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::videointelligence_v1::VideoIntelligenceServiceClient(
google::cloud::videointelligence_v1::
MakeVideoIntelligenceServiceConnection(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complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-14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 a comprehensive list of Video Intelligence API versions, ranging from the latest release candidate 2.37.0-rc down to version 2.11.0, each with links to their respective documentation for overriding authentication.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe latest stable version of the Video Intelligence API is indicated as version 2.36.0, and the latest candidate for the next version is 2.37.0-rc.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe content explains how to override the default authentication credentials using the \u003ccode\u003eUnifiedCredentialsOption\u003c/code\u003e, particularly focusing on loading a service account key file as an example.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIt highlights that the client libraries typically use Application Default Credentials but may require overrides in specific cases for which this example offers a solution.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor further details on authentication, users are directed to the "Authentication Components" section, which provides information on creating \u003ccode\u003egoogle::cloud::Credentials\u003c/code\u003e objects, as well as best practices for service account key management.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Version 2.17.0keyboard_arrow_down\n\n- [2.42.0-rc (latest)](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/latest/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.41.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.41.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.40.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.40.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.39.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.39.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.38.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.38.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.37.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.37.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.36.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.36.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.35.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.35.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.34.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.34.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.33.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.33.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.32.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.32.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.31.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.31.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.30.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.30.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.29.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.29.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.28.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.28.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.27.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.27.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.26.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.26.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.25.1](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.25.1/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.24.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.24.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.23.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.23.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.22.1](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.22.1/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.21.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.21.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.20.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.20.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.19.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.19.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.18.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.18.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.17.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.17.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.16.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.16.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.15.1](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.15.1/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.14.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.14.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.13.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.13.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.12.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.12.0/videointelligence-override-authentication)\n- [2.11.0](/cpp/docs/reference/videointelligence/2.11.0/videointelligence-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::videointelligence_v1::VideoIntelligenceServiceClient(\n google::cloud::videointelligence_v1::\n MakeVideoIntelligenceServiceConnection(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."]]