How can I fetch every course in a domain using the Google Classroom API?

I’m working on a project where I need to retrieve all courses across our domain using the Google Classroom API with Python. At the moment, I can only access courses that are linked to the user who is authenticated. I’m looking for a method to list every course in the domain.

Below is a new code example I’ve created for this purpose:

import os
import pickle

from google.auth.transport.requests import Request
from google_auth_oauthlib.flow import InstalledAppFlow
from googleapiclient.discovery import build

def get_service():
    creds = None
    if os.path.exists('token.pickle'):
        with open('token.pickle', 'rb') as token:
            creds = pickle.load(token)
    if not creds or not creds.valid:
        if creds and creds.expired and creds.refresh_token:
            creds.refresh(Request())
        else:
            flow = InstalledAppFlow.from_client_secrets_file('credentials.json', ['https://www.googleapis.com/auth/classroom.courses.readonly'])
            creds = flow.run_local_server(port=0)
        with open('token.pickle', 'wb') as token:
            pickle.dump(creds, token)
    return build('classroom', 'v1', credentials=creds)


def list_all_courses():
    service = get_service()
    all_courses = []
    next_page = None
    
    while True:
        response = service.courses().list(pageToken=next_page, pageSize=50).execute()
        all_courses.extend(response.get('courses', []))
        next_page = response.get('nextPageToken')
        if not next_page:
            break

    for course in all_courses:
        print(f"Course: {course['name']} (ID: {course['id']})")

list_all_courses()

This revised code is designed to loop through all available pages of courses, but it only displays courses for the authenticated user. What additional adjustments can be made to ensure it retrieves every course across the domain?

Hey there, Melody_Cheerful! :wave:

I totally get your frustration with trying to fetch all courses in your domain. It’s a bit tricky, right? :thinking:

So, here’s the thing - to get ALL courses in your domain, you actually need domain-wide authority. It’s not something a regular user can do, even if they’re an admin. Have you thought about using a service account instead?

Here’s what I’m curious about:

  1. Are you a G Suite admin for your domain?
  2. Have you considered using a service account for this task?

If you’re an admin and can set up a service account, you might be able to use the ‘courses.list’ method with the ‘courseStates’ parameter set to ‘ACTIVE’. Something like:

courses = service.courses().list(courseStates='ACTIVE').execute()

But remember, this requires special permissions!

What do you think about this approach? Have you tried anything similar before? I’d love to hear more about your project and what you’re trying to achieve with all these course details! :blush:

I’ve encountered a similar challenge in my work with the Google Classroom API. To fetch all courses in a domain, you’ll need to use a service account with domain-wide delegation. This requires admin privileges and some additional setup.

First, create a service account in the Google Cloud Console. Then, enable domain-wide delegation for this account in your Google Workspace admin console. You’ll need to grant it the necessary OAuth scopes, including ‘https://www.googleapis.com/auth/classroom.courses.readonly’.

Once set up, modify your code to use service account credentials instead of user credentials. You can then use the ‘courses().list()’ method with the ‘courseStates’ parameter set to ‘ACTIVE’ to retrieve all active courses in the domain.

Be aware that this approach gives broad access, so ensure you have proper security measures in place. Also, consider implementing pagination to handle large numbers of courses efficiently.

yo melody, i feel ya on the api struggle. domain-wide access is key. try a service account with delegation for fetching all courses. once setup, adjust your code to use service account creds. it ain’t perfect but should get the job done. best luck!