Authentication Methods at Google Cloud

Google Cloud offers various authentication methods to secure access to its services, ensuring that both applications and users can interact with Google APIs and resources securely. Below are the key authentication methods and their respective use cases.

1. Authenticating to Google APIs

Accessing Google APIs requires valid credentials in the form of a token or API key with each request. While API keys can be used, the recommended and more secure approach is to authenticate using OAuth tokens or service account credentials. The best practice for authenticating to Google APIs is through Application Default Credentials (ADC).

2. Application Default Credentials (ADC)

Application Default Credentials simplify the authentication process for both development and production environments by automatically locating and using the appropriate credentials. ADC enables code to run consistently across environments without needing to change authentication mechanisms.

ADC looks for credentials in the following order:

1. Environment variable (GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS): If this variable is set, ADC uses the credentials pointed to by this file path.
2. User credentials: When a user is authenticated…