google.auth.exceptions.DefaultCredentialsError: service account key file was not found

TL;DR: The env var is set but the file is not where it says. Print the path, check it exists from the same shell or container running your code, fix the path (absolute, no typos), and retry.

google.auth.exceptions.DefaultCredentialsError: File [key-file-path] was not found.

Fix it

1. Print the value: echo $GOOGLEAPPLICATIONCREDENTIALS. Expected: a path.
2. Check it from the runtime: ls -l on that exact path, inside the container if you use Docker. Expected: the file exists and is readable. If not, you found the bug.
3. Fix the path (absolute paths only; no ~, which the library does not expand) and re-export it. Expected: ls succeeds.
4. Verify the file is valid JSON with type serviceaccount: head -c 200 the file. Expected: {"type": "serviceaccount", ...}.

When this applies

• The error message includes "was not found" and a path.

When it doesn't

• The env var is unset: set it (see the could-not-determine-credentials skill).
• The file exists but the error persists: the JSON is malformed; re-download the key.

Compatibility

• google-auth any version.

Why it happens

The library trusts the env var blindly and only discovers the file is missing when it tries to read it. Relative paths, ~, and host paths that do not exist inside containers are the usual culprits.

Edge cases

• Key files downloaded twice: the old one may be revoked; use the newest.
• On Windows, watch for a trailing space in the path when set via the GUI.

Reported in GitHub (gh:oittaa/gcp-storage-emulator#178): service account key file not found (oittaa/gcp-storage-emulator#178). The verified fix: Asked on Stack Overflow by developers who set GOOGLEAPPLICATIONCREDENTIALS yet still got DefaultCredentialsError. The verified answer: the path in the env var does not exist in the runtime environment (typo, relative path, or host-only path in Docker), so point it at the real file. Source: the linked Stack Overflow thread. Source: https://github.com/oittaa/gcp-storage-emulator/issues/178 Thread ref: gh:oittaa/gcp-storage-emulator#178