Get authorization tokens
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What is a token?
Fleet Engine requires the use of JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) for API method calls
from low-trust environments: smartphones and browsers.
A JWT originates on your server, is signed, encrypted, and passed to the client
for subsequent server interactions until it expires or is no longer valid.
Key details
For more information about JSON Web Tokens, see JSON Web Tokens in
Fleet Engine Essentials.
How clients get tokens?
Once a driver or consumer logs in to your app using the appropriate
authentication credentials, any updates issued from that device must use
appropriate authorization tokens, which communicates to Fleet Engine the
permissions for the app.
As the developer, your client implementation should provide the ability to
do the following:
- Fetch a JSON Web Token from your server.
- Reuse the token until it expires to minimize token refreshes.
- Refresh the token when it expires.
The GMTDAuthorization
protocol fetches JSON Web tokens at location update time
based on the GMTD AuthorizationContext
object. The SDK
must package the tokens with the update information to send to Fleet Engine.
Make sure that your server-side implementation can issue tokens before
initializing the SDK.
For details of the tokens expected by Fleet Engine, see
Issue JSON Web Tokens for Fleet Engine.
The providerID is the same as the Project ID of your Google Cloud
Project. For information on setting up the Google Cloud Project, see
Create your Fleet Engine project.
Example of an authentication token fetcher
The following example shows an implementation of the GMTDAuthorization
protocol.
Swift
import GoogleRidesharingDriver
private let providerURL = "INSERT_YOUR_TOKEN_PROVIDER_URL"
class SampleAccessTokenProvider: NSObject, GMTDAuthorization {
private struct AuthToken {
// The cached vehicle token.
let token: String
// Keep track of when the token expires for caching.
let expiration: TimeInterval
// Keep track of the vehicle ID the cached token is for.
let vehicleID: String
}
enum AccessTokenError: Error {
case missingAuthorizationContext
case missingData
}
private var authToken: AuthToken?
func fetchToken(
with authorizationContext: GMTDAuthorizationContext?,
completion: @escaping GMTDAuthTokenFetchCompletionHandler
) {
// Get the vehicle ID from the authorizationContext. This is set by the Driver SDK.
guard let authorizationContext = authorizationContext else {
completion(nil, AccessTokenError.missingAuthorizationContext)
return
}
let vehicleID = authorizationContext.vehicleID
// If appropriate, use the cached token.
if let authToken = authToken,
authToken.expiration > Date.now.timeIntervalSince1970 && authToken.vehicleID == vehicleID
{
completion(authToken.token, nil)
return
}
// Otherwise, try to fetch a new token from your server.
let request = URLRequest(url: URL(string: providerURL))
let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: request) { [weak self] data, _, error in
guard let strongSelf = self else { return }
guard error == nil else {
completion(nil, error)
return
}
// Replace the following key values with the appropriate keys based on your
// server's expected response.
let vehicleTokenKey = "VEHICLE_TOKEN_KEY"
let tokenExpirationKey = "TOKEN_EXPIRATION"
guard let data = data,
let fetchData = try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data) as? [String: Any],
let token = fetchData[vehicleTokenKey] as? String,
let expiration = fetchData[tokenExpirationKey] as? Double
else {
completion(nil, AccessTokenError.missingData)
return
}
strongSelf.authToken = AuthToken(
token: token, expiration: expiration, vehicleID: vehicleID)
completion(token, nil)
}
task.resume()
}
}
Objective-C
#import "SampleAccessTokenProvider.h"
#import <GoogleRidesharingDriver/GoogleRidesharingDriver.h>
// SampleAccessTokenProvider.h
@interface SampleAccessTokenProvider : NSObject<GMTDAuthorization>
@end
static NSString *const PROVIDER_URL = @"INSERT_YOUR_TOKEN_PROVIDER_URL";
// SampleAccessTokenProvider.m
@implementation SampleAccessTokenProvider{
// The cached vehicle token.
NSString *_cachedVehicleToken;
// Keep track of the vehicle ID the cached token is for.
NSString *_lastKnownVehicleID;
// Keep track of when tokens expire for caching.
NSTimeInterval _tokenExpiration;
}
- (void)fetchTokenWithContext:(nullable GMTDAuthorizationContext *)authorizationContext
completion:(nonnull GMTDAuthTokenFetchCompletionHandler)completion {
if (!completion) {
NSAssert(NO, @"%s encountered an unexpected nil completion.", __PRETTY_FUNCTION__);
return;
}
// Get the vehicle ID from the authorizationContext. This is set by the Driver SDK.
NSString *vehicleID = authorizationContext.vehicleID;
if (!vehicleID) {
NSAssert(NO, @"Vehicle ID is missing from authorizationContext.");
return;
}
// Clear cached vehicle token if vehicle ID has changed.
if (![_lastKnownVehicleID isEqual:vehicleID]) {
_tokenExpiration = 0.0;
_cachedVehicleToken = nil;
}
_lastKnownVehicleID = vehicleID;
// Clear cached vehicletoken if it has expired.
if ([[NSDate date] timeIntervalSince1970] > _tokenExpiration) {
_cachedVehicleToken = nil;
}
// If appropriate, use the cached token.
if (_cachedVehicleToken) {
completion(_cachedVehicleToken, nil);
return;
}
// Otherwise, try to fetch a new token from your server.
NSURL *requestURL = [NSURL URLWithString:PROVIDER_URL];
NSMutableURLRequest *request =
[[NSMutableURLRequest alloc] initWithURL:requestURL];
request.HTTPMethod = @"GET";
// Replace the following key values with the appropriate keys based on your
// server's expected response.
NSString *vehicleTokenKey = @"VEHICLE_TOKEN_KEY";
NSString *tokenExpirationKey = @"TOKEN_EXPIRATION";
__weak typeof(self) weakSelf = self;
void (^handler)(NSData *_Nullable data, NSURLResponse *_Nullable response,
NSError *_Nullable error) =
^(NSData *_Nullable data, NSURLResponse *_Nullable response, NSError *_Nullable error) {
typeof(self) strongSelf = weakSelf;
if (error) {
completion(nil, error);
return;
}
NSError *JSONError;
NSMutableDictionary *JSONResponse =
[NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:data options:kNilOptions error:&JSONError];
if (JSONError) {
completion(nil, JSONError);
return;
} else {
// Sample code only. No validation logic.
id expirationData = JSONResponse[tokenExpirationKey];
if ([expirationData isKindOfClass:[NSNumber class]]) {
NSTimeInterval expirationTime = ((NSNumber *)expirationData).doubleValue;
strongSelf->_tokenExpiration = [[NSDate date] timeIntervalSince1970] + expirationTime;
}
strongSelf->_cachedVehicleToken = JSONResponse[vehicleTokenKey];
completion(JSONResponse[vehicleTokenKey], nil);
}
};
NSURLSessionConfiguration *config = [NSURLSessionConfiguration defaultSessionConfiguration];
NSURLSession *mainQueueURLSession =
[NSURLSession sessionWithConfiguration:config delegate:nil
delegateQueue:[NSOperationQueue mainQueue]];
NSURLSessionDataTask *task = [mainQueueURLSession dataTaskWithRequest:request completionHandler:handler];
[task resume];
}
@end
What's next
Initialize the Driver SDK
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eFleet Engine utilizes JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) for API method calls originating from low-trust environments like smartphones and browsers, ensuring secure communication.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eYour backend server, a trusted environment, is responsible for authenticating against Fleet Engine using Application Default Credentials and signing JWTs with a service account.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eClient applications should implement functionality to fetch, reuse, and refresh JWTs from your server, minimizing the need for frequent token requests.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe provided code examples demonstrate how to create an authentication token fetcher to obtain and manage JWTs for use with the Fleet Engine Driver SDK.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Get authorization tokens\n\nWhat is a token?\n----------------\n\nFleet Engine requires the use of **JSON Web Tokens** (JWTs) for API method calls\nfrom **low-trust environments**: smartphones and browsers.\n\nA JWT originates on your server, is signed, encrypted, and passed to the client\nfor subsequent server interactions until it expires or is no longer valid.\n\n**Key details**\n\n- Use [Application Default Credentials](https://google.aip.dev/auth/4110) to authenticate and authorize against Fleet Engine.\n- Use an appropriate service account to sign JWTs. See [Fleet Engine serviceaccount](/maps/documentation/mobility/fleet-engine/essentials/set-up-fleet/service-accounts#fleet_engine_service_account_roles) roles in **Fleet Engine Basics**.\n\nFor more information about JSON Web Tokens, see [JSON Web Tokens](/maps/documentation/mobility/fleet-engine/essentials/set-up-fleet/jwt) in\n**Fleet Engine Essentials**.\n\nHow clients get tokens?\n-----------------------\n\nOnce a driver or consumer logs in to your app using the appropriate\nauthentication credentials, any updates issued from that device must use\nappropriate authorization tokens, which communicates to Fleet Engine the\npermissions for the app.\n\nAs the developer, your client implementation should provide the ability to\ndo the following:\n\n- Fetch a JSON Web Token from your server.\n- Reuse the token until it expires to minimize token refreshes.\n- Refresh the token when it expires.\n\nThe `GMTDAuthorization` protocol fetches JSON Web tokens at location update time\nbased on the `GMTD AuthorizationContext` object. The SDK\nmust package the tokens with the update information to send to Fleet Engine.\nMake sure that your server-side implementation can issue tokens before\ninitializing the SDK.\n\nFor details of the tokens expected by Fleet Engine, see\n[Issue JSON Web Tokens](/maps/documentation/mobility/fleet-engine/essentials/set-up-fleet/issue-jwt) for Fleet Engine.\n\nThe providerID is the same as the **Project ID** of your Google Cloud\nProject. For information on setting up the Google Cloud Project, see\n[Create your Fleet Engine project](/maps/documentation/mobility/fleet-engine/essentials/set-up-fleet/create-project).\n\nExample of an authentication token fetcher\n------------------------------------------\n\nThe following example shows an implementation of the `GMTDAuthorization`\nprotocol. \n\n### Swift\n\n import GoogleRidesharingDriver\n\n private let providerURL = \"INSERT_YOUR_TOKEN_PROVIDER_URL\"\n\n class SampleAccessTokenProvider: NSObject, GMTDAuthorization {\n private struct AuthToken {\n // The cached vehicle token.\n let token: String\n // Keep track of when the token expires for caching.\n let expiration: TimeInterval\n // Keep track of the vehicle ID the cached token is for.\n let vehicleID: String\n }\n\n enum AccessTokenError: Error {\n case missingAuthorizationContext\n case missingData\n }\n\n private var authToken: AuthToken?\n\n func fetchToken(\n with authorizationContext: GMTDAuthorizationContext?,\n completion: @escaping GMTDAuthTokenFetchCompletionHandler\n ) {\n // Get the vehicle ID from the authorizationContext. This is set by the Driver SDK.\n guard let authorizationContext = authorizationContext else {\n completion(nil, AccessTokenError.missingAuthorizationContext)\n return\n }\n let vehicleID = authorizationContext.vehicleID\n\n // If appropriate, use the cached token.\n if let authToken = authToken,\n authToken.expiration \u003e Date.now.timeIntervalSince1970 && authToken.vehicleID == vehicleID\n {\n completion(authToken.token, nil)\n return\n }\n\n // Otherwise, try to fetch a new token from your server.\n let request = URLRequest(url: URL(string: providerURL))\n let task = URLSession.shared.dataTask(with: request) { [weak self] data, _, error in\n guard let strongSelf = self else { return }\n guard error == nil else {\n completion(nil, error)\n return\n }\n\n // Replace the following key values with the appropriate keys based on your\n // server's expected response.\n let vehicleTokenKey = \"VEHICLE_TOKEN_KEY\"\n let tokenExpirationKey = \"TOKEN_EXPIRATION\"\n guard let data = data,\n let fetchData = try? JSONSerialization.jsonObject(with: data) as? [String: Any],\n let token = fetchData[vehicleTokenKey] as? String,\n let expiration = fetchData[tokenExpirationKey] as? Double\n else {\n completion(nil, AccessTokenError.missingData)\n return\n }\n\n strongSelf.authToken = AuthToken(\n token: token, expiration: expiration, vehicleID: vehicleID)\n completion(token, nil)\n }\n task.resume()\n }\n }\n\n### Objective-C\n\n #import \"SampleAccessTokenProvider.h\"\n #import \u003cGoogleRidesharingDriver/GoogleRidesharingDriver.h\u003e\n\n // SampleAccessTokenProvider.h\n @interface SampleAccessTokenProvider : NSObject\u003cGMTDAuthorization\u003e\n @end\n\n static NSString *const PROVIDER_URL = @\"INSERT_YOUR_TOKEN_PROVIDER_URL\";\n\n // SampleAccessTokenProvider.m\n @implementation SampleAccessTokenProvider{\n // The cached vehicle token.\n NSString *_cachedVehicleToken;\n // Keep track of the vehicle ID the cached token is for.\n NSString *_lastKnownVehicleID;\n // Keep track of when tokens expire for caching.\n NSTimeInterval _tokenExpiration;\n }\n\n - (void)fetchTokenWithContext:(nullable GMTDAuthorizationContext *)authorizationContext\n completion:(nonnull GMTDAuthTokenFetchCompletionHandler)completion {\n\n if (!completion) {\n NSAssert(NO, @\"%s encountered an unexpected nil completion.\", __PRETTY_FUNCTION__);\n return;\n }\n\n // Get the vehicle ID from the authorizationContext. This is set by the Driver SDK.\n NSString *vehicleID = authorizationContext.vehicleID;\n if (!vehicleID) {\n NSAssert(NO, @\"Vehicle ID is missing from authorizationContext.\");\n return;\n }\n\n // Clear cached vehicle token if vehicle ID has changed.\n if (![_lastKnownVehicleID isEqual:vehicleID]) {\n _tokenExpiration = 0.0;\n _cachedVehicleToken = nil;\n }\n _lastKnownVehicleID = vehicleID;\n\n // Clear cached vehicletoken if it has expired.\n if ([[NSDate date] timeIntervalSince1970] \u003e _tokenExpiration) {\n _cachedVehicleToken = nil;\n }\n\n // If appropriate, use the cached token.\n if (_cachedVehicleToken) {\n completion(_cachedVehicleToken, nil);\n return;\n }\n // Otherwise, try to fetch a new token from your server.\n NSURL *requestURL = [NSURL URLWithString:PROVIDER_URL];\n NSMutableURLRequest *request =\n [[NSMutableURLRequest alloc] initWithURL:requestURL];\n request.HTTPMethod = @\"GET\";\n // Replace the following key values with the appropriate keys based on your\n // server's expected response.\n NSString *vehicleTokenKey = @\"VEHICLE_TOKEN_KEY\";\n NSString *tokenExpirationKey = @\"TOKEN_EXPIRATION\";\n __weak typeof(self) weakSelf = self;\n void (^handler)(NSData *_Nullable data, NSURLResponse *_Nullable response,\n NSError *_Nullable error) =\n ^(NSData *_Nullable data, NSURLResponse *_Nullable response, NSError *_Nullable error) {\n typeof(self) strongSelf = weakSelf;\n if (error) {\n completion(nil, error);\n return;\n }\n\n NSError *JSONError;\n NSMutableDictionary *JSONResponse =\n [NSJSONSerialization JSONObjectWithData:data options:kNilOptions error:&JSONError];\n\n if (JSONError) {\n completion(nil, JSONError);\n return;\n } else {\n // Sample code only. No validation logic.\n id expirationData = JSONResponse[tokenExpirationKey];\n if ([expirationData isKindOfClass:[NSNumber class]]) {\n NSTimeInterval expirationTime = ((NSNumber *)expirationData).doubleValue;\n strongSelf-\u003e_tokenExpiration = [[NSDate date] timeIntervalSince1970] + expirationTime;\n }\n strongSelf-\u003e_cachedVehicleToken = JSONResponse[vehicleTokenKey];\n completion(JSONResponse[vehicleTokenKey], nil);\n }\n };\n NSURLSessionConfiguration *config = [NSURLSessionConfiguration defaultSessionConfiguration];\n NSURLSession *mainQueueURLSession =\n [NSURLSession sessionWithConfiguration:config delegate:nil\n delegateQueue:[NSOperationQueue mainQueue]];\n NSURLSessionDataTask *task = [mainQueueURLSession dataTaskWithRequest:request completionHandler:handler];\n [task resume];\n }\n\n @end\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n[Initialize the Driver SDK](/maps/documentation/mobility/driver-sdk/scheduled/ios/initialize-sdk)"]]