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::domains_v1::DomainsClient(
google::cloud::domains_v1::MakeDomainsConnection(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\u003eThis page provides documentation for various versions of the Google Cloud C++ client library, specifically related to overriding authentication credentials for the Domains service, ranging from version 2.12.0 up to the latest release candidate, 2.37.0-rc.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBy default, the client libraries use Application Default Credentials for Google Cloud Services, but this can be overridden using \u003ccode\u003eUnifiedCredentialsOption\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA service account key file can be explicitly loaded to override the default authentication, as demonstrated in the provided example code snippet using \u003ccode\u003eMakeServiceAccountCredentials\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe webpage has a section of information dedicated to \u003ccode\u003eAuthentication Components\u003c/code\u003e, which describes more information on the factory functions for creating \u003ccode\u003egoogle::cloud::Credentials\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe content advises users to consult the "Best practices for managing service account keys" guide for comprehensive details on managing service account keys securely.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version 2.20.0keyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.42.0-rc (latest)](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/latest/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.41.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.41.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.40.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.40.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.39.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.39.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.38.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.38.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.37.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.37.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.36.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.36.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.35.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.35.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.34.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.34.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.33.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.33.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.32.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.32.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.31.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.31.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.30.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.30.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.29.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.29.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.28.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.28.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.27.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.27.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.26.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.26.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.25.1](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.25.1/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.24.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.24.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.23.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.23.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.22.1](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.22.1/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.21.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.21.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.20.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.20.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.19.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.19.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.18.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.18.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.17.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.17.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.16.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.16.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.15.1](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.15.1/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.14.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.14.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.13.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.13.0/domains-override-authentication)\n- [2.12.0](/cpp/docs/reference/domains/2.12.0/domains-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::domains_v1::DomainsClient(\n google::cloud::domains_v1::MakeDomainsConnection(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."]]