How to Set Up Google API Credentials for n8n — Step-by-Step

Why This Lesson Exists

Almost every n8n workflow that does something useful involves Google — reading from Sheets, writing to Docs, sending Gmail, moving files in Drive. But connecting n8n to Google requires OAuth credentials from Google Cloud Console, and the setup process is opaque the first time you do it. This lesson is the step most tutorials skip.

What You're Creating

An OAuth 2.0 client in Google Cloud that lets n8n access your Google account on your behalf. You'll get a Client ID and Client Secret which you paste into n8n once. After that, any Google node in n8n can use those credentials.

Step 1 — Google Cloud Console

1. Log into your Google account and go to cloud.google.com.
2. Click Console in the top right (or Select a Project on the left).
3. Click New Project in the top right of the project picker.
4. Name it something memorable like n8n Projects and click Create.
5. Once created, click Select Project in the notification that appears.

Step 2 — OAuth Consent Screen

1. In the left sidebar, go to APIs & Services → OAuth Consent Screen.
2. Click the big blue Get Started button.
3. Enter an app name (e.g. n8n Projects 2) and select your email address. Click Next.
4. Under Audience, choose External. Click Next.
5. Enter your email address again as the contact email. Click Next.
6. Agree to the API data policies and click Continue, then Create.

Step 3 — Create the OAuth Client

1. On the right side, click Create OAuth Client.
2. Application type: Web Application. Leave the name as default.
3. Under Authorized Redirect URIs, paste the redirect URI from your n8n credential window. (In n8n, open any Google node → Credentials → Create New — the URI is shown in the credential form.)
4. Click Create.
5. A popup appears with your Client ID and Client Secret. Copy both — paste them into Notepad or directly into n8n. Click OK.

Step 4 — Enable the APIs You Need

Credentials alone aren't enough — you need to explicitly enable each Google service you want to use.

1. In the left sidebar, go to APIs & Services → Library.
2. Search for and enable each API you need:
   • Google Sheets API
   • Google Drive API
   • Gmail API
   • Google Docs API
3. For each one: click the result, then click Enable.

Step 5 — Add Scopes (Permissions)

1. Go back to OAuth Consent Screen → Data Access.
2. Click Add or Remove Scopes.
3. Select the scopes for each API you enabled (Sheets, Drive, Gmail, Docs). For a personal automation setup, you can select all available scopes. For a production app shared with others, only select what you actually need.
4. Click Update at the bottom.

Step 6 — Publish the App

1. Go to OAuth Consent Screen → Audience.
2. Click Publish App, then Confirm.
3. This moves the app from Testing to Production, which removes the 100-user limit and allows your OAuth flow to work without expiring test tokens.

Step 7 — Connect in n8n

1. In n8n, open any Google node (e.g. Google Sheets → Append Row).
2. Under Credentials, click the dropdown → Create New Credential.
3. Paste your Client ID and Client Secret.
4. Click Sign in to Google — a popup opens.
5. You'll see the "App not verified" warning. Click Advanced → Proceed. This is expected.
6. Check Select All scopes → Continue.
7. n8n shows Account Connected in green. Done.

This credential now works for all Google nodes in n8n — Sheets, Drive, Gmail, Docs — without repeating the setup.

Testing It Works

Open a Google Sheets node, choose Get Rows, select your Google Sheet from the dropdown. If your documents appear in the list, the credentials are working correctly. If you get an error, double-check that you enabled the specific API (Sheets, Drive, etc.) in step 4.