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::commerce_consumer_procurement_v1::
ConsumerProcurementServiceClient(
google::cloud::commerce_consumer_procurement_v1::
MakeConsumerProcurementServiceConnection(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 document provides a reference for the C++ Commerce API, showcasing multiple versions from 2.14.0 up to the latest release candidate 2.37.0-rc.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe primary topic of this page is how to override the default authentication credentials used by the C++ client libraries when interacting with Google Cloud services.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers can override authentication by using the \u003ccode\u003eUnifiedCredentialsOption\u003c/code\u003e and providing a service account key file, as demonstrated in the provided code example.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe document recommends consulting the "Best practices for managing service account keys" guide for in-depth information on managing service account credentials.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFurther details on creating \u003ccode\u003egoogle::cloud::Credentials\u003c/code\u003e objects can be found in the linked "Authentication Components" documentation.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version 2.29.0keyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.42.0-rc (latest)](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/latest/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.41.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.41.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.40.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.40.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.39.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.39.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.38.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.38.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.37.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.37.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.36.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.36.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.35.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.35.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.34.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.34.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.33.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.33.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.32.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.32.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.31.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.31.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.30.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.30.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.29.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.29.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.28.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.28.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.27.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.27.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.26.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.26.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.25.1](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.25.1/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.24.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.24.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.23.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.23.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.22.1](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.22.1/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.21.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.21.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.20.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.20.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.19.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.19.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.18.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.18.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.17.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.17.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.16.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.16.0/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.15.1](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.15.1/commerce-override-authentication)\n- [2.14.0](/cpp/docs/reference/commerce/2.14.0/commerce-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::commerce_consumer_procurement_v1::\n ConsumerProcurementServiceClient(\n google::cloud::commerce_consumer_procurement_v1::\n MakeConsumerProcurementServiceConnection(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."]]