google-api-python-client
Google API Client Library for Python
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need to call one or more Google discovery-based APIs from Python and are willing to accept the larger package footprint. The library is stable, actively maintained, and officially supported by Google. Install it for existing projects or when a specialized Cloud Client Library doesn't cover your use case. For new projects calling only a single Google service, check whether a dedicated Cloud Client Library exists first.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires valid Google credentials (OAuth 2.0 token or service account key) and Python 3.7 or newer.
- Low friction installation with five stable runtime dependencies.
- Actively maintained with releases every week; last commit was 50 days ago.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache 2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under Apache 2.0 (permissive), allowing commercial use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions. No license friction for most use cases.
last release 2026-06-25 (50 days) · last repo commit 2026-07-14 · 8,899 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 191,572,173 downloads/mo, #215 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install google-api-python-client
import httplib2
from google_auth import credentials
# Requires credentials object from google-auth
service_build_call = 'see documentation for full example'- Whether the 50 MB package size (compared to v1.x) is acceptable for your deployment constraints.
- Performance characteristics when calling APIs with high request volume or latency-sensitive workloads.
- Exact API coverage and compatibility details for your specific Google services.
- How to properly initialize and authenticate using google-auth and google-auth-httplib2.
What it is and what it does
google-api-python-client is Google's official Python library for calling discovery-based Google APIs. It works by loading API definitions (discovery documents) that are now cached within the library itself rather than fetched dynamically at runtime. This caching trade-off—a larger package size in exchange for faster startup and more reliable initialization—is the main change in version 2.x. The library handles authentication, request construction, and response parsing through a unified interface, with runtime dependencies on httplib2, google-auth, google-auth-httplib2, google-api-core, and uritemplate.
The library is complete and in maintenance mode, meaning Google will fix critical bugs and security issues but will not add new features. For new code, Google's own documentation recommends using specialized Cloud Client Libraries instead, which offer better tooling and smaller download footprints. However, google-api-python-client remains officially supported and is still the right choice when you need to call multiple different Google APIs or when a specialized library doesn't exist for your use case.
Use it for
- Automate tasks across multiple Google services from a single Python application using the unified client interface.
- Build reporting or integration tools that pull data from Google services into a local system or database.
- Create service account bots that manage Google services on behalf of an organization or application.
- Integrate Google APIs into existing Python applications that already depend on httplib2 or google-auth.
- Call Google discovery-based APIs when a specialized Cloud Client Library is not available for your use case.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need to call one or more Google discovery-based APIs from Python and are willing to accept the larger package footprint.
The library is stable, actively maintained, and officially supported by Google. Install it for existing projects or when a specialized Cloud Client Library doesn't cover your use case. For new projects calling only a single Google service, check whether a dedicated Cloud Client Library exists first.
Install
google-api-python-client on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation with five stable runtime dependencies. Actively maintained with releases every week; last commit was 50 days ago. Library is in maintenance mode—critical bugs and security issues are addressed, but no new features are planned.
Requires valid Google credentials (OAuth 2.0 token or service account key) and Python 3.7 or newer.
License in practice
Licensed under Apache 2.0 (permissive), allowing commercial use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions. No license friction for most use cases.
Quickstart
pip install google-api-python-client
import httplib2
from google_auth import credentials
# Requires credentials object from google-auth
service_build_call = 'see documentation for full example'Verify before relying
- Whether the 50 MB package size (compared to v1.x) is acceptable for your deployment constraints.
- Performance characteristics when calling APIs with high request volume or latency-sensitive workloads.
- Exact API coverage and compatibility details for your specific Google services.
- How to properly initialize and authenticate using google-auth and google-auth-httplib2.
Package facts
| License | Apache 2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.7 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 5 packageshttplib2google-authgoogle-auth-httplib2google-api-coreuritemplate |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 50 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 191,572,173 / month, #215 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP |
Evidence: google_api_python_client-2.198.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also google-apitools · google-cloud-storage · aiogoogle · google-cloud-discoveryengine · PyDrive · google-cloud-datacatalog · google-cloud-dns · google-cloud-access-context-manager · google-cloud-bigquery-logging · github3.py