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complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-14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\u003eThis webpage 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\u003eThe documentation explains how to override the default authentication credentials using \u003ccode\u003eUnifiedCredentialsOption\u003c/code\u003e, which is necessary in scenarios where the standard Application Default Credentials are not sufficient.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe example provided demonstrates how to load a service account key file and use it for authentication with the Assured Workloads service.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe page also suggests consulting the "Best practices for managing service account keys" guide for security related guidance, and links to "Authentication Components" for more information on creating \u003ccode\u003egoogle::cloud::Credentials\u003c/code\u003e objects.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version 2.30.0keyboard_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."]]