Birthday Bot

Birthday Email example

Project Overview

I created Birthday Bot because I often forget the birthdays of my friends and family. To solve this, I wrote a Python script that sends personalized emails on their birthdays.

Originally, I wanted the program to send text messages, but after research, I realized that email was more practical and within my knowledge scope. Using the smtplib module in Python, I was able to send emails securely through my Gmail account.

How It Works

Birthday List:
I store all birthdays, names, and email addresses in a CSV file for easy access and parsing.
Sending Personalized Emails:
The script checks the current date and compares it to birthdays in the file. If a match is found, an email is sent with a personalized message, including their name and a fun Mr. Bean birthday image. I also included a link that users can click on to blow out candles on an interactive birthday cake.
Automation with GitHub Actions:
Initially, I used a cron job, but I discovered it only works when my laptop is turned on. To fully automate the process, I set up GitHub Actions to run the script daily, ensuring the emails are sent even when my laptop is offline.

Challenges

Setting up secure email automation using Gmail with app passwords.
Automating the script reliably so it runs every day without manual intervention.
Debugging issues related to SMTP email configuration.

Learnings

This project was a rewarding experience that taught me:

How to automate tasks using GitHub Actions.
How to securely send emails in Python using smtplib.
The importance of automating processes to make them reliable and efficient.

Outcome

The final result is a fully automated bot that: