Make a CLI email search tool

Here’s a basic CLI (Command-Line Interface) email search tool written in Python. This script searches for specific keywords in a set of .eml files or plain text files stored in a directory. It displays matching emails along with subject lines and file names.

Features:

• Searches all files in a given directory

• Supports keyword matching in subject/body

• Works with .eml and plain .txt files

• CLI arguments for keyword and folder path

Code: email_search_cli.py

python
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import os
import argparse
from email import policy
from email.parser import BytesParser

def parse_email(file_path):
    try:
        with open(file_path, 'rb') as f:
            msg = BytesParser(policy=policy.default).parse(f)
        subject = msg['subject'] or "(No Subject)"
        body = msg.get_body(preferencelist=('plain'))
        if body:
            body_content = body.get_content()
        else:
            body_content = msg.get_payload()
        return subject, body_content
    except Exception as e:
        return None, f"Failed to parse {file_path}: {str(e)}"

def search_emails(directory, keyword):
    print(f"nSearching for keyword: '{keyword}' in directory: {directory}n")
    for root, _, files in os.walk(directory):
        for file in files:
            if file.endswith(('.eml', '.txt')):
                file_path = os.path.join(root, file)
                subject, content = parse_email(file_path)
                if content and keyword.lower() in content.lower():
                    print(f"[MATCH] {file}")
                    print(f"Subject: {subject}")
                    print(f"Path: {file_path}n")

def main():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Search emails in a directory by keyword.')
    parser.add_argument('keyword', type=str, help='Keyword to search for')
    parser.add_argument('directory', type=str, help='Directory containing email files (.eml or .txt)')
    args = parser.parse_args()

    if not os.path.isdir(args.directory):
        print(f"Error: Directory '{args.directory}' does not exist.")
        return

    search_emails(args.directory, args.keyword)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

How to Use

1. Save the file as email_search_cli.py

2. Run it from your terminal:

   bash
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   python email_search_cli.py "invoice" /path/to/email/folder
   

This will scan all .eml or .txt files in the specified folder for the keyword “invoice”.

Let me know if you need enhancements like date filtering, sender-based search, or exporting results.