google-auth
Google Authentication Library
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. google-auth is the standard, actively maintained authentication library for Google APIs in Python. It has low install friction, permissive licensing, no known vulnerabilities, and is part of the top 100 most-downloaded PyPI packages. Install it if you need to authenticate to any Google API from Python.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python >= 3.10; note that extras pyopenssl and enterprise_cert should not be used together due to conflicting cryptography versions.
- Low friction installation with just two runtime dependencies (pyasn1-modules and cryptography).
- Actively maintained with a release 8 days ago and a commit history through 2026-08-14.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache 2.0 (permissive) — Apache 2.0 permissive license allows commercial use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-08-06 (8 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 5,371 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 590,070,847 downloads/mo, #60 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install google-auth
from google.auth import default
credentials, project = default()- Whether the library supports all Google API authentication flows or only a subset of server-to-server mechanisms.
- Performance characteristics when handling high-volume authentication requests.
What it is and what it does
google-auth is Google's official Python library for handling authentication to Google APIs in server-to-server scenarios. It abstracts away the complexity of OAuth tokens, service accounts, and credential management, letting you focus on calling Google APIs rather than managing authentication plumbing. The library depends on pyasn1-modules and cryptography for cryptographic operations and token handling.
It's designed for applications that need to authenticate as a service account or application rather than as an end user. You install it, load credentials (from a service account key file, environment variables, or default application credentials), and pass them to Google client libraries. The library handles token refresh, expiration, and the various authentication flows Google APIs support.
Use it for
- Authenticate a backend service to call Google Cloud APIs (Compute, Storage, BigQuery, etc.) using a service account.
- Build a microservice that needs to authenticate to multiple Google APIs without user interaction.
- Implement server-side OAuth flows where your application acts as the client to Google's authorization server.
- Automate Google Workspace or Google Cloud operations from a Python script or scheduled job.
- Develop a multi-tenant application where each tenant's credentials are managed server-side.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
google-auth is the standard, actively maintained authentication library for Google APIs in Python. It has low install friction, permissive licensing, no known vulnerabilities, and is part of the top 100 most-downloaded PyPI packages. Install it if you need to authenticate to any Google API from Python.
Install
google-auth on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation with just two runtime dependencies (pyasn1-modules and cryptography). Actively maintained with a release 8 days ago and a commit history through 2026-08-14.
Requires Python >= 3.10; note that extras pyopenssl and enterprise_cert should not be used together due to conflicting cryptography versions.
License in practice
Apache 2.0 permissive license allows commercial use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install google-auth
from google.auth import default
credentials, project = default()Verify before relying
- Whether the library supports all Google API authentication flows or only a subset of server-to-server mechanisms.
- Performance characteristics when handling high-volume authentication requests.
Package facts
| License | Apache 2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagespyasn1-modulescryptography |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 8 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 590,070,847 / month, #60 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 :: MacOS :: MacOS XOperating System :: Microsoft :: WindowsOperating System :: OS IndependentOperating System :: POSIXProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP |
Evidence: google_auth-2.56.3-py3-none-any.whl
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See also google-auth-oauthlib · google-reauth · google-oauth · google-auth-httplib2 · oauth2client · gcs-oauth2-boto-plugin · google-apitools · requests-oauthlib · gcloud-rest-auth · gcloud-aio-auth