What is a Service Account?¶
A Google Service Account is a special type of account used by applications (not humans) to access Google APIs like Google Calendar. It allows your website to read and write calendar events programmatically.
Setup Steps¶
1. Create a Google Cloud Project¶
Go to Google Cloud Console
Click Select a project at the top → New Project
Name it something like "My Website Bookings" and click Create
2. Enable Google Calendar API¶
In the sidebar, go to APIs & Services → Library
Search for "Google Calendar API"
Click on it and press Enable
3. Create Service Account¶
Go to IAM & Admin → Service Accounts
Click Create Service Account
Enter a name (e.g., "calendar-booking") and description
Click Create and Continue
Skip the optional steps (Grant access, Grant users access) and click Done
4. Generate JSON Key¶
Find your newly created service account in the list
Click the ⋮ (three dots) → Manage keys
Click Add Key → Create new key
Select JSON and click Create
A JSON file will download automatically - keep this safe!
5. Share Calendar with Service Account¶
Open the JSON file and copy the "client_email" value (looks like: your-service@project-id.iam.gserviceaccount.com)
Go to Google Calendar
Find your calendar in the left sidebar → click ⋮ → Settings and sharing
Scroll to Share with specific people
Click Add people and paste the service account email
Set permission to Make changes to events
6. Get Calendar ID¶
Still in Calendar Settings, scroll to "Integrate calendar"
Copy the Calendar ID (looks like: abc123@group.calendar.google.com)
7. Provide to Developer¶
Send your developer:
• The JSON credentials file
• The Calendar ID
They will add these as environment variables:
# The entire JSON file content (as a single-line string)
GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON='{"type":"service_account","project_id":"...",...}'
# Your calendar ID
GOOGLE_CALENDAR_ID=abc123@group.calendar.google.comSecurity Best Practices¶
Never commit the JSON file to Git!
Store it securely and only share via secure channels (password manager, encrypted email)
Only grant "Make changes to events" permission, not "Make changes AND manage sharing"
If compromised, delete the key in Google Cloud Console and generate a new one