GA4 Auth Setup GA4 has two production-grade auth paths. Pick before you start; mixing them mid-flight is the most common failure mode. | Path | When | Credential file | |---|---|---| | Service account | Automation, CI, server-side scripts. Token is long-lived, scoped, revocable. | (or any path you choose) | | OAuth user creds | Interactive use, multiple GA4 properties, ad-hoc analyst work. Token refreshes from a file. | ADC | Recommendation: service account for any pipeline / report-runner / agent use. OAuth for a human poking around. Don't share OAuth user creds across machines — that's an a…