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Using the Refresh Token for Google Photos

This document details how to use the refresh token from the Google OAuth flow to access data from Google Photos via its API.

Overview​

After obtaining a refresh token, you can acquire a new access token and use it to interact with the Google Photos API. This lets you retrieve photo libraries, albums, and media items.

Steps​

  1. Obtain the Refresh Token
    Ensure that your application's OAuth flow includes the Google Photos scope (e.g., https://www.googleapis.com/auth/photoslibrary.readonly).

  2. Exchange the Refresh Token Post the refresh request to the Google token endpoint.

  3. Access the Google Photos API
    Utilize the new access token to ingest data from Google Photos.

Example Token Exchange Request​

curl --request POST \
  --url https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded' \
  --data 'client_id=YOUR_CLIENT_ID&client_secret=YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET&refresh_token=YOUR_REFRESH_TOKEN&grant_type=refresh_token'

Further Resources​