Python: decode 7bit or 8bit encoded email body

Question

https://docs.python.org/2/library/email.encoders.html lists way to encode the email payload. Is there a way to decode the payload that was received over email?

I need to decode the html body from the email encoded in base64 or 7/8bit or quoted printable formats and mine some data. Luckily there are modules that can deal with quoted printable(quopri) and base64 formats.

I tried finding one for the 7/8bit encoded emails, but was unable to find anything satisfactory. What is the best way to decode such email payloads?

Answer 1

Looks like the easiest way to decode 7bit data is to use the quopri module in python. Essentially quoted-printable is a format which is used to send 8bit data over a 7bit channel. The code below is working well for me:

import quopri
quopri.decodestring(email_multipart_payload) # payload has 7bit encoded data