Unless otherwise configured, the client libraries useApplication Default Credentialsto authenticate with Google Cloud Services. While this works for most applications, in some cases you may need to override this default. You can do so by providing theUnifiedCredentialsOptionThe following example shows how to explicitly load a service account key file:
[](std::string const& keyfile) {
auto is = std::ifstream(keyfile);
is.exceptions(std::ios::badbit); // Minimal error handling in examples
auto contents = std::string(std::istreambuf_iterator<char>(is.rdbuf()), {});
auto options =
google::cloud::Options{}.set<google::cloud::UnifiedCredentialsOption>(
google::cloud::MakeServiceAccountCredentials(contents));
return google::cloud::connectors_v1::ConnectorsClient(
google::cloud::connectors_v1::MakeConnectorsConnection(options));
}
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-04 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe content provides documentation for various versions of connectors, ranging from version 2.11.0 up to the latest release candidate 2.37.0-rc.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe default authentication method utilizes Application Default Credentials, but this can be overridden when necessary.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAuthentication credentials can be overridden by using the UnifiedCredentialsOption, allowing for the explicit loading of a service account key file.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe provided example demonstrates how to load a service account key file to override default credentials, using the \u003ccode\u003egoogle::cloud::UnifiedCredentialsOption\u003c/code\u003e class.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe documentation recommends consulting the "Best practices for managing service account keys" guide for more information on secure key management.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version 2.23.0keyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.42.0-rc (latest)](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/latest/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.41.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.41.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.40.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.40.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.39.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.39.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.38.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.38.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.37.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.37.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.36.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.36.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.35.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.35.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.34.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.34.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.33.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.33.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.32.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.32.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.31.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.31.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.30.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.30.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.29.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.29.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.28.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.28.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.27.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.27.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.26.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.26.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.25.1](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.25.1/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.24.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.24.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.23.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.23.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.22.1](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.22.1/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.21.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.21.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.20.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.20.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.19.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.19.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.18.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.18.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.17.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.17.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.16.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.16.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.15.1](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.15.1/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.14.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.14.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.13.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.13.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.12.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.12.0/connectors-override-authentication)\n- [2.11.0](/cpp/docs/reference/connectors/2.11.0/connectors-override-authentication) \n\nHow to Override the Authentication Credentials\n==============================================\n\nUnless otherwise configured, the client libraries use [Application Default Credentials](https://cloud.google.com/docs/authentication#adc) to authenticate with Google Cloud Services. While this works for most applications, in some cases you may need to override this default. You can do so by providing the [UnifiedCredentialsOption](https://cloud.google.com/cpp/docs/reference/common/latest/structgoogle_1_1cloud_1_1UnifiedCredentialsOption.html) The following example shows how to explicitly load a service account key file: \n\n [](std::string const& keyfile) {\n auto is = std::ifstream(keyfile);\n is.exceptions(std::ios::badbit); // Minimal error handling in examples\n auto contents = std::string(std::istreambuf_iterator\u003cchar\u003e(is.rdbuf()), {});\n auto options =\n google::cloud::Options{}.set\u003cgoogle::cloud::UnifiedCredentialsOption\u003e(\n google::cloud::MakeServiceAccountCredentials(contents));\n return google::cloud::connectors_v1::ConnectorsClient(\n google::cloud::connectors_v1::MakeConnectorsConnection(options));\n }\n\nKeep in mind that we chose this as an example because it is relatively easy to understand. Consult the [Best practices for managing service account keys](https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/best-practices-for-managing-service-account-keys) guide for more details.\n\n###### See Also\n\n[Authentication Components](https://cloud.google.com/cpp/docs/reference/common/latest/group__guac.html) - for more information on the factory functions to create [`google::cloud::Credentials`](https://cloud.google.com/cpp/docs/reference/common/latest/classgoogle_1_1cloud_1_1Credentials.html) objects."]]