Google Ads API Quickstart

House rule: anything IAM- or auth-related in this skill (credentials, developer tokens, service accounts, enabling APIs) is presented to Ian to run or approve — never executed directly. See AGENTS.md.

Google Ads API Quickstart

This skill guides you from absolute zero to running your first successful request to retrieve campaigns.

Supported Tracks

You can choose to use this skill with:

1. Official Client Libraries: Python, Java, .NET, PHP, Ruby, or Perl.
2. Direct REST: Raw HTTP REST requests.

Crucial Requirement: Dynamic Version Resolution & Runtime Resolution

[!IMPORTANT] To ensure the integration is secure, stable, and up-to-date, you must resolve all API and runtime versions dynamically. Do not rely on hardcoded defaults.

Strict Constraints:

• DO NOT Hardcode: Never use hardcoded Google Ads API versions (e.g., v24) or language runtime versions (e.g., Python 3.8+, Java 11+) in generated code or environment setup instructions, unless the user explicitly requests a specific version.
• MANDATORY Dynamic Resolution: You must dynamically resolve the latest stable versions at the start of execution before generating any code or configuration, using the procedures detailed below.

A. Dynamic API Version Resolution

To ensure the integration is secure, stable, and up-to-date, you MUST resolve the absolute newest stable major version of the Google Ads API dynamically.

Execution Steps:

1. Pre-Flight Version Resolution: Use your web search or URL-reading tools to inspect the latest entry in the Google Ads API Release Notes or the highest versioned directory in the Googleapis Github Repository to resolve RESOLVED_API_VERSION (e.g., v24). If using Java, you MUST also resolve the latest stable release version of the Google Ads Java Client Library (referred to as RESOLVED_LIBRARY_VERSION, e.g., 34.0.0).

2. Mandatory Response Anchor: You MUST output the following confirmation block as the very first line of your response to the user. Do not output any greeting, pleasantries, or introductory text before this block.

   [SYSTEM: Using Google Ads API version: RESOLVED_API_VERSION (Resolved from release notes)]
   

3. Strict Placeholder Mapping Table: You MUST perform on-the-fly search-and-replace on all code templates and reference files using the mapping table below. Do not leave raw placeholders in the final output.

   Target Language / Tech	Placeholder in Template	Replacement Pattern	Example (Assuming API v24)
   Java (Maven/Gradle)	LATEST_LIBRARY_VERSION	Search & substitute the latest Maven release version of the library.	34.0.0
   Java (Imports)	vXX	Replace with lower-case API version.	com.google.ads.googleads.v24
   .NET / C# (Namespaces)	VXX	Replace with title-case API version.	Google.Ads.GoogleAds.V24
   PHP (Namespaces)	VXX	Replace with title-case API version.	Google\Ads\GoogleAds\V24
   REST (Endpoint URL)	vXX	Replace with lower-case API version.	https://googleads.googleapis.com/v24/...

[!TIP] Offline Fallback: If the URLs are unreachable or the scrape fails, do not halt execution. Fall back to these last-known stable versions:

• Google Ads API Major Version (RESOLVED_API_VERSION): v24
• Java Client Library Version (RESOLVED_LIBRARY_VERSION): 34.0.0

B. Dynamic Language Runtime Version Resolution

To prevent the generated setup guides from becoming obsolete due to language deprecation cycles, you MUST resolve language requirements dynamically.

Execution Steps:

1. Fetch Live Requirements: Use your URL-reading tools to inspect the official Google Ads Client Libraries - Supported Versions page.

2. Extract Minimums: Identify the minimum supported runtime version for the user's chosen language by scanning the Overview page or compatibility tables (e.g., looking for explicit requirements like Python 3.8+, Java 11+, .NET 6.0+, PHP 8.1+, Ruby 3.0+).

3. Apply On-The-Fly: Substitute all runtime placeholders (e.g., <PYTHON_MIN_VERSION>) in your generated setup guides with these resolved versions.

[!TIP] Offline Fallback: If the URL is unreachable or the scrape fails, do not halt execution. Fall back to these last-known safe minimum versions:

• Python: 3.9+
• Java: 11+
• .NET: 6.0+
• PHP: 8.1+
• Ruby: 3.0+
• Perl: 5.28.1+

Step 1: Obtain Google Ads API Credentials

Before installing libraries or making API calls, you must obtain the five required authentication parameters.

1. Developer Token

• Purpose: Identifies your developer access and API quota.
• How to Obtain:
  1. Navigate directly to the API Center in your Google Ads Manager Account: https://ads.google.com/aw/apicenter (Note: You must sign in with a Manager account, not a standard serving account).
  2. Copy your Developer Token.

[!WARNING] Pending Token Restriction: If your Developer Token status is "Pending" (unapproved), you MUST ONLY target Google Ads Test Accounts. Attempting to call a production account with a pending token will fail with the error: DEVELOPER_TOKEN_NOT_APPROVED.

2. OAuth2 Client ID & Client Secret

• Purpose: Identifies your application to Google's OAuth 2.0 server and allows you to request user authorization.
• How to Obtain:
  1. Open the Google Cloud Console.
  2. Create a new project (or select an existing one).
  3. Search for the Google Ads API in the API Library and click Enable.
  4. Configure the OAuth Consent Screen:
     • Select External user type.
     • Set the Publishing Status to Testing.

     • [!IMPORTANT]

     • Add Test Users: You MUST add the email address of the Google account you use to log into Google Ads as a Test User in this step. Otherwise, you will be blocked during authorization.

  5. Create the OAuth Client:
     • Go to APIs & Services 🡒 Credentials.
     • Click Create Credentials 🡒 OAuth client ID.
     • Select Desktop App as the Application Type.
     • Name the client and click Create.
  6. Download Secrets: Click the download icon (JSON) next to your newly created Client ID. Save this file locally as client_secrets.json.

3. OAuth2 Refresh Token

• Purpose: Allows your application to obtain new access tokens automatically without requiring manual user login every hour.

• How to Obtain: You must run the Google Cloud (gcloud) CLI to generate your refresh token.

  1. Install and Verify gcloud CLI:

  Ensure the gcloud CLI is installed and available in your terminal.

  2. Execute the Login Flow:

  Run the following command in your terminal, passing the path to the client_secrets.json file downloaded in the previous step:

  gcloud auth application-default login \
    --scopes=https://www.googleapis.com/auth/adwords,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform \
    --client-id-file=client_secrets.json
  

  3. Authorize in Browser:

  1. The command will open a Google Account login window in your browser.
  2. Sign in using the Test User email registered in your OAuth Consent Screen setup.
  3. If your app is unverified, click Advanced and continue to the project. Click Continue to grant permissions.

  4. Retrieve Your Refresh Token:

  Once successful, gcloud will output a message indicating where the credentials were saved (typically ~/.config/gcloud/application_default_credentials.json). Open that file to copy your refresh_token.

4. Client Customer ID

• Purpose: The 10-digit ID of the specific Google Ads account you want to query or make changes to.
• Format: Must be 10 digits with no hyphens (e.g., 1234567890, NOT 123-456-7890).
• How to Find It: Log in to the Google Ads UI; the ID is displayed in the top-right corner next to your user icon.

[!IMPORTANT] Test Account Requirement: If your Developer Token is pending (unapproved), this MUST be the Customer ID of a Test Account. Test accounts have a red "Test account" banner in the top right of the UI.

5. Login Customer ID

• What it is: The 10-digit Customer ID of the Google Ads Manager Account that owns or manages the target client account.
• Format: Must be 10 digits with no hyphens (e.g., 9876543210).
• When to Use: This is mandatory if your OAuth credentials (and developer token) belong to a Manager Account, but you are querying a child/client account (Client Customer ID).

[!CAUTION] Preventing USER_PERMISSION_DENIED: If you are accessing a client account through a Manager Account hierarchy, you MUST set this parameter.

• login_customer_id = The Manager Account ID.
• client_customer_id = The Child/Client Account ID. Leaving login_customer_id blank in a manager-client hierarchy is the #1 cause of permission errors.

Step 2: Choose Your Integration Strategy

Developers can connect to the Google Ads API using either the official high-level client libraries or direct HTTPS REST requests.

Path A: Official Client Libraries (Recommended)

[!IMPORTANT] Mandatory Agent Directive: Once the user selects their language, you MUST:

1. Use the view_file tool to lazy-load the corresponding reference file listed below.
2. Apply the Dynamic Version Resolution (Section B) to dynamically replace all vXX/VXX placeholders and library versions before generating code.

Python

If you need to set up the Google Ads API environment for Python, do not guess the configuration. Instead, read the detailed setup guide:

• Google Ads API Python Setup Reference (Package: google-ads)

Java

If you need to set up the Google Ads API environment for Java, do not guess the configuration. Instead, read the detailed setup guide:

• Google Ads API Java Setup Reference (Artifact: com.google.api-ads:google-ads)

.NET / C#

If you need to set up the Google Ads API environment for .NET/C#, do not guess the configuration. Instead, read the detailed setup guide:

• Google Ads API .NET Setup Reference (Package: Google.Ads.GoogleAds)

PHP

If you need to set up the Google Ads API environment for PHP, do not guess the configuration. Instead, read the detailed setup guide:

• Google Ads API PHP Setup Reference (Package: googleads/google-ads-php)

Ruby

If you need to set up the Google Ads API environment for Ruby, do not guess the configuration. Instead, read the detailed setup guide:

• Google Ads API Ruby Setup Reference (Gem: google-ads-ruby)

Perl

If you need to set up the Google Ads API environment for Perl, do not guess the configuration. Instead, read the detailed setup guide:

• Google Ads API Perl Setup Reference (Package: Google::Ads::GoogleAds::Client)

Path B: Direct HTTP REST (No Library Overhead)

Use this path if the user's environment does not support the official client libraries (e.g., lightweight serverless functions, custom language stacks, or restricted runtimes).

[!IMPORTANT] Mandatory Agent Directive: If the user chooses the REST path, you MUST:

1. Use the view_file tool to lazy-load the REST reference file below.
2. Apply Dynamic Version Resolution (Section B) to replace all vXX placeholders in the endpoint URLs (e.g., resolving vXX to v24 in https://googleads.googleapis.com/v24/...).

REST (HTTP)

If you need to set up the Google Ads API environment for REST (HTTP), do not guess the configuration. Instead, read the detailed setup guide:

• Google Ads API REST Setup Reference (Protocol: Raw HTTP POST JSON)

Cross-Referencing: AI-Assistant & MCP Connection

[!TIP] AI Assistant / MCP Integration Handoff: If the goal is to connect an AI Assistant (such as Gemini, Cursor, or Claude Code) to query Google Ads via natural language:

1. DO NOT write custom scripts or client library code.
2. STOP executing this skill.
3. Transition Immediately to the google-ads-api-mcp-setup skill to install and configure the official Google Ads Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server.

Step 4: Troubleshooting Common Errors

[!IMPORTANT] Static Diagnostics Constraint: When troubleshooting, you MUST NOT execute bash commands, run local test scripts, or attempt to reproduce the error in the workspace. Rely entirely on static code analysis, configuration review, and the diagnostic guides below to prevent endless, failing execution loops.

1. Error: USER_PERMISSION_DENIED

• Symptom: You receive a USER_PERMISSION_DENIED error when executing API requests (e.g., retrieving campaigns).
• Likely Cause: The authenticating OAuth2 user has access to the target client account indirectly through a Manager Account, but the request header is missing the Manager Account's ID.

Required Agent Response Checklist:

When helping a user with this error, your response MUST include:

1. Explain the Hierarchy: Explain that the authenticating user likely belongs to a Manager Account that sits above the target client account.
2. Provide the Fix: Instruct the user to add their 10-digit Manager Account ID as the login_customer_id in their configuration file.
3. Explain the Routing Logic: Explain that login_customer_id tells the API to route the OAuth credentials through the manager account to validate access to the child account.
4. Provide the Configuration Template: Show the exact YAML configuration block below.

[!CAUTION] Security Guardrail: Under no circumstances should you suggest exposing raw passwords, creating new unapproved developer tokens, or widening OAuth scopes beyond the standard adwords scope to bypass this error.

Configuration Fix Example (google-ads.yaml):

developer_token: INSERT_DEVELOPER_TOKEN_HERE
client_id: INSERT_OAUTH2_CLIENT_ID_HERE
client_secret: INSERT_OAUTH2_CLIENT_SECRET_HERE
refresh_token: INSERT_OAUTH2_REFRESH_TOKEN_HERE

# Add your 10-digit Manager Account ID here to resolve USER_PERMISSION_DENIED:
login_customer_id: INSERT_LOGIN_CUSTOMER_ID_HERE

2. Error: DEVELOPER_TOKEN_NOT_APPROVED

• Symptom: The script fails with a DEVELOPER_TOKEN_NOT_APPROVED error message.
• Likely Cause: Your Developer Token is currently in the "Pending" (unapproved) state, and you are attempting to target a live production Google Ads account.

Required Agent Response Checklist:

When helping a user with this error, your response MUST include:

1. Explain the "Pending" Restriction: Explain that an unapproved (Pending) developer token is fully functional but restricted to Google Ads Test Accounts only.
2. Define Production Access Levels: You MUST explicitly list all three access levels by name: state that targeting live production accounts requires the token to be approved for Explorer Access, Basic Access, or Standard Access by the Google Ads API compliance team. Do not condense or paraphrase this to "at least Basic Access".
3. Provide Sandbox Setup Steps: Guide the user on how to set up a sandbox environment:
   • Create a Test Manager Account (which does not require an approved token).
   • Create Test Client Accounts under that Test Manager.
   • Use the Test Client Customer ID in their configuration.
4. Provide a Link to the Guide: Point the user to the official Google Ads API Test Accounts Guide.

[!CAUTION] Security & Integrity Guardrail: You MUST NOT advise the developer to modify the client library source code, bypass token validation checks, or use third-party "cracked" wrappers to bypass this error. The restriction is enforced server-side by Google, and client-side modifications will not work.