Google Analytics Admin API Basics

Getting Started with Google Analytics Admin API

The Google Analytics Admin API provides programmatic access to Google Analytics account and property configuration. It lets you automate account management, manage data streams, configure custom dimensions, and handle product integrations.

Enabling the API via Cloud CLI

Before making API calls, ensure the Google Analytics Admin API is enabled in your Google Cloud project.

If gcloud is not found, prompt the user to install the Google Cloud CLI before running these commands.

1. Enable the API: Use the Cloud CLI (gcloud) to enable analyticsadmin.googleapis.com.

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   gcloud services enable analyticsadmin.googleapis.com --quiet

   Why: Enabling the API ensures your Cloud project has the necessary quota and permissions allocated for managing Google Analytics configurations.

2. Verify API Enablement:

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   gcloud services list --enabled --filter="analyticsadmin.googleapis.com"

Authentication

To authenticate your API requests, you must generate Application Default Credentials (ADC) and give your account the necessary scopes. Run the following command in your terminal:

gcloud auth application-default login --scopes="https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-platform,https://www.googleapis.com/auth/analytics.readonly"

Why: This configures ADC in your local environment with the required Cloud Platform and Google Analytics read-only scopes, allowing the client library to automatically authenticate your requests.

[!NOTE] Configuration Changes: Methods changing the Google Analytics account/property configuration will need the https://www.googleapis.com/auth/analytics.edit scope.

Admin API Use Cases

You can use the Google Analytics Admin API to:

• Run Data Access reports (see https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/config/admin/v1/access-api.md.txt for more info)

• Create Account summaries

• Manage accounts

• Provision new accounts

• Search account change history events

• Manage and create properties

• Manage property data retention settings

• Manage conversion events

• Manage custom dimensions and metrics

• Manage data streams and configure measurement protocol secrets

• Manage Firebase links

• Manage Google Ads links

• Manage key events

v1alpha-Only Use Cases

The following capabilities are currently available only in the v1alpha version of the Admin API:

• Manage account and property access bindings

• Create and manage rollup properties

• Create and manage subproperties

• Acknowledge user data collection

• Change property attribution, data retention, Google signals, reporting identity, and User Provided Data settings

• Manage AdSense links

• Manage BigQuery links

• Manage audiences

• Manage channel groups

• Manage calculated metrics

• Manage DisplayVideo360Advertiser links

• Manage expanded data sets

• Manage reporting data annotations

• Manage SearchAds360 links

• Manage event create rules for a data stream

• Manage SKAdNetwork conversion value schema of an iOS stream

• Submit a request for user deletion for a Google Analytics property.

Calling the Admin API

To interact with the Admin API, use the official Google Analytics Admin client library. Note that v1beta is the most stable version of the Admin API. For the latest features, consider using v1alpha.

[!IMPORTANT] Mandatory Agent Directive: When the user selects or requires a specific programming language, read the corresponding client library setup reference guide in references/ listed below.

Supported Client Libraries

Python

If you need to install or set up the Google Analytics Admin API client library for Python, read the setup guide:

• Python Installation Reference (Package: google-analytics-admin)

Java

If you need to install or set up the Google Analytics Admin API client library for Java, read the setup guide:

• Java Installation Reference (Artifact: com.google.cloud:google-cloud-analytics-admin)

PHP

If you need to install or set up the Google Analytics Admin API client library for PHP, read the setup guide:

• PHP Installation Reference (Package: google/analytics-admin)

Node.js

If you need to install or set up the Google Analytics Admin API client library for Node.js, read the setup guide:

• Node.js Installation Reference (Package: @google-analytics/admin)

Go

If you need to install or set up the Google Analytics Admin API client library for Go, read the setup guide:

• Go Installation Reference (Package: cloud.google.com/go/analytics/admin/apiv1beta)

.NET

If you need to install or set up the Google Analytics Admin API client library for .NET / C#, read the setup guide:

• .NET Installation Reference (Package: Google.Analytics.Admin.V1Beta)

Ruby

If you need to install or set up the Google Analytics Admin API client library for Ruby, read the setup guide:

• Ruby Installation Reference (Gem: google-analytics-admin-v1alpha)

[!NOTE] Additional Resources: For further examples of calling the Admin API with Java, PHP, Node.js, .NET, Python, and REST, as well as hints on authentication with a service account, refer to the official Admin API Quickstart. For complete API reference documentation for both v1alpha and v1beta, see the Admin API Reference.

Python Quick Start

1. Install the Client Library:

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   pip install google-analytics-admin

   If pip is not available, prompt the user to install pip before installing the client library.

2. List Accounts and Properties: Below is a complete example demonstrating how to call the Admin API to list all available accounts and their child properties for the current user using list_account_summaries().

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   from google.analytics.admin import AnalyticsAdminServiceClient
   
   def sample_list_account_summaries():
       # Initialize the client.
       # Assumes Application Default Credentials (ADC) are configured in your environment.
       client = AnalyticsAdminServiceClient()
   
       # list_account_summaries returns a summary of all accounts accessible to the
       # user and their child properties.
       account_summaries = client.list_account_summaries()
   
       print("Available Google Analytics Accounts and Properties:")
       for summary in account_summaries:
           print(f"Account: {summary.display_name} ({summary.account})")
           for property_summary in summary.property_summaries:
               print(f"  Property: {property_summary.display_name} ({property_summary.property})")
   
   if __name__ == "__main__":
       sample_list_account_summaries()