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::metastore_v1::DataprocMetastoreClient(
google::cloud::metastore_v1::MakeDataprocMetastoreConnection(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 document provides version-specific reference links for overriding authentication in the \u003ccode\u003emetastore\u003c/code\u003e component, ranging from the latest release candidate \u003ccode\u003e2.37.0-rc\u003c/code\u003e down to version \u003ccode\u003e2.13.0\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe default authentication method uses Application Default Credentials, but it can be overridden using the \u003ccode\u003eUnifiedCredentialsOption\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eA service account key file can be loaded to override the default credentials, as demonstrated in the provided code example that shows the process.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eExamples are provided for the \u003ccode\u003emetastore_v1::DataprocMetastoreClient\u003c/code\u003e and \u003ccode\u003emetastore_v1::DataprocMetastoreFederationClient\u003c/code\u003e classes on how to use service account keys for overriding credentials.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor more details on credential creation and best practices for service account keys, the document refers to the "Authentication Components" section and the "Best practices for managing service account keys" guide.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version 2.14.0keyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.42.0-rc (latest)](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/latest/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.41.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.41.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.40.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.40.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.39.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.39.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.38.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.38.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.37.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.37.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.36.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.36.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.35.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.35.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.34.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.34.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.33.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.33.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.32.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.32.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.31.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.31.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.30.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.30.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.29.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.29.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.28.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.28.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.27.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.27.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.26.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.26.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.25.1](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.25.1/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.24.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.24.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.23.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.23.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.22.1](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.22.1/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.21.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.21.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.20.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.20.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.19.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.19.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.18.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.18.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.17.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.17.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.16.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.16.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.15.1](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.15.1/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.14.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.14.0/metastore-override-authentication)\n- [2.13.0](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.13.0/metastore-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::metastore_v1::DataprocMetastoreClient(\n google::cloud::metastore_v1::MakeDataprocMetastoreConnection(options));\n }\n\nFollow these links to find examples for other `*Client` classes:\n\n- [`metastore_v1::DataprocMetastoreClient`](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.14.0/metastore_v1_1_1DataprocMetastoreClient-service-account-snippet)\n- [`metastore_v1::DataprocMetastoreFederationClient`](/cpp/docs/reference/metastore/2.14.0/metastore_v1_1_1DataprocMetastoreFederationClient-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."]]