Google: Service Account#

Using service accounts is more complex than OAuth2. Before you begin:

Check if your node is compatible with Service Account.
Make sure you need to use Service Account. For most use cases, OAuth2 is a better option.
Read the Google documentation on Creating and managing service accounts.

Prerequisites#

There are four steps to connecting your n8n credential to a Google Service Account:

First, create a Google Cloud Console project. If you already have a project, jump to the next section:

Log in to your Google Cloud Console using your Google credentials.
In the top menu, select the project dropdown in the top navigation and select New project or go directly to the New Project page.
Enter a Project name and select the Location for your project.
Select Create.
Check the top navigation and make sure the project dropdown has your project selected. If not, select the project you just created.

Check the project dropdown in the Google Cloud top navigation

With your project created, enable the APIs you'll need access to:

Access your Google Cloud Console - Library. Make sure you're in the correct project.

Check the project dropdown in the Google Cloud top navigation
Go to APIs & Services > Library.
Search for and select the API(s) you want to enable. For example, for the Gmail node, search for and enable the Gmail API.
Some integrations require other APIs or require you to request access:
- Google Perspective: Request API Access.
- Google Ads: Get a Developer Token.
Google Drive API required

The following integrations require the Google Drive API, as well as their own API:
- Google Docs
- Google Sheets
- Google Slides
Select ENABLE.

Access your Google Cloud Console - Library. Make sure you're in the correct project.

Check the project dropdown in the Google Cloud top navigation
Select the hamburger menu > APIs & Services > Credentials. Google takes you to your Credentials page.
Select + CREATE CREDENTIALS > Service account.
Enter a name in Service account name and an ID in Service account ID. Refer to Creating a service account for more information.
Select CREATE AND CONTINUE.
Based on your use-case, you may want to Select a role and Grant users access to this service account using the corresponding sections.
Select DONE.
Select your newly created service account under the Service Accounts section. Open the KEYS tab.
Select ADD KEY > Create new key.
In the modal that appears, select JSON, then select CREATE. Google saves the file to your computer.

With the Google project and credentials fully configured, finish the n8n credential:

Open the downloaded JSON file.
Copy the client_email and enter it in your n8n credential as the Service Account Email.
Copy the private_key. Don't include the surrounding " marks. Enter this as the Private Key in your n8n credential.

Older versions of n8n

If you're running an n8n version older than 0.156.0, replace all instances of \n in the JSON file with new lines.
Optional: Choose if you want to Impersonate a User(turned on).
1. Enter the Email of the user you want to impersonate.
If you plan to use this credential with the HTTP Request node, turn on Set up for use in HTTP Request node.
1. With this setting turned on, you'll need to add Scope(s) for the node. n8n prepopulates some scopes. Refer to OAuth 2.0 Scopes for Google APIs for more information.
Save your credentials.

The following video demonstrates the steps described above.

A Service Account can't access Google Drive files and folders that weren't shared with its associated user email.