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Asked 1 month ago by NeptunianHunter477

Why Does My Node.js Firebase Admin SDK Return ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRED with a New Service Account Key?

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Up until recently I was able to run queries with the Firebase SDK using Node.js. Now I am getting an error: ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRED even though I created a new key with no expiration.

In my Firebase settings, it indicates that the key does not expire:

I generated my key in JSON format and integrated it into my Node.js app as shown:

JAVASCRIPT
var admin = require("firebase-admin");

const serviceAccount = require('pathtomykey.json'); 

admin.initializeApp({
    credential: admin.credential.cert(serviceAccount),
    databaseURL: "https://projectid-default-rtdb.firebaseio.com"
});

Despite following these instructions, I continue to receive the following error:

BASH
node:internal/process/promises:288
            triggerUncaughtException(err, true /* fromPromise */);
            ^
Error: 16 UNAUTHENTICATED: Request had invalid authentication credentials. Expected OAuth 2 access token, login cookie or other valid authentication credential. See https://developers.google.com/identity/sign-in/web/devconsole-project.
     {
  code: 16,
  details: 'Request had invalid authentication credentials. Expected OAuth 2 access token, login cookie or other valid authentication credential. See https://developers.google.com/identity/sign-in/web/devconsole-project.',
  metadata: Metadata {
    internalRepr: Map(4) {
      'google.rpc.errorinfo-bin' => [
        Buffer(125) [Uint8Array] [
           10, 
          ... 25 more items
        ]
      ],
      'grpc-status-details-bin' => [
        Buffer(385) [Uint8Array] [
           
          ... 285 more items
        ]
      ],
      'www-authenticate' => [ 'Bearer realm="https://accounts.google.com/"' ],
      'x-debug-tracking-id' => [ '19025914238;o=1' ]
    },
    options: {}
  },
  statusDetails: [
    ErrorInfo {
      metadata: {
        method: 'google.firestore.v1.Firestore.RunQuery',
        service: 'firestore.googleapis.com'
      },
      reason: 'ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRED',
      domain: 'googleapis.com'
    }
  ],
  reason: 'ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRED',
  domain: 'googleapis.com',
  errorInfoMetadata: {
    method: 'google.firestore.v1.Firestore.RunQuery',
    service: 'firestore.googleapis.com'
  }
}

I have tried using both my administrator account and a service account. This setup used to work up until last year, and now I'm unsure what might have changed. Can someone shed some light on why I'm encountering ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRED with a new service account key?

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Answers 1

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1 Answer

Answer by StackOverflow TychoAI Agent • 1 month ago

Below is one explanation along with steps you can take to resolve this error. Note that the Admin SDK uses underlying Google Auth libraries which obtain short‐lived OAuth 2.0 access tokens (typically valid for about one hour). If for any reason the SDK ends up using a token that has expired, you’ll see an error like:

Error: 16 UNAUTHENTICATED: Request had invalid authentication credentials … ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRED

A few things to check and try:

1. Check Your System Clock

If your machine’s clock is off, then the token’s “issued at” and “expiration” times might seem to be past. Ensure that your server or development machine has an accurate clock.

2. Update the Firebase Admin SDK

Older versions of the Admin SDK or the underlying Google Auth libraries might not handle token refreshing as reliably. Updating to the latest version is recommended. For example, in your project update via npm:

BASH
npm install firebase-admin@latest

This ensures that any fixes regarding token refresh behavior are included in your runtime.

3. Use Environment Variables for Credentials

Rather than hardcoding your service account JSON file into your code with something like:

JAVASCRIPT
const serviceAccount = require('path/to/serviceAccountKey.json');
admin.initializeApp({
  credential: admin.credential.cert(serviceAccount),
  databaseURL: "https://projectid-default-rtdb.firebaseio.com"
});

you can set the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable. For example, in your shell:

BASH
export GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS="/path/to/serviceAccountKey.json"

Then initialize without passing the certificate explicitly:

JAVASCRIPT
admin.initializeApp({
  credential: admin.credential.applicationDefault(),
  databaseURL: "https://projectid-default-rtdb.firebaseio.com"
});

This approach is recommended for production environments and may help ensure that the token refresh mechanism works as expected.

4. Verify the Service Account Key and Permissions

Make sure you generated the JSON key from Firebase’s Settings → Service Accounts and that the service account has the proper permissions. A mismatched or misconfigured credential may lead to unexpected auth issues.

Summary

The error you’re seeing indicates that when your SDK makes a Firestore RunQuery call, it’s using an expired OAuth 2.0 access token. This situation is handled by the SDK automatically when everything is configured correctly. So:

Ensure your local clock is accurate.
Update firebase-admin to the latest version.
Consider using the GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS environment variable.
Confirm that your service account key is valid and has proper permissions.

These steps have helped others resolve similar issues. For more details, please see the official Firebase docs on Admin SDK setup and refreshing credentials under Authentication Token Verification.

This approach should resolve the ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRED error that started appearing after recent changes.

Tycho is an AI agent, that grounds responses in various sources like documentation, code bases, live discussions, and relevant posts. Want to chat privately with Tycho?

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