With Google API Client, how to create client

Question

I'm working to use the Google API Client: https://github.com/google/google-api-ruby-client

Specifically, I want to access Google Contacts via the Google API client using the following google_contacts_api.rb: https://gist.github.com/lightman76/2357338dcca65fd390e2

I am trying to use google_contacts_api.rb like so (x is intentional and is actually the correct keys):

require './lib/google_contacts_api.rb'
auth = User.first.authentications.first
client = OAuth2::Client.new('x', 'x', :site => 'https://accounts.google.com')
oauth2_object = OAuth2::AccessToken.new(client, auth.token)
x = ContactList::GoogleContactsApi.new(client, oauth2_object).all_contacts

This is erring with undefined methodget' for # Did you mean? gem`

I believe the issue is I am not sending client correctly and I have been unable to find any doc or examples showing how to create client. How can I get this to work?

Answer 1

Note : As getting a contacts list usually requires a user's authentication to read private data, in the example below I assume that you've already implemented Oauth2 authentication with a sufficient scope and you got a valid ’token’ from that first step.

Lot of outdated/confusing documentation online because APIs' authentication and APIs themselves have been upgraded many times. To me most useful documentation is the one at http://www.rubydoc.info/github/google/google-api-ruby-client/

gem 'google-api-client' is still in alpha and moving quite fast, after lot of struggling I've been able to work with authenticated calls to Youtube, Gmail and Analytics APIS. I hope Contacts API work the same.

The Google API Ruby Client contains everything needed to manage API authentication and then request authorized subservices APIs. No need to struggle with Hurley, Signet or other HTTP/Rest clients.

#Gemfile
gem 'google-api-client'


#Class file
require 'google/api_client/client_secrets.rb' #Manage global google authentication
require 'google/apis/youtube_v3' #To be replaced with the proper Contact API

access = {...} #Credentials object returned by your Oauth strategy (gem 'omniauth-google-oauth2' works like a charm) 
secrets = Google::APIClient::ClientSecrets.new({
"web" => {"access_token" => access['token'], 
"refresh_token" => access['refresh_token'],
"client_id" => "xxxxxxxx.apps.googleusercontent.com", 
"client_secret" => "xxxxxxxxxxxx"}})

client = Google::Apis::YoutubeV3::YouTubeService.new #As per the require line, update it with you service API
client.authorization = secrets.to_authorization
client.authorization.refresh!

So far client variable is an authorized and ready to query object that I use like this for example in order to search for Youtube contents

client.list_searches('snippet', q: 'xxxxxx', type: 'channel'){ |res, err|

Answer 2

You're getting that error because you're using passing the wrong objects to
ContactList::GoogleContactsApi.new(client, auth). That gist expects for client to be an instance of the dead Hurley HTTP client and auth to be an OAuth2 instance from Google's Signet library. Instead you're trying to Intridea's OAuth2 libary.

Since Hurley is a dead project, and that gist lacks any unit tests, I'd recommend you use a tested and working implementation such as the google_contacts_api gem which is compatible with Intridea's OAuth2 library:

require 'google_contacts_api'

auth = User.first.authentications.first
client = OAuth2::Client.new('x', 'x', :site => 'https://accounts.google.com')
oauth2_object = OAuth2::AccessToken.new(client, auth.token)
google_contacts_user = GoogleContactsApi::User.new(oauth2_object)

---

The issue of refreshing tokens really belongs in a separate question. In short, you'll have to make a request for a new token periodically using the refresh token Google provides:

data = {
  :client_id => GOOGLE_APP_KEY,
  :client_secret => GOOGLE_APP_SECRET,
  :refresh_token => oauth2_refresh_token_for_user,
  :grant_type => "refresh_token"
}
response = ActiveSupport::JSON.decode(RestClient.post("https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/token"), data)
if response["access_token"].present?
  puts response["access_token"]
else
  # No Token
end
rescue RestClient::BadRequest => e
  # Bad request
rescue
  # Something else bad happened
end