Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Authenticate users in python scripts using their Google account


Google offers user authentication through OpenID Connect. Although usually, this feature is used by web sites, it can also be used with desktop applications. In this repository you can find a Python3 script that authenticates users based on their Google account. 

What this script does is, it opens a web browser that redirects user to Google's authorization page and at the same time it begins a web server that "listens" for the access code. Upon receiving the access code it "exchanges" for an id token that includes user information.

Since the client secret of a desktop application can be easily protected, this script leverages Proof Key for Code Exchange by OAuth Public Clients, a technology defined in RFC 7636 and supported by Google. With PKCE, the script generates a random code verifier and transmits its SHA-256 hash when requesting the access code. Then, it transmits the actual code verifier when requesting the id token.