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::functions_v1::CloudFunctionsServiceClient(
google::cloud::functions_v1::MakeCloudFunctionsServiceConnection(
options));
}
Follow these links to find examples for other*Clientclasses:
[[["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 overriding default authentication credentials when using Google Cloud C++ client libraries.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe latest version, 2.37.0-rc, and all the way back to version 2.11.0, are available for reference related to overriding authentication settings.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe primary method for overriding credentials involves using the \u003ccode\u003eUnifiedCredentialsOption\u003c/code\u003e and providing custom service account credentials.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eExamples are given on how to override default authentication credentials for \u003ccode\u003efunctions_v1::CloudFunctionsServiceClient\u003c/code\u003e and \u003ccode\u003efunctions_v2::FunctionServiceClient\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIt is recommended to look at the best practices guide for managing service account keys and to consult the Authentication Components section for more information.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version 2.34.0keyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.42.0-rc (latest)](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/latest/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.41.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.41.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.40.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.40.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.39.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.39.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.38.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.38.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.37.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.37.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.36.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.36.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.35.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.35.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.34.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.34.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.33.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.33.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.32.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.32.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.31.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.31.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.30.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.30.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.29.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.29.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.28.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.28.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.27.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.27.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.26.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.26.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.25.1](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.25.1/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.24.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.24.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.23.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.23.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.22.1](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.22.1/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.21.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.21.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.20.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.20.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.19.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.19.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.18.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.18.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.17.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.17.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.16.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.16.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.15.1](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.15.1/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.14.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.14.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.13.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.13.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.12.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.12.0/functions-override-authentication)\n- [2.11.0](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.11.0/functions-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::functions_v1::CloudFunctionsServiceClient(\n google::cloud::functions_v1::MakeCloudFunctionsServiceConnection(\n options));\n }\n\nFollow these links to find examples for other `*Client` classes:\n\n- [`functions_v1::CloudFunctionsServiceClient`](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.34.0/functions_v1_1_1CloudFunctionsServiceClient-service-account-snippet)\n- [`functions_v2::FunctionServiceClient`](/cpp/docs/reference/functions/2.34.0/functions_v2_1_1FunctionServiceClient-service-account-snippet)\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."]]