Authorize an Account

With your Google Cloud and Device Access projects created, you can authorize a Google account with a supported Google Nest device for the SDM API.

Link your account

To view structures and devices, you must link a Google account to your Device Access project using the PCM. PCM allows the user to grant permission to allow developers to access their structures and device data.

In this guide, you serve as both the user and the developer.

Note: If you didn't copy your OAuth 2.0 Client ID and Client Secret values earlier, get it now from the Google Cloud Credentials page.

1. Open the following link in a web browser, replacing:

   1. project-id with your Device Access Project ID
   2. oauth2-client-id with the OAuth2 Client ID from your Google Cloud Credentials

   https://nestservices.google.com/partnerconnections/project-id/auth?redirect_uri=https://www.google.com&access_type=offline&prompt=consent&client_id=oauth2-client-id&response_type=code&scope=https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sdm.service
   

2. If you have signed into Google with multiple accounts recently, you may be presented with an initial Choose an account screen with a list of your Google accounts. If so, select the Google account tied to the device(s) you wish to authorize for Device Access.
3. The Google Nest permissions screen is PCM itself. Here you can grant structure and device permissions. Toggle on the permissions for your home (Step 1) and any devices in that home that are supported by the SDM API (Step 2), then click Next.
4. On the Choose an account to continue to Project Name screen, where Project Name is the name of your Google Cloud project, select the Google account you wish to authorize for the SDM API. Use the same Google account as before.
5. After choosing an account, you may get a warning screen that states Google hasn't verified this app. If so, to continue, click the Advanced option and then click Go to Project Name (unsafe). See Google hasn't verified this app for more information.
6. On the Grant Project Name permission screen, click Allow to give the project permission to access your Google account.
7. On the Confirm your choices screen, make sure the permissions you wish to grant are checked and click Allow to confirm.

8. You should be redirected to https://www.google.com. The Authorization Code is returned as the code parameter in the URL, which should be in this format:

   https://www.google.com?code=authorization-code&scope=https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sdm.service
   

9. Copy the authorization code.

Get an access token

Use the authorization code to retrieve an access token, that you can use to call the SDM API.

1. Open a terminal and run the following curl command, replacing:

   1. oauth2-client-id and oauth2-client-secret with the OAuth2 Client ID and Client Secret from your Google Cloud Credentials
   2. authorization-code with the code you received in the previous step

   curl -L -X POST 'https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v4/token?client_id=oauth2-client-id&client_secret=oauth2-client-secret&code=authorization-code&grant_type=authorization_code&redirect_uri=https://www.google.com'

2. Google OAuth returns two tokens, an access token and a refresh token.

   {
     "access_token": "access-token",
     "expires_in": 3599,
     "refresh_token": "refresh-token",
     "scope": "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sdm.service",
     "token_type": "Bearer"
   }

   Copy both these values. The access token is used to call the SDM API and the refresh token is used to get a new access token.

Make a device list call

Authorization is not complete until you make your first devices.list call with your new access token. This initial call finishes the authorization process and enables events if you've already set up a Pub/Sub subscription.

This call is required as part of authorization. Until this call is made:

• The authorized project will not appear on PCM.
• Events will not be published.

Use curl to make this call for the devices endpoint:

curl -X GET 'https://smartdevicemanagement.googleapis.com/v1/enterprises/project-id/devices' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer access-token'

A successful call returns a list of devices linked to your Device Access project. Each device has its own unique list of available traits:

{
  "devices": [
    {
      "name": "enterprises/project-id/devices/device-id",
      "type": "sdm.devices.types.device-type",
      "traits": { ... },
      "parentRelations": [
        {
          "parent": "enterprises/project-id/structures/structure-id/rooms/room-id",
          "displayName": "device-room-name"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

How to use a refresh token

Access tokens for the SDM API are only valid for 1 hour, as noted in the expires_in parameter returned by Google OAuth. If your access token expires, use the refresh token to get a new one.

The command is similar to the access token one, except that you use a different grant_type.

1. Open a terminal and run the following curl command, replacing:

   1. oauth2-client-id and oauth2-client-secret with the OAuth2 Client ID and Client Secret from your Google Cloud Credentials
   2. refresh-token with the code you received when initially getting the access token.

   curl -L -X POST 'https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v4/token?client_id=oauth2-client-id&client_secret=oauth2-client-secret&refresh_token=refresh-token&grant_type=refresh_token'

2. Google OAuth returns a new access token.

   {
     "access_token": "new-access-token",
     "expires_in": 3599,
     "scope": "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sdm.service",
     "token_type": "Bearer"
   }

Note: If your Device Access integration relies on Pub/Sub events and rarely makes API calls, the user's authorization will be revoked if the refresh token expires. For continued access, you must use the refresh token to refresh the access token within 6 months. For further help with authorization, see Refresh token expiration.

Troubleshooting

To learn more about Google OAuth, see Using OAuth 2.0 to Access Google APIs.

Refresh token keeps expiring

Refresh tokens can stop working after 7 days if the client ID is not approved is one possible cause. The 7-day token expiration is not related to Commercial or Sandbox approvals. A service or user account needs to get their OAuth 2.0 client ID approved and put into production to get longer token lifespans. See Refresh token expiration for more information.

Access denied

If you've set up your OAuth consent screen in Google Cloud and the User type is External, you will get an "Access denied" error if you attempt to account link with a Google account that is not listed as a test user for your app. Make sure to add the Google account to the Test users section in your OAuth consent screen.

Partner Connections Manager (PCM) error

For help with any errors encountered when accessing PCM, see Partner Connections Manager (PCM) Error Reference.

Google hasn't verified this app

The SDM API uses a restricted scope, which means that any apps that use this scope during authorization will be "unverified" unless OAuth API Verification is completed. When using Device Access for personal use, OAuth API Verification is not required.

You may see a "Google hasn't verified this app" screen during the authorization process, which appears if the sdm.service scope is not configured on your OAuth consent screen in Google Cloud. This screen can be bypassed by clicking the Advanced option and then clicking Go to Project Name (unsafe).

See Unverified app screen for more information.

Invalid client

When attempting to get an access or refresh token, you will get an "Invalid client" error if you provide an incorrect OAuth 2.0 Client Secret. Make sure the client_secret value you're using in access and refresh token calls is the one for the OAuth 2.0 Client ID being used, as found in your Google Cloud Credentials page.

Invalid request, missing required scope

After granting permissions in PCM, you might run into a "Invalid request" error of "Missing required parameter: scope". Make sure the scope value you're using in authorization calls is the same as the one you set for the OAuth 2.0 Client, as found in your Google Cloud Credentials page.

Redirect uri mismatch

When going through authorization, you might run into a "Redirect uri mismatch" error. Make sure the redirect_uri value you're using in authorization calls is the same as the one you set for the OAuth 2.0 Client, as found in your Google Cloud Credentials page.

Modify account permissions

To modify the permissions granted to a Device Access project, or disconnect it entirely, go to PCM:

https://nestservices.google.com/partnerconnections

This page displays all third-party developer services (Device Access projects) connected to your account. Select the Device Access project you wish to change. Use the next screen to modify permissions as desired.

To revoke only specific permissions for an authorized service, toggle the permissions you want to revoke and click the back arrow to save.

To disconnect an authorized service entirely, click Unlink your Google Account to revoke all permissions and access tokens the project has been granted for the account.

Note: The authorized service can also be entirely disconnected through your Google account permissions at https://myaccount.google.com/permissions.

If PCM does not show the desired service, you may need to make a device list call first.

Quick reference

Use this reference to quickly implement the steps to authorize a user and link their Google account .

To use this quick reference, edit each placeholder variable in the code samples with the values for your specific integration, and copy and paste as needed:

1 PCM

Open the following link in a web browser, replacing:

1. project-id with your Device Access Project ID
2. oauth2-client-id with the OAuth2 Client ID from your Google Cloud Credentials

https://nestservices.google.com/partnerconnections/project-id/auth?redirect_uri=https://www.google.com&access_type=offline&prompt=consent&client_id=oauth2-client-id&response_type=code&scope=https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sdm.service

2 Auth Code

You should be redirected to https://www.google.com. The Authorization Code is returned as the code parameter in the URL, which should be in this format:

https://www.google.com?code=authorization-code&scope=https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sdm.service

3 Access Token

Use the authorization code to retrieve an access token, that you can use to call the SDM API.

Open a terminal and run the following curl command, replacing:

1. oauth2-client-id and oauth2-client-secret with the OAuth2 Client ID and Client Secret from your Google Cloud Credentials
2. authorization-code with the code you received in the previous step

Google OAuth returns two tokens, an access token and a refresh token.

Request

curl -L -X POST 'https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v4/token?client_id=oauth2-client-id&client_secret=oauth2-client-secret&code=authorization-code&grant_type=authorization_code&redirect_uri=https://www.google.com'

Response

{
  "access_token": "access-token",
  "expires_in": 3599,
  "refresh_token": "refresh-token",
  "scope": "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sdm.service",
  "token_type": "Bearer"
}

4 API Call

Authorization is not complete until you make your first devices.list call with your new access token. This initial call finishes the authorization process and enables events if you've already set up a Pub/Sub subscription.

This call is required as part of authorization. Until this call is made:

• The authorized project will not appear on PCM.
• Events will not be published.

You must use one of the API calls listed for the specified scope to complete authorization.

sdm.service

devices

See the devices.list API reference for more information.

curl -X GET 'https://smartdevicemanagement.googleapis.com/v1/enterprises/project-id/devices' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer access-token'

5 Refresh Token

Access tokens for the SDM API are only valid for 1 hour, as noted in the expires_in parameter returned by Google OAuth. If your access token expires, use the refresh token to get a new one.

Open a terminal and run the following curl command, replacing:

1. oauth2-client-id and oauth2-client-secret with the OAuth2 Client ID and Client Secret from your Google Cloud Credentials
2. refresh-token with the code you received when initially getting the access token.

Google OAuth returns a new access token.

Request

curl -L -X POST 'https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v4/token?client_id=oauth2-client-id&client_secret=oauth2-client-secret&refresh_token=refresh-token&grant_type=refresh_token'

Response

{
  "access_token": "new-access-token",
  "expires_in": 3599,
  "scope": "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/sdm.service",
  "token_type": "Bearer"
}