How to refresh token with Google API client?

I've been playing around with the Google Analytics API (V3) and have run into som errors. Firstly, everything is set up correct and worked with my testing account. But when I want to grab data from another profile ID (Same Google Accont/GA Account) I get an 403 Error. The strange thing is that data from some GA accounts will return data whilst other generate this error.

I've revoked the token and authenticated one more time, and now it seems like I can grab data from all of my accounts. Problem solved? Not. As the access key will expire, I will run into the same issue again.

If I have understood things right, one could use the resfreshToken to get a new authenticationTooken.

The problem is, when I run:

$client->refreshToken(refresh_token_key) 

the following error is returned:

Error refreshing the OAuth2 token, message: '{ "error" : "invalid_grant" }'

I’ve checked the code behind the refreshToken method and tracked the request back to the “apiOAuth2.php” file. All parameters are sent correctly. The grant_type is hard coded to ‘refresh_token’ within the method, so it’s hard for me to understand what’s wrong. The parameter array looks like this:

Array ( [client_id] => *******-uqgau8uo1l96bd09eurdub26c9ftr2io.apps.googleusercontent.com [client_secret] => ******** [refresh_token] => 1\/lov250YQTMCC9LRQbE6yMv-FiX_Offo79UXimV8kvwY [grant_type] => refresh_token )

The procedure is as follows.

$client = new apiClient();
$client->setClientId($config['oauth2_client_id']);
$client->setClientSecret($config['oauth2_client_secret']);
$client->setRedirectUri($config['oauth2_redirect_uri']);
$client->setScopes('https://www.googleapis.com/auth/analytics.readonly');
$client->setState('offline');

$client->setAccessToken($config['token']); // The access JSON object.

$client->refreshToken($config['refreshToken']); // Will return error here

Is this a bug, or have I completely misunderstood something?

So i finally figured out how to do this. The basic idea is that you have the token you get the first time you ask for authentication. This first token has a refresh token. The first original token expires after an hour. After an hour you have to use the refresh token from the first token to get a new usable token. You use $client->refreshToken($refreshToken) to retrieve a new token. I will call this "temp token." You need to store this temp token as well because after an hour it expires as well and note it does not have a refresh token associated with it. In order to get a new temp token you need to use the method you used before and use the first token's refreshtoken. I have attached code below, which is ugly, but im new at this...

//pull token from database
$tokenquery="SELECT * FROM token WHERE type='original'";
$tokenresult = mysqli_query($cxn,$tokenquery);
if($tokenresult!=0)
{
    $tokenrow=mysqli_fetch_array($tokenresult);
    extract($tokenrow);
}
$time_created = json_decode($token)->created;
$t=time();
$timediff=$t-$time_created;
echo $timediff."<br>";
$refreshToken= json_decode($token)->refresh_token;


//start google client note:
$client = new Google_Client();
$client->setApplicationName('');
$client->setScopes(array());
$client->setClientId('');
$client->setClientSecret('');
$client->setRedirectUri('');
$client->setAccessType('offline');
$client->setDeveloperKey('');

//resets token if expired
if(($timediff>3600)&&($token!=''))
{
    echo $refreshToken."</br>";
    $refreshquery="SELECT * FROM token WHERE type='refresh'";
    $refreshresult = mysqli_query($cxn,$refreshquery);
    //if a refresh token is in there...
    if($refreshresult!=0)
    {
        $refreshrow=mysqli_fetch_array($refreshresult);
	    extract($refreshrow);
	    $refresh_created = json_decode($token)->created;
	    $refreshtimediff=$t-$refresh_created;
	    echo "Refresh Time Diff: ".$refreshtimediff."</br>";
	    //if refresh token is expired
	    if($refreshtimediff>3600)
	    {
            $client->refreshToken($refreshToken);
		$newtoken=$client->getAccessToken();
		echo $newtoken."</br>";
		$tokenupdate="UPDATE token SET token='$newtoken' WHERE type='refresh'";
		mysqli_query($cxn,$tokenupdate);
		$token=$newtoken;
		echo "refreshed again";
        }
        //if the refresh token hasn't expired, set token as the refresh token
        else
        {
        $client->setAccessToken($token);
	       echo "use refreshed token but not time yet";
        }
    }
    //if a refresh token isn't in there...
    else
    {
        $client->refreshToken($refreshToken);
        $newtoken=$client->getAccessToken();
        echo $newtoken."</br>";
        $tokenupdate="INSERT INTO token (type,token) VALUES ('refresh','$newtoken')";
        mysqli_query($cxn,$tokenupdate);
        $token=$newtoken;
        echo "refreshed for first time";
    }      
}

//if token is still good.
if(($timediff<3600)&&($token!=''))
{
    $client->setAccessToken($token);
}

$service = new Google_DfareportingService($client);

The problem is in the refresh token:

[refresh_token] => 1\/lov250YQTMCC9LRQbE6yMv-FiX_Offo79UXimV8kvwY

When a string with a '/' gets json encoded, It is escaped with a '\', hence you need to remove it.

The refresh token in your case should be:

1/lov250YQTMCC9LRQbE6yMv-FiX_Offo79UXimV8kvwY

What i'm assuming you've done is that you've printed the json string which google sent back and copied and pasted the token into your code because if you json_decode it then it will correctly remove the '\' for you!

here is the snippet to set token, before that make sure the access type should be set to offline

if (isset($_GET['code'])) {
  $client->authenticate();
  $_SESSION['access_token'] = $client->getAccessToken();
}

To refresh token

$google_token= json_decode($_SESSION['access_token']);
$client->refreshToken($google_token->refresh_token);

this will refresh your token, you have to update it in session for that you can do

 $_SESSION['access_token']= $client->getAccessToken()

The access type should be set to offline. state is a variable you set for your own use, not the API's use.

Make sure you have the latest version of the client library and add:

$client->setAccessType('offline');

See Forming the URL for an explanation of the parameters.

The answer posted by @uri-weg worked for me but as I did not find his explanations very clear, let me reword it a little.

During the first access permission sequence, in the callback, when you get to the point where you receive an authentication code, you must save the access token and the refresh token as well.

The reason is google api sends you an access token with a refresh token only when prompting for access permission. The next access tokens will be sent without any refresh token (unless you use the approval_prompt=force option).

The refresh token you received the first time stays valid until the user revokes access permission.

In simplistic php, an example of the callback sequence would be:

// init client
// ...

$authCode = $_GET['code'];
$accessToken = $client->authenticate($authCode);
// $accessToken needs to be serialized as json
$this->saveAccessToken(json_encode($accessToken));
$this->saveRefreshToken($accessToken['refresh_token']);

And later on, in simplistic php, the connection sequence would be:

// init client
// ...

$accessToken = $this->loadAccessToken();
// setAccessToken() expects json
$client->setAccessToken($accessToken);

if ($client->isAccessTokenExpired()) {
    // reuse the same refresh token
    $client->refreshToken($this->loadRefreshToken());
    // save the new access token (which comes without any refresh token)
    $this->saveAccessToken($client->getAccessToken());
}

Here is the code which I am using in my project and it is working fine:

public function getClient(){
	$client = new Google_Client();
    $client->setApplicationName(APPNAME);       // app name
    $client->setClientId(CLIENTID);             // client id
    $client->setClientSecret(CLIENTSECRET);     // client secret 
    $client->setRedirectUri(REDIRECT_URI);      // redirect uri
    $client->setApprovalPrompt('auto');

    $client->setAccessType('offline');         // generates refresh token

    $token = $_COOKIE['ACCESSTOKEN'];          // fetch from cookie

    // if token is present in cookie
    if($token){
        // use the same token
	    $client->setAccessToken($token);
    }

    // this line gets the new token if the cookie token was not present
    // otherwise, the same cookie token
    $token = $client->getAccessToken();
		
	if($client->isAccessTokenExpired()){  // if token expired
		$refreshToken = json_decode($token)->refresh_token;
             
        // refresh the token
		$client->refreshToken($refreshToken);
	}

	return $client;
}

Had the same issue; my script that worked yesterday, for some odd reason did not today. No changes.

Apparently this was because my system clock was off by 2.5 (!!) seconds, syncing with NTP fixed it.

See also: https://code.google.com/p/google-api-php-client/wiki/OAuth2#Solving_invalid_grant_errors

Sometimes Refresh Token i not generated by using $client->setAccessType ("offline");.

Try this:

$client->setAccessType ("offline");
$client->setApprovalPrompt ("force"); 

FYI: The 3.0 Google Analytics API will automatically refresh the access token if you have a refresh token when it expires so your script never needs refreshToken.

(See the Sign function in auth/apiOAuth2.php)

You need to save the access token to file or database as a json string during the initial authorization request, and set the access type to offline $client->setAccessType("offline")

Then, during subsequent api requests, grab the access token from your file or db and pass it to the client:

$accessToken = json_decode($row['token'], true);
$client->setAccessToken($accessToken);

Now you need to check if the token has expired:

if ($client->isAccessTokenExpired()) {
    // access token has expired, use the refresh token to obtain a new one
    $client->fetchAccessTokenWithRefreshToken($client->getRefreshToken());
    // save the new token to file or db
    // ...json_encode($client->getAccessToken())

The fetchAccessTokenWithRefreshToken() function will do the work for you and provide a new access token, save it back to your file or database.

I used the example by smartcodes with the current version of the Google API, but that one didn't work. I think his API is too outdated.

So, I just wrote my own version, based on one of the API examples... It outputs access token, request token, token type, ID token, expiration time and creation time as strings

If your client credentials and developer key are correct, this code should work out of the box.

<?php
// Call set_include_path() as needed to point to your client library.
require_once 'google-api-php-client/src/Google_Client.php';
require_once 'google-api-php-client/src/contrib/Google_Oauth2Service.php';
session_start();

$client = new Google_Client();
$client->setApplicationName("Get Token");
// Visit https://code.google.com/apis/console?api=plus to generate your
// oauth2_client_id, oauth2_client_secret, and to register your oauth2_redirect_uri.
$oauth2 = new Google_Oauth2Service($client);

if (isset($_GET['code'])) {
    $client->authenticate($_GET['code']);
    $_SESSION['token'] = $client->getAccessToken();
    $redirect = 'http://' . $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] . $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];
    header('Location: ' . filter_var($redirect, FILTER_SANITIZE_URL));
    return;
}

if (isset($_SESSION['token'])) {
    $client->setAccessToken($_SESSION['token']);
}

if (isset($_REQUEST['logout'])) {
    unset($_SESSION['token']);
    $client->revokeToken();
}
?>
<!doctype html>
<html>
    <head><meta charset="utf-8"></head>
    <body>
        <header><h1>Get Token</h1></header>
        <?php
        if ($client->getAccessToken()) {
            $_SESSION['token'] = $client->getAccessToken();
            $token = json_decode($_SESSION['token']);
            echo "Access Token = " . $token->access_token . '<br/>';
            echo "Refresh Token = " . $token->refresh_token . '<br/>';
            echo "Token type = " . $token->token_type . '<br/>';
            echo "Expires in = " . $token->expires_in . '<br/>';
            echo "ID Token = " . $token->id_token . '<br/>';
            echo "Created = " . $token->created . '<br/>';
            echo "<a class='logout' href='?logout'>Logout</a>";
        } else {
            $authUrl = $client->createAuthUrl();
            print "<a class='login' href='$authUrl'>Connect Me!</a>";
        }
        ?>
    </body>
</html>

Google has made some changes since this question was originally posted.

Here is my currently working example.

	public function update_token($token){

	try {
		
		$client = new Google_Client();
		$client->setAccessType("offline"); 
		$client->setAuthConfig(APPPATH . 'vendor' . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'google' . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'client_secrets.json');	
		$client->setIncludeGrantedScopes(true); 
		$client->addScope(Google_Service_Calendar::CALENDAR); 
		$client->setAccessToken($token);
	
		if ($client->isAccessTokenExpired()) {
			$refresh_token = $client->getRefreshToken();
			if(!empty($refresh_token)){
				$client->fetchAccessTokenWithRefreshToken($refresh_token);		
				$token = $client->getAccessToken();
				$token['refresh_token'] = json_decode($refresh_token);
				$token = json_encode($token);
			}
		}

		return $token;
		
	} catch (Exception $e) { 
		$error = json_decode($e->getMessage());
		if(isset($error->error->message)){
			log_message('error', $error->error->message);
		}
	}
		

}

I have a same problem with google/google-api-php-client v2.0.0-RC7 and after search for 1 hours, i solved this problem using json_encode like this:

    if ($client->isAccessTokenExpired()) {
        $newToken = json_decode(json_encode($client->getAccessToken()));
        $client->refreshToken($newToken->refresh_token);
        file_put_contents(storage_path('app/client_id.txt'), json_encode($client->getAccessToken()));
    }

This here works very good, maybe it could help anybody:

index.php

session_start();

require_once __DIR__.'/client.php';

if(!isset($obj->error) && isset($_SESSION['access_token']) && $_SESSION['access_token'] && isset($obj->expires_in)) {
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Google API Token Test</title>
<meta charset='utf-8' />
<script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-1.12.4.js"></script>
<script>
search('Music Mix 2010');
function search(q) {
    $.ajax({
        type: 'GET',
        url: 'action.php?q='+q,
        success: function(data) {
            if(data == 'refresh') location.reload();
            else $('#response').html(JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(data)));
        }
    });
}
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="response"></div>
</body>
</html>
<?php
}
else header('Location: '.filter_var('https://'.$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'].dirname($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']).'/oauth2callback.php', FILTER_SANITIZE_URL));
?>

oauth2callback.php

require_once __DIR__.'/vendor/autoload.php';

session_start();

$client = new Google_Client();
$client->setAuthConfigFile('auth.json');
$client->setAccessType('offline');
$client->setApprovalPrompt('force');
$client->setRedirectUri('https://'.filter_var($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'].$_SERVER['PHP_SELF'], FILTER_SANITIZE_URL));
$client->addScope(Google_Service_YouTube::YOUTUBE_FORCE_SSL);

if(isset($_GET['code']) && $_GET['code']) {
    $client->authenticate(filter_var($_GET['code'], FILTER_SANITIZE_STRING));
    $_SESSION['access_token'] = $client->getAccessToken();
    $_SESSION['refresh_token'] = $_SESSION['access_token']['refresh_token'];
    setcookie('refresh_token', $_SESSION['refresh_token'], time()+60*60*24*180, '/', filter_var($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'], FILTER_SANITIZE_URL), true, true);
    header('Location: '.filter_var('https://'.$_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'].dirname($_SERVER['PHP_SELF']), FILTER_SANITIZE_URL));
    exit();
}
else header('Location: '.filter_var($client->createAuthUrl(), FILTER_SANITIZE_URL));
exit();

?>

client.php

// https://developers.google.com/api-client-library/php/start/installation
require_once __DIR__.'/vendor/autoload.php';

$client = new Google_Client();
$client->setAuthConfig('auth.json');
$client->setAccessType('offline');
$client->setApprovalPrompt('force');
$client->addScope(Google_Service_YouTube::YOUTUBE_FORCE_SSL);

// Delete Cookie Token
#setcookie('refresh_token', @$_SESSION['refresh_token'], time()-1, '/', filter_var($_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'], FILTER_SANITIZE_URL), true, true);

// Delete Session Token
#unset($_SESSION['refresh_token']);

if(isset($_SESSION['refresh_token']) && $_SESSION['refresh_token']) {
    $client->refreshToken($_SESSION['refresh_token']);
    $_SESSION['access_token'] = $client->getAccessToken();
}
elseif(isset($_COOKIE['refresh_token']) && $_COOKIE['refresh_token']) {
    $client->refreshToken($_COOKIE['refresh_token']);
    $_SESSION['access_token'] = $client->getAccessToken();
}

$url = 'https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v1/tokeninfo?access_token='.urlencode(@$_SESSION['access_token']['access_token']);
$curl_handle = curl_init();
curl_setopt($curl_handle, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($curl_handle, CURLOPT_CONNECTTIMEOUT, 2);
curl_setopt($curl_handle, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($curl_handle, CURLOPT_USERAGENT, 'Google API Token Test');
$json = curl_exec($curl_handle);
curl_close($curl_handle);

$obj = json_decode($json);

?>

action.php

session_start();

require_once __DIR__.'/client.php';

if(isset($obj->error)) {
    echo 'refresh';
    exit();
}
elseif(isset($_SESSION['access_token']) && $_SESSION['access_token'] && isset($obj->expires_in) && isset($_GET['q']) && !empty($_GET['q'])) {
    $client->setAccessToken($_SESSION['access_token']);
    $service = new Google_Service_YouTube($client);
    $response = $service->search->listSearch('snippet', array('q' => filter_input(INPUT_GET, 'q', FILTER_SANITIZE_SPECIAL_CHARS), 'maxResults' => '1', 'type' => 'video'));
    echo json_encode($response['modelData']);
    exit();
}
?>

I use google-api-php-client v2.2.2 I get a new token with fetchAccessTokenWithRefreshToken(); if function call without params, it returns an updated access token and the refreshed token is not lost.

if ($client->getAccessToken() && $client->isAccessTokenExpired()) {
    $new_token=$client->fetchAccessTokenWithRefreshToken();
    $token_data = $client->verifyIdToken();
}    

use the following code snippet to get your refresh token

    <?php
    
    require_once 'src/apiClient.php';
    require_once 'src/contrib/apiTasksService.php';

    $client = new apiClient();
    $client->setAccessType('offline');
    $tasksService = new apiTasksService($client);

    $auth = $client->authenticate();
    $token = $client->getAccessToken();
    // the refresh token
    $refresh_token = $token['refresh_token'];
    ?>

According to https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10025698/authentication-on-google-oauth2-keeps-returning-invalid-grant

"You should reuse the access token you get after the first successful authentication. You will get an invalid_grant error if your previous token has not expired yet. Cache it somewhere so you can reuse it."

hope it helps

I got into this issue and I found this to be the simplest and cleanest way to get proper token.

public function authenticate()
{
    $access_token = 'OLD_TOKEN';
    $refresh_token = 'OLD_TOKEN';

    if ($access_token) {
        $this->client->setAccessToken($access_token);
    }

    if ($this->client->isAccessTokenExpired()) {
         $this->client->refreshToken($refresh_token);
    }
}

I have client as property on the class that's why I am using $this->client.