Hey everyone, I’m having trouble with gspread when trying to access my work’s Google Sheets. I’ve used it before with my personal account and it worked fine. Here’s a simple example of what I did:
import spreadsheet_tool
connection = spreadsheet_tool.connect('work_email', 'work_password')
sheet = connection.open('ProjectData').sheet1
cell_value = sheet.cell(1, 2).value
print(cell_value)
But when I run this for my work account, I get an error:
AuthError: Can't authenticate. Error code 500
Any ideas what’s going on? Is there something special I need to do for corporate accounts? Thanks for any help!
The issue you’re encountering is likely due to corporate security policies. Most companies don’t allow direct password authentication for API access to their Google Workspace accounts. Instead, you’ll need to use OAuth2 or service account credentials.
For corporate environments, I’d recommend setting up a service account. This involves creating a JSON key file with your account’s credentials. You can then use this file to authenticate:
import gspread
from google.oauth2.service_account import Credentials
scope = ['https://spreadsheets.google.com/feeds', 'https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive']
creds = Credentials.from_service_account_file('path/to/service_account.json', scopes=scope)
client = gspread.authorize(creds)
sheet = client.open('ProjectData').sheet1
cell_value = sheet.cell(1, 2).value
print(cell_value)
You’ll need to work with your IT department to get the necessary permissions and the service account JSON file. This approach is more secure and adheres to most corporate policies.
yo tom, sounds like ur company’s got some tight security. u cant just use ur password like that for work stuff. u gotta use OAuth2 or a service account. talk to ur IT guys, theyll hook u up with the right credentials. its a bit of a pain but way safer in the long run. good luck!
I ran into a similar issue when trying to access our company’s Google Sheets. The problem isn’t with gspread itself, but with how corporate Google accounts are set up.
Our IT team explained that for security reasons, they don’t allow direct password authentication for API access. Instead, we had to use something called OAuth2 credentials.
The process was a bit involved, but basically I had to set up a project in Google Cloud Console, enable the Google Sheets API, create OAuth2 credentials, and then use those credentials in my Python script.
It took some back-and-forth with IT to get the right permissions, but once it was set up, it worked smoothly. The upside is that it’s much more secure than using a password directly in the code.
If you’re stuck, I’d recommend reaching out to your IT department. They should be able to guide you through the process or provide the necessary credentials.