PythonBeginner · Windows, macOS, or Linux with Python 3.12+

Describe a saved email's MIME tree

Export MIME nesting, content types, filenames, and parser defects.

Before you begin

  • Python 3.12 or newer
What this script changesReads local exports and creates a separate result, refusing overwrite. EML files are capped at 25 MiB; MBOX exports at 100 MiB and 5000 messages. Output can contain private message text and addresses. Drafts are local .eml files and are never sent. Attachment files are copied as data and never executed.

Set up your example

  1. Save the complete code as eml-mime-outline.py in a working folder.
  2. Save the provided sample files in that same folder; run commands from that folder.

Sample files in this download:

  • sample.eml
  • sample.mbox
  • body.txt
  • note.txt

Download the ZIP, extract it, and open a terminal inside the extracted folder. The source file is eml-mime-outline.py.

Run the script

Run command
python "eml-mime-outline.py" --input "sample.eml" --output "mime-tree.json"

If your system uses python3 instead of python, use that command for Python examples. Keep paths containing spaces in quotes. Required inputs and optional settings are described in the code and setup steps.

What to expect

Export MIME nesting, content types, filenames, and parser defects. The sample has a multipart/mixed root containing a body and notes.txt.

The complete script

eml-mime-outline.py
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"Describe a saved email's MIME tree"
import argparse
import json
from pathlib import Path

def write_json(path, value):
    data = json.dumps(value, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False, allow_nan=False) + "\n"
    with Path(path).open("x", encoding="utf-8", newline="") as handle:
        handle.write(data)

import re
import hashlib
import mimetypes
import mailbox
from collections import Counter, defaultdict
from datetime import datetime, timezone
from email import policy
from email.parser import BytesParser
from email.message import EmailMessage
from email.utils import getaddresses, parseaddr, formataddr, parsedate_to_datetime, format_datetime, make_msgid

def raw(path,limit=25*1024*1024):
    if Path(path).stat().st_size>limit: raise ValueError("Input exceeds the size limit.")
    return Path(path).read_bytes()
def message(path):
    return BytesParser(policy=policy.default).parsebytes(raw(path))
def messages(path):
    if Path(path).stat().st_size>100*1024*1024: raise ValueError("Mailbox exceeds 100 MiB.")
    box=mailbox.mbox(path,factory=lambda f:BytesParser(policy=policy.default).parse(f),create=False)
    try:
        result=[]
        for msg in box:
            if len(result)>=5000: raise ValueError("Mailbox exceeds 5000 messages.")
            result.append(msg)
        return result
    finally: box.close()
def text_body(msg):
    part=msg.get_body(preferencelist=("plain",))
    return part.get_content() if part else ""
def address_pairs(msg,headers=("from","to","cc","bcc","reply-to")):
    return getaddresses([str(v) for key in headers for v in msg.get_all(key,[])])
def attachments(msg):
    return [p for p in msg.walk() if p.get_content_maintype()!="multipart" and (p.get_content_disposition()=="attachment" or p.get_filename() is not None)]
def payload(part):
    if part.get_content_type()=="message/rfc822" and isinstance(part.get_payload(),list):
        return part.get_payload(0).as_bytes(policy=policy.default)
    return part.get_payload(decode=True) or b""
def save_message(path,msg):
    data=msg.as_bytes(policy=policy.SMTP)
    with Path(path).open("xb") as handle: handle.write(data)
def clean_address(value):
    if "\r" in value or "\n" in value: raise ValueError("Address cannot contain newlines.")
    display,address=parseaddr(value)
    if "@" not in address or any(c.isspace() for c in address): raise ValueError("Supply one ordinary email address.")
    return address
def draft(sender,recipient,subject,body):
    msg=EmailMessage()
    msg["From"]=clean_address(sender)
    msg["To"]=clean_address(recipient)
    msg["Subject"]=subject
    msg["Date"]=format_datetime(datetime.now(timezone.utc))
    msg["Message-ID"]=make_msgid(domain="scriptage.local")
    msg.set_content(body)
    return msg

def main():
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Describe a saved email's MIME tree")
    parser.add_argument("--input",required=True,help="Local EML, MBOX, or body file as documented")
    parser.add_argument("--output",required=True,help="New result file or directory")
    args = parser.parse_args()
    def outline(part):
        result={"content_type":part.get_content_type(),"disposition":part.get_content_disposition(),"filename":part.get_filename(),"defects":[str(d) for d in part.defects]}
        if part.is_multipart(): result["children"]=[outline(child) for child in part.get_payload()]
        else: result["decoded_bytes"]=len(payload(part))
        return result
    write_json(args.output,outline(message(args.input)))

if __name__ == "__main__":
    try:
        main()
    except (OSError, ValueError, KeyError, TypeError, ArithmeticError, IndexError, LookupError) as exc:
        raise SystemExit(str(exc))

Open source as plain text · Download source and sample files

How it works

  1. All messages are read from local files; no SMTP, browser, or email-service connection is used.
  2. The tree distinguishes containers from leaf payloads without rendering HTML or opening attachments.
  3. The sample has a multipart/mixed root containing a body and notes.txt.

Make it your own

--input

Use another EML file to inspect multipart/alternative or nested messages.

Adapt the processing

Edit outline to include each part's content-transfer-encoding header.

Change one setting at a time, run it again on sample data, and compare the output. The customization guide walks through this process.

If something goes wrong

The email contains unexpected nesting.

Mail clients can wrap alternatives and attachments in several containers; the outline shows parsed structure.

The destination already exists.

Choose a new --output path. The script deliberately refuses to replace an existing result.

Reference & next steps

These official references explain the underlying tools. The Scriptage example and guide are original instructional content. See verification notes for what has been checked and the limits of those checks.

Copies a template for your own notes. It does not send anything.