google-contacts v1.0.0A

Immutable. This exact content never changes and is served at /api/v1/blob/09a6e85818aafd46.

---
name: google-contacts
description: |
  Google Contacts integration via Apideck's CRM unified API — same methods work across every connector in CRM, switch by changing `serviceId`. Use when the user wants to read, write, or search contacts, companies, leads, opportunities, activities, and pipelines in Google Contacts. Routes through Apideck with serviceId "google-contacts".
license: Apache-2.0
alwaysApply: false
metadata:
  author: apideck
  version: "1.0.0"
  serviceId: google-contacts
  unifiedApis: ["crm"]
  authType: oauth2
  tier: "2"
  verified: true
  status: beta
  difficulty: moderate
  partnershipRequired: false
  sandboxAvailable: false
---

# Google Contacts (via Apideck)

Access Google Contacts through Apideck's **CRM** unified API — one of 21 CRM connectors that share the same method surface. Code you write here ports to Odoo, Salesforce, HubSpot and 17 other CRM connectors by changing a single `serviceId` string. Apideck handles auth, pagination, rate limiting, and retries so you don't write per-tenant Google Contacts plumbing.

> **Beta connector.** Google Contacts is currently in beta on Apideck. Expect partial resource coverage and occasional mapping gaps. Always verify coverage (see below) and fall back to the Proxy API for unsupported operations.

## Quick facts

- **Apideck serviceId:** `google-contacts`
- **Unified API:** CRM
- **Auth type:** oauth2
- **Status:** beta
- **Gotchas:** [page](https://developers.apideck.com/apis/crm/google-contacts/gotchas)
- **Google Contacts docs:** https://developers.google.com/people
- **Homepage:** https://www.google.com/contacts

## At a glance

- **Implementation difficulty:** moderate — Self-Service OAuth App + Google Verification Required Beyond 100 Users
- **Vendor partnership required:** no — Google verification is a review of your own app, open to any developer, with no contract or fee.
- **Apideck-managed credentials:** available — For testing only: Apideck's shared Google app is not Google-verified; production needs your own app.
- **Account type required:** Any Google account (personal or Google Workspace)
- **Consumer access level:** Any user who can access the contacts being connected; no admin role required to authorize
- **Sandbox:** not available — Test with any Google account against an app left in Testing publishing status.
- **Authentication:** Authorization Code flow with Google.
- **Webhooks:** No webhooks - sync changes by polling the CRM API

**Important to know:**

- The contacts scope is a Google sensitive scope: production needs brand and sensitive-scope verification (a justification and video demo), and your authorized domains, including the redirect URI's, verified with Google. No paid CASA assessment: that is for restricted scopes.
- Until Google verifies the app it is capped: in Testing status only 100 named test users can connect and every refresh token expires after 7 days; a published but unverified app is capped at 100 total users, with an 'unverified app' warning.

> Facts synced from Apideck's connector metadata API — `GET /connector/connectors/google-contacts` (`overview` field) is the live, authoritative version.

## When to use this skill

Activate this skill when the user explicitly wants to work with **Google Contacts** — for example, "pull contacts in Google Contacts" or "sync leads in Google Contacts". This skill teaches the agent:

1. Which Apideck unified API covers Google Contacts (CRM)
2. The correct `serviceId` to pass on every call (`google-contacts`)
3. Google Contacts-specific auth and coverage caveats

For the full method surface (parameters, pagination, filtering), use your language SDK skill:

- [`apideck-node`](../../skills/apideck-node/), [`apideck-python`](../../skills/apideck-python/), [`apideck-dotnet`](../../skills/apideck-dotnet/), [`apideck-java`](../../skills/apideck-java/), [`apideck-go`](../../skills/apideck-go/), [`apideck-php`](../../skills/apideck-php/), or [`apideck-rest`](../../skills/apideck-rest/)

For the raw OpenAPI spec:

- **CRM:** [https://specs.apideck.com/crm.yml](https://specs.apideck.com/crm.yml) · [API Explorer](https://developers.apideck.com/api-explorer?id=crm)

## Minimal example (TypeScript)

```typescript
import { Apideck } from "@apideck/unify";

const apideck = new Apideck({
  apiKey: process.env.APIDECK_API_KEY,
  appId: process.env.APIDECK_APP_ID,
  consumerId: "your-consumer-id",
});

// List contacts in Google Contacts
const { data } = await apideck.crm.contacts.list({
  serviceId: "google-contacts",
});
```

## Portable across 21 CRM connectors

The Apideck **CRM** unified API exposes the same methods for every connector in its catalog. Switching from Google Contacts to another CRM connector is a one-string change — no rewrite, no new SDK.

```typescript
// Today — Google Contacts
await apideck.crm.contacts.list({ serviceId: "google-contacts" });

// Tomorrow — same code, different connector
await apideck.crm.contacts.list({ serviceId: "odoo" });
await apideck.crm.contacts.list({ serviceId: "salesforce" });
```

This is the compounding advantage of using Apideck over integrating Google Contacts directly: code against the unified CRM API once, gain access to every connector in it. New connectors Apideck adds become available to your app without code changes.

## Authentication

- **Type:** OAuth 2.0
- **Managed by:** Apideck Vault — Apideck handles the full OAuth dance (authorization code flow, token exchange, refresh). Never ask the user for API keys or tokens directly.
- **User setup:** Users authorize via the Vault modal. Connection state progresses `available → added → authorized → callable`.
- **Token refresh:** automatic. Expired tokens are refreshed transparently on the next API call.

See [`apideck-best-practices`](../../skills/apideck-best-practices/) for Vault setup, connection lifecycle, and handling re-auth flows.

## Verifying coverage

Not every CRM operation is supported by every connector. Always verify before assuming a method works:

```bash
curl 'https://unify.apideck.com/connector/connectors/google-contacts' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${APIDECK_API_KEY}" \
  -H "x-apideck-app-id: ${APIDECK_APP_ID}"
```

See [`apideck-connector-coverage`](../../skills/apideck-connector-coverage/) for patterns around `UnsupportedOperationError` and connector-specific fallbacks.

## Escape hatch: Proxy API

When an endpoint isn't covered by the CRM unified API, use Apideck's Proxy to call Google Contacts directly — Apideck injects auth headers and handles token refresh. Set `x-apideck-downstream-url` to the target endpoint on Google Contacts's own API:

```bash
curl 'https://unify.apideck.com/proxy' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${APIDECK_API_KEY}" \
  -H "x-apideck-app-id: ${APIDECK_APP_ID}" \
  -H "x-apideck-consumer-id: ${CONSUMER_ID}" \
  -H "x-apideck-service-id: google-contacts" \
  -H "x-apideck-downstream-url: <target endpoint on Google Contacts>" \
  -H "x-apideck-downstream-method: GET"
```

See [Google Contacts's API docs](https://developers.google.com/people) for available endpoints.

## Sibling connectors

Other **CRM** connectors that share this unified API surface (same method signatures, just change `serviceId`):

[`odoo`](../odoo/) *(beta)*, [`salesforce`](../salesforce/), [`hubspot`](../hubspot/), [`pipedrive`](../pipedrive/), [`zoho-crm`](../zoho-crm/), [`activecampaign`](../activecampaign/), [`close`](../close/), [`microsoft-dynamics`](../microsoft-dynamics/), and 12 more.

## See also

- [CRM OpenAPI spec](https://specs.apideck.com/crm.yml) · [API Explorer](https://developers.apideck.com/api-explorer?id=crm)
- [`apideck-connector-coverage`](../../skills/apideck-connector-coverage/) — programmatic coverage checks
- [`apideck-best-practices`](../../skills/apideck-best-practices/) — architecture, Vault, pagination, error handling
- [`apideck-node`](../../skills/apideck-node/) — TypeScript / Node SDK patterns
- [Google Contacts official docs](https://developers.google.com/people)