I'm using the Gmail API to send emails with PDF attachments from my Django backend, but the attachment is not appearing in the email — only the email body is received.

Here are the logs showing the PDF is generated and attached correctly: [DEBUG] Generated PDF size: 16988 bytes[DEBUG] Attaching PDF: invoice_EJ70FEX.pdf (size: 16988 bytes) [INFO] Email sent successfully. Message ID: 19561950e1b649a0

However, when I receive the email, no attachment is visible.

Here's the email-sending code I'm using:

import logging
from django.core.mail import EmailMultiAlternatives
from django.template.loader import render_to_string
from django.utils.html import strip_tags
from django.conf import settings
from email.utils import formataddr
import base64

logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

def send_damage_invoice(driver_data, pdf_content):
    """Send damage invoice email with PDF attachment."""
    try:
        logger.debug("Preparing damage invoice email for %s (%s)", 
                    driver_data['name'], driver_data['vrm'])

        subject = f'Damage Charges Invoice - {driver_data["vrm"]}'
        from_email = formataddr(('H&S Autocare', settings.DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL))
        to_email = driver_data['email']

        # Create context for email template
        context = {
            'driver_name': driver_data['name'],
            'vrm': driver_data['vrm']
        }

        # Render email content
        html_content = render_to_string('emails/damage_invoice.html', context)
        text_content = strip_tags(html_content)

        # Create email message
        email = EmailMultiAlternatives(
            subject=subject,
            body=text_content,
            from_email=from_email,
            to=[to_email]
        )
        email.attach_alternative(html_content, "text/html")

        # Attach PDF
        filename = f'invoice_{driver_data["vrm"]}.pdf'
        logger.debug("Attaching PDF: %s (size: %d bytes)", filename, len(pdf_content))
        email.attach(filename, pdf_content, 'application/pdf')

        email.send(fail_silently=False)
        logger.info("Email sent successfully to %s", to_email)

        return True

    except Exception as e:
        logger.error("Failed to send damage invoice email: %s", str(e))
        raise

I'm using the Gmail API to send emails with PDF attachments from my Django backend, but the attachment is not appearing in the email — only the email body is received.

Here are the logs showing the PDF is generated and attached correctly: [DEBUG] Generated PDF size: 16988 bytes[DEBUG] Attaching PDF: invoice_EJ70FEX.pdf (size: 16988 bytes) [INFO] Email sent successfully. Message ID: 19561950e1b649a0

However, when I receive the email, no attachment is visible.

Here's the email-sending code I'm using:

import logging
from django.core.mail import EmailMultiAlternatives
from django.template.loader import render_to_string
from django.utils.html import strip_tags
from django.conf import settings
from email.utils import formataddr
import base64

logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)

def send_damage_invoice(driver_data, pdf_content):
    """Send damage invoice email with PDF attachment."""
    try:
        logger.debug("Preparing damage invoice email for %s (%s)", 
                    driver_data['name'], driver_data['vrm'])

        subject = f'Damage Charges Invoice - {driver_data["vrm"]}'
        from_email = formataddr(('H&S Autocare', settings.DEFAULT_FROM_EMAIL))
        to_email = driver_data['email']

        # Create context for email template
        context = {
            'driver_name': driver_data['name'],
            'vrm': driver_data['vrm']
        }

        # Render email content
        html_content = render_to_string('emails/damage_invoice.html', context)
        text_content = strip_tags(html_content)

        # Create email message
        email = EmailMultiAlternatives(
            subject=subject,
            body=text_content,
            from_email=from_email,
            to=[to_email]
        )
        email.attach_alternative(html_content, "text/html")

        # Attach PDF
        filename = f'invoice_{driver_data["vrm"]}.pdf'
        logger.debug("Attaching PDF: %s (size: %d bytes)", filename, len(pdf_content))
        email.attach(filename, pdf_content, 'application/pdf')

        email.send(fail_silently=False)
        logger.info("Email sent successfully to %s", to_email)

        return True

    except Exception as e:
        logger.error("Failed to send damage invoice email: %s", str(e))
        raise

• python
• django
• gmail-api

Share Improve this question Follow edited Mar 5 at 2:26 furas 144k1212 gold badges115115 silver badges161161 bronze badges asked Mar 4 at 14:40 Aamir QayyumAamir Qayyum 1 4

• Where did you implement the base64 that you imported in your code? – Lime Husky Commented Mar 4 at 16:07
• Please provide enough code so others can better understand or reproduce the problem. – Community Bot Commented Mar 4 at 22:35
• text ``` has to be in seperate line to correctly display colored code. – furas Commented Mar 5 at 2:27
• did you try to send it to different email? Maybe GMail removes PDF for security reason. – furas Commented Mar 5 at 2:28

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1 Answer 1

Sorted by: Reset to default 0

You can try encoding the PDF content in base64 before attaching it.

import base64

# Encode the PDF content in base64
pdf_content_base64 = base64.b64encode(pdf_content).decode('utf-8')

# Attach PDF
email.attach(filename, base64.b64decode(pdf_content_base64), 'application/pdf')