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::alloydb_v1::AlloyDBAdminClient(
google::cloud::alloydb_v1::MakeAlloyDBAdminConnection(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 AlloyDB C++ client library, ranging from version 2.11.0 up to the latest release candidate, 2.37.0-rc.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe client libraries typically use Application Default Credentials for authentication, but the page explains how to override this default using the UnifiedCredentialsOption.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can explicitly load a service account key file to override the default authentication method, as demonstrated in the provided C++ code example.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe page directs users to consult the "Best practices for managing service account keys" guide for more detailed information on managing service account keys securely.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe "Authentication Components" section provides further information on the available functions for creating Credentials objects.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version 2.19.0keyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.42.0-rc (latest)](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/latest/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.41.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.41.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.40.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.40.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.39.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.39.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.38.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.38.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.37.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.37.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.36.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.36.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.35.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.35.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.34.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.34.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.33.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.33.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.32.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.32.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.31.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.31.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.30.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.30.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.29.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.29.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.28.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.28.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.27.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.27.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.26.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.26.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.25.1](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.25.1/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.24.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.24.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.23.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.23.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.22.1](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.22.1/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.21.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.21.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.20.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.20.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.19.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.19.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.18.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.18.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.17.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.17.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.16.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.16.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.15.1](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.15.1/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.14.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.14.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.13.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.13.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.12.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.12.0/alloydb-override-authentication)\n- [2.11.0](/cpp/docs/reference/alloydb/2.11.0/alloydb-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::alloydb_v1::AlloyDBAdminClient(\n google::cloud::alloydb_v1::MakeAlloyDBAdminConnection(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."]]