Automation with Python

Automation with Python: A Complete Beginner-Friendly Guide

Python is one of the most powerful and beginner‑friendly languages for automation. Whether you want to automate files, emails, Excel sheets, APIs, browsers, or entire workflows—Python can handle everything with just a few lines of code.

What is Automation with Python?

Automation means writing scripts that perform tasks automatically without human input. Python makes automation simple with its powerful libraries.

• Automate boring or repetitive tasks
• Reduce manual errors
• Save time and increase productivity
• Connect multiple systems (APIs, databases, CRM, files)

Popular Python Automation Libraries

• os / shutil — File & folder automation
• requests — API automation
• selenium — Web browser automation
• pandas / openpyxl — Excel automation
• smtplib — Email automation
• schedule — Task scheduling
• beautifulsoup4 — Web scraping automation

Python is widely used for DevOps automation, web automation, data automation, and business workflows.

1. Automating File Operations

import os
import shutil

source = "C:/Users/Downloads"
destination = "C:/Backup"

for file in os.listdir(source):
    if file.endswith(".pdf"):
        shutil.move(os.path.join(source, file), destination)

print("All PDF files moved!")

Use this to auto-move documents, logs, invoices, etc.

2. Automating Excel Tasks

import pandas as pd

df = pd.read_excel("sales.xlsx")
df["Total"] = df["Price"] * df["Quantity"]
df.to_excel("sales_updated.xlsx", index=False)

print("Excel updated!")

3. Automating Email Sending

import smtplib
from email.mime.text import MIMEText

msg = MIMEText("Hello, this is an automated email!")
msg["Subject"] = "Automation Test"
msg["From"] = "you@example.com"
msg["To"] = "target@example.com"

server = smtplib.SMTP("smtp.gmail.com", 587)
server.starttls()
server.login("you@example.com", "YOUR_APP_PASSWORD")
server.send_message(msg)
server.quit()

print("Email sent!")

Never use your real password. Use Gmail App Passwords.

4. Web Browser Automation

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By

driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get("https://google.com")

box = driver.find_element(By.NAME, "q")
box.send_keys("Python automation")
box.submit()

print("Search automated!")

5. API Automation

import requests

url = "https://api.github.com/users/octocat"
response = requests.get(url)

data = response.json()
print("Name:", data["name"])
print("Repos:", data["public_repos"])

6. Scheduling Tasks Automatically

import schedule
import time

def task():
    print("Running automated task...")

schedule.every(1).minutes.do(task)

while True:
    schedule.run_pending()
    time.sleep(1)

Complete Automation Example: Daily Backup Script

This script creates a daily backup of a folder automatically.

import schedule
import shutil
import time
from datetime import datetime

def backup():
    src = "C:/Projects"
    dest = f"C:/Backup/backup_{datetime.now().strftime('%Y%m%d')}"
    shutil.copytree(src, dest)
    print("Backup Completed:", dest)

schedule.every().day.at("22:00").do(backup)

while True:
    schedule.run_pending()
    time.sleep(1)

Best Practices

• Keep credentials in .env files
• Add logs to automation scripts
• Use try‑except for error handling
• Use virtual environments
• Schedule automation safely so it doesn’t overload systems

Conclusion

Python automation is one of the strongest skills you can learn today. With simple scripts, you can control files, Excel, emails, browsers, APIs, and entire workflows.

Want the next topic? I can prepare:
✔ Automation with Selenium
✔ File & Folder Automation
✔ Complete Python Automation Project