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::assuredworkloads_v1::AssuredWorkloadsServiceClient(
google::cloud::assuredworkloads_v1::
MakeAssuredWorkloadsServiceConnection(options));
}
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-14 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe page provides documentation for various versions of the Assured Workloads service, ranging from version 2.11.0 up to the latest release candidate, 2.37.0-rc.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eUsers can override the default authentication credentials used by client libraries by employing the \u003ccode\u003eUnifiedCredentialsOption\u003c/code\u003e, allowing for explicit credential loading.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe provided example showcases how to load authentication credentials from a service account key file, using the \u003ccode\u003eMakeServiceAccountCredentials\u003c/code\u003e function.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe page refers to best practices for service account key management, advising users to consult a separate guide for more detailed information.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe page provides a link to the Authentication Components section for users needing more information on the factory functions used to create credentials objects.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version 2.19.0keyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.42.0-rc (latest)](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/latest/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.41.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.41.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.40.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.40.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.39.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.39.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.38.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.38.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.37.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.37.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.36.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.36.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.35.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.35.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.34.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.34.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.33.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.33.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.32.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.32.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.31.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.31.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.30.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.30.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.29.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.29.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.28.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.28.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.27.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.27.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.26.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.26.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.25.1](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.25.1/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.24.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.24.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.23.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.23.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.22.1](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.22.1/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.21.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.21.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.20.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.20.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.19.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.19.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.18.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.18.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.17.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.17.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.16.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.16.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.15.1](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.15.1/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.14.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.14.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.13.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.13.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.12.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.12.0/assuredworkloads-override-authentication)\n- [2.11.0](/cpp/docs/reference/assuredworkloads/2.11.0/assuredworkloads-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::assuredworkloads_v1::AssuredWorkloadsServiceClient(\n google::cloud::assuredworkloads_v1::\n MakeAssuredWorkloadsServiceConnection(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."]]