Unless otherwise configured, the client libraries use Application Default Credentials 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 The 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::securesourcemanager_v1::SecureSourceManagerClient(
google::cloud::securesourcemanager_v1::
MakeSecureSourceManagerConnection(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 webpage provides documentation for different versions of the SecureSourceManager, ranging from version 2.18.0 up to the latest release candidate, 2.37.0-rc.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe primary content focuses on how to override the default authentication credentials used by client libraries, which typically rely on Application Default Credentials (ADC).\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYou can override authentication by providing the UnifiedCredentialsOption, with an example shown on how to load a service account key file.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe page recommends consulting the "Best practices for managing service account keys" guide for more details on credential management.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAdditional information about creating Credentials objects can be found in the Authentication Components section.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version latestkeyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.42.0-rc (latest)](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/latest/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.41.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.41.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.40.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.40.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.39.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.39.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.38.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.38.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.37.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.37.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.36.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.36.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.35.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.35.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.34.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.34.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.33.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.33.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.32.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.32.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.31.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.31.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.30.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.30.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.29.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.29.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.28.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.28.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.27.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.27.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.26.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.26.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.25.1](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.25.1/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.24.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.24.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.23.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.23.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.22.1](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.22.1/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.21.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.21.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.20.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.20.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.19.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.19.0/securesourcemanager-override-authentication)\n- [2.18.0](/cpp/docs/reference/securesourcemanager/2.18.0/securesourcemanager-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::securesourcemanager_v1::SecureSourceManagerClient(\n google::cloud::securesourcemanager_v1::\n MakeSecureSourceManagerConnection(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."]]