Question

I have a simple scenario for which I can’t find solution. I’d like to use Docs API for my application, but I want to use only one application account to store documents and perform all the API calls. So I don’t want to use all this redirect_uri stuff, that needs any kind of user interaction – only my app and it’s own Google account.

I’ve found similar question here: gdata-python-api + Analytics with simple auth but the solution still involves user interaction (yes, probably only once but I still don’t like it as most of the interactions with API will be done by some daemon).

I’m using gdata-python-client for interactions with API. I’m not sure if I understand correctly if ServiceAccount authentication might be a solution, but couldn’t find any examples of how to perform it via gdata-python-client lib (can somebody share working code?).

Answer 1

To access the documents owned by this single user, you must have an access token for that user. There’s not really any way around this. The access token is how Google identifies your project, which user’s data you’d like access to, and that you have all of the necessary permissions granted.

It sounds like you’ve already found the solution: You must go through the OAuth 2.0 dance at some point in time and store the refresh_token for subsequent access. Be aware, though, that refresh_tokens may not last forever. For example, if access is revoked, it will stop working. For this reason, it’s wise to expose the ability to execute the OAuth 2.0 dance again from an administrative page in your application.