EWS Exchange Email

Read, search, and send emails via EWS (Exchange Web Services) for Microsoft Exchange On-Premise.

Uses HTTPS (port 443) + NTLM authentication — works even when IMAP/SMTP ports are firewalled.

Configuration

Config is stored at ~/.config/ews-exchange/.env.

Setup

pip install requests requests_ntlm

Config file format

# Required
EWS_URL=https://mail.your-company.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx
EWS_DOMAIN=YOUR_AD_DOMAIN
EWS_USER=you@your-company.com
EWS_PASS=your_password
EWS_FROM=you@your-company.com

# Optional
EWS_VERIFY_SSL=false   # Set to false for self-signed certs (default: false)

Important for Exchange On-Premise:

• EWS_DOMAIN is your Active Directory domain (e.g. UCH), NOT the email domain
• Self-signed certificates are common — set EWS_VERIFY_SSL=false
• Find your EWS URL via Autodiscover: https://autodiscover.your-company.com/Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml

Multi-Account

Add prefixed variables for additional accounts:

# Work account (WORK_ prefix)
WORK_EWS_URL=https://mail.company.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx
WORK_EWS_DOMAIN=COMPANY
WORK_EWS_USER=me@company.com
WORK_EWS_PASS=password
WORK_EWS_FROM=me@company.com

Use --account before any command:

python scripts/ews.py --account work check

Commands

test

Test EWS connection and authentication.

python scripts/ews.py [--account <name>] test

check

Check latest emails.

python scripts/ews.py [--account <name>] check [--limit 10] [--folder inbox] [--recent 2h] [--unread]

Options:

• --limit : Max results (default: 10)
• --folder : Mailbox folder (default: inbox)
• --recent : Only show emails from last X time (e.g. 30m, 2h, 7d)
• --unread: Only show unread emails

fetch

Fetch full email content by index number (from check output) or UID.

python scripts/ews.py [--account <name>] fetch <index_or_uid> [--folder inbox]

Options:

• --folder : Mailbox (default: inbox)

send

Send email via EWS.

python scripts/ews.py [--account <name>] send --to <email> --subject <text> [options]

Required:

• --to : Recipient (comma-separated for multiple)
• --subject : Email subject

Optional:

• --body : Plain text body
• --html: Send body as HTML
• --body-file : Read body from file
• --cc : CC recipients
• --bcc : BCC recipients
• --attach : Attachments (comma-separated)
• --from : Override default sender

Examples:

# Simple text email
python scripts/ews.py send --to recipient@example.com --subject "Hello" --body "World"

# HTML email
python scripts/ews.py send --to recipient@example.com --subject "Newsletter" --html --body "<h1>Welcome</h1>"

# Email with attachment
python scripts/ews.py send --to recipient@example.com --subject "Report" --body "Please find attached" --attach report.pdf

search

Search emails with filters.

python scripts/ews.py [--account <name>] search [options]

Options:

• --unseen: Only unread messages
• --from : From address contains
• --subject : Subject contains
• --recent : From last X time (e.g. 30m, 2h, 7d)
• --limit : Max results (default: 20)
• --folder : Mailbox to search (default: inbox)

folders

List all mailbox folders.

python scripts/ews.py [--account <name>] folders

list-accounts

List all configured email accounts.

python scripts/ews.py list-accounts

Common Exchange Folder IDs

Troubleshooting

Authentication failed (401):

• Verify EWS_DOMAIN is your AD domain (e.g. UCH), not email domain
• Try different domain names if unsure
• Check username format: usually user@domain.com or just username

HTTP 500 / Invalid Request:

• EWS endpoint URL may be wrong — check via Autodiscover
• Some Exchange versions need specific RequestServerVersion

SSL/TLS errors:

• Set EWS_VERIFY_SSL=false for self-signed certificates (common on-prem)

Connection timeout:

• Verify port 443 is open: telnet mail.company.com 443
• Check if you're on the correct network/VPN