Python

Send your first email from a plain Python script using the Bird Python SDK's sync client. Three steps: install, send, run.

1. Install the SDK

Code example

pip install bird-sdk

Code example

# or
uv add bird-sdk
poetry add bird-sdk

Requires Python 3.10+. The import package is bird.

2. Send an email

Export your API key — the SDK reads BIRD_API_KEY from the environment and infers the region (us1 or eu1) from the bk_us1_ / bk_eu1_ prefix, so Bird() needs no arguments:

Code example

export BIRD_API_KEY="bk_us1_..."

Create send.py:

Code example

from bird import APIError, Bird

with Bird() as client:
    try:
        message = client.email.send(
            from_={"email": "onboarding@messagebird.dev", "name": "Bird"},
            to=["delivered@messagebird.dev"],
            subject="Hello from Bird",
            html="<p>My first Bird email.</p>",
        )
        print(message.id, message.status)
    except APIError as err:
        print("send failed:", err)

from_ is the Python spelling of the from field (from is a reserved word). onboarding@messagebird.dev is Bird's shared onboarding sender — no domain verification needed — and delivered@messagebird.dev is a sandbox recipient that always delivers.

Transient failures retry automatically, and a retried send reuses one idempotency key across attempts, so it never double-applies.

3. Run it

Code example

python send.py

The API responds with 202 — the message is accepted and delivered asynchronously:

Code example

{
  "id": "em_019c1930687b7bfa8a1b2c3d4e5f6789",
  "status": "accepted"
}

Fetch the message by its em_ id with client.email.get(message.id) and watch the status move from accepted to delivered.

Next steps

Python SDK email reference — every method and option.
Send your first email — the same flow with curl and the full sandbox address list.
Sending domains — verify your own domain for production sending.
Email API reference — the full request and response schema.