, recipients): msg = MIMEMultipart() msg['From'] = 'reports@yourdomain.com' msg['To'] = ', '.join(recipients) msg['Subject'] = subject msg.attach(MIMEText(body, 'plain')) with smtplib.SMTP('smtp.smtpfa.st', 2525) as server: server.starttls() server.login('your-username', 'your-password') server.sendmail(msg['From'], recipients, msg.as_string()) send_report( subject='Daily Report', body=report_content, recipients=['team@yourcompany.com'] ) If you prefer sending via HTTP API instead of SMTP, smtpfa.st also has a REST API which is slightly simpler and does not require dealing with ports at all. For alternatives, Postmark and Mailgun both work the same way and support alternative ports too. The choice mostly comes down to pricing and how much deliverability tooling you need.

alexdo · Answer

Heya, A script that works fine when you run it manually can fail silently or with an import error under cron for reasons that have nothing to do with SMTP. Redirect the job’s output to a log to see the actual failure: * * * * * /path/to/venv/bin/python /path/to/script.py >> /var/log/report-script.log 2>&1 If that log shows a connection timeout or refused error specifically on the SMTP send, that confirms it’s the port block Bobby described and a dedicated relay is the right fix, smtpfa.st , Postmark, or Mailgun on a non-blocked port, or their REST API instead of SMTP entirely. If the log shows something else, a missing module, a bad path, an auth error before the connection even attempts, that’s a cron environment issue, not a networking one, and switching to a relay won’t fix it on its own. Regards

Become a contributor for community

DigitalOcean Documentation

Resources for startups and AI-native businesses

The developer cloud

Start building today

Report this

What is the best way to send automated email reports from a Python script on a Droplet?

Related questions

How do I let my AI agent send emails without hardcoding SMTP credentials in the code?

which technology is used in contactless smart cards?

What's the best way to manage multiple AI API providers (OpenAI, Midjourney, etc.) on a DigitalOcean-hosted app?

Best practices for using public LLMs with sensitive cloud data?

Migrating from Monolithic Ecommerce Platform to Microservices + Headless Architecture

Relink FB icon on website

What’s the tech stack behind most grocery delivery scripts?

Does Digital Ocean have education, training & certification program ?

Business server

DigitalOcean Spaces Domain Blocked by Indonesian Government

How to Optimize WooCommerce on a DigitalOcean Droplet for Better Performance?

Potential DDoS Attack Affecting Server Performance

Report this

What is the best way to send automated email reports from a Python script on a Droplet?

Related questions

How do I let my AI agent send emails without hardcoding SMTP credentials in the code?

which technology is used in contactless smart cards?

What's the best way to manage multiple AI API providers (OpenAI, Midjourney, etc.) on a DigitalOcean-hosted app?

Best practices for using public LLMs with sensitive cloud data?

Migrating from Monolithic Ecommerce Platform to Microservices + Headless Architecture

Relink FB icon on website

What’s the tech stack behind most grocery delivery scripts?

Does Digital Ocean have education, training & certification program ?

Business server

DigitalOcean Spaces Domain Blocked by Indonesian Government

How to Optimize WooCommerce on a DigitalOcean Droplet for Better Performance?

Potential DDoS Attack Affecting Server Performance