Before you can use the Google Calendar API to request events on your calendar, you must first authenticate the device with Google's authentication server.

We've handled this authorization "flow" by creating a CircuitPython library for Google's implementation of OAuth2.0 and an application to run on your device.

Secrets File Setup

Open the secrets.py file on your CircuitPython device using Mu or your favorite text editor. If you don't have one, copy the generic one below. You're going to edit this file to enter your Google API credentials.

  • Change aio_username to your Adafruit IO username
  • Change aio_key to your Adafruit IO active key
  • Change timezone to "Etc/UTC"
  • Change google_client_id to the Google client ID you obtained in the previous step
  • Change google_client_secret to the Google client ID you obtained in the previous step

Your secrets.py file should look like this: 

# This file is where you keep secret settings, passwords, and tokens!
# If you put them in the code you risk committing that info or sharing it

secrets = {
    'ssid' : 'YOUR_SSID',
    'password' : 'YOUR_SSID_PASS',
    'aio_username': 'YOUR_AIO_USERNAME',
    'aio_key': 'YOUR_AIO_KEY',
    'timezone' : "Etc/UTC", # http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones
    'google_client_id' : 'YOUR_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID',
    'google_client_secret' : 'YOUR_GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET'
    }

Add CircuitPython Code and Project Assets

To use with CircuitPython, you need to first install a few libraries, into the lib folder on your CIRCUITPY drive. Then you need to update code.py with the example script.

Thankfully, we can do this in one go. In the example below, click the Download Project Bundle button below to download the necessary libraries and the code.py file in a zip file. Extract the contents of the zip file, open the directory MagTag_Google_Calendar/ and then click on the directory that matches the version of CircuitPython you're using and copy the contents of that directory to your CIRCUITPY drive.

Your CIRCUITPY drive should now look similar to the following image:

If you're having difficulty running this example, it could be because your MagTag CircuitPython firmware or library needs to be upgraded! Please be sure to follow https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-magtag/circuitpython to install the latest CircuitPython firmware and then also replace/update ALL the MagTag-specific libraries mentioned here https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-magtag/circuitpython-libraries-2
# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2021 Brent Rubell, written for Adafruit Industries
#
# SPDX-License-Identifier: Unlicense
from adafruit_oauth2 import OAuth2
from adafruit_display_text.label import Label
from adafruit_bitmap_font import bitmap_font
from adafruit_magtag.magtag import Graphics, Network
from adafruit_display_shapes.rect import Rect

# Add a secrets.py to your filesystem that has a dictionary called secrets with "ssid" and
# "password" keys with your WiFi credentials. DO NOT share that file or commit it into Git or other
# source control.
# pylint: disable=no-name-in-module,wrong-import-order
try:
    from secrets import secrets
except ImportError:
    print("Credentials and tokens are kept in secrets.py, please add them there!")
    raise

network = Network()
network.connect()

# DisplayIO setup
font_small = bitmap_font.load_font("/fonts/Arial-12.pcf")
font_large = bitmap_font.load_font("/fonts/Arial-14.pcf")

graphics = Graphics(auto_refresh=False)
display = graphics.display

background = Rect(0, 0, 296, 128, fill=0xFFFFFF)
graphics.splash.append(background)

label_overview_text = Label(
    font_large,
    x=0,
    y=10,
    line_spacing=0.75,
    color=0x000000,
    text="Authorize this device with Google:",
)
graphics.splash.append(label_overview_text)

label_verification_url = Label(font_small, x=0, y=40, line_spacing=0.75, color=0x000000)
graphics.splash.append(label_verification_url)

label_user_code = Label(font_small, x=0, y=80, color=0x000000, line_spacing=0.75)
graphics.splash.append(label_user_code)

label_qr_code = Label(
    font_small, x=0, y=100, color=0x000000, text="Or scan the QR code:"
)
graphics.splash.append(label_qr_code)

# Set scope(s) of access required by the API you're using
scopes = ["https://www.googleapis.com/auth/calendar.readonly"]

# Initialize an OAuth2 object
google_auth = OAuth2(
    network.requests,
    secrets["google_client_id"],
    secrets["google_client_secret"],
    scopes,
)

# Request device and user codes
# https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/oauth2/limited-input-device#step-1:-request-device-and-user-codes
google_auth.request_codes()

# Display user code and verification url
# NOTE: If you are displaying this on a screen, ensure the text label fields are
# long enough to handle the user_code and verification_url.
# Details in link below:
# https://developers.google.com/identity/protocols/oauth2/limited-input-device#displayingthecode
print(
    "1) Navigate to the following URL in a web browser:", google_auth.verification_url
)
print("2) Enter the following code:", google_auth.user_code)
label_verification_url.text = (
    "1. On your computer or mobile device,\ngo to %s" % google_auth.verification_url
)
label_user_code.text = "2. Enter code: %s" % google_auth.user_code

graphics.qrcode(google_auth.verification_url.encode(), qr_size=2, x=240, y=70)
graphics.display.root_group = graphics.splash
display.refresh()

# Poll Google's authorization server
print("Waiting for browser authorization...")
if not google_auth.wait_for_authorization():
    raise RuntimeError("Timed out waiting for browser response!")

print("Successfully Authenticated with Google!")
print("Add the following lines to your secrets.py file:")
print("\t'google_access_token' " + ":" + " '%s'," % google_auth.access_token)
print("\t'google_refresh_token' " + ":" + " '%s'" % google_auth.refresh_token)

graphics.splash.pop()
graphics.splash.pop()
graphics.splash.pop()

label_overview_text.text = "Successfully Authenticated!"
label_verification_url.text = (
    "Check the REPL for tokens to add\n\tto your secrets.py file"
)
display.refresh()

Authenticator Code Usage

On your CIRCUITPY drive, rename authenticator.py to code.py. Then, open the CircuitPython REPL using Mu or another serial monitor.

Your CircuitPython device should boot into the Google Authenticator code and display a code and URL.

Navigate to the Google Device page and enter the code you see on your device.

Click Next

Select the Google Account you'd like to use with the calendar viewer.

Since Google has not formally verified the application you created in the previous step, you'll be greeted with a warning.

  • Click Advanced
  • Then, Click the Go to {your application name} link

Finally, a dialog will appear displaying the application's requested permissions.

Click Allow.

You'll be presented with a dialog telling you the device has been authenticated.

After 5 seconds, the CircuitPython REPL should display a google_access_token and google_refresh_token.

Copy and paste these lines into the secrets.py file.

Your secrets.py file should look like this:

# This file is where you keep secret settings, passwords, and tokens!
# If you put them in the code you risk committing that info or sharing it
 
secrets = {
    'ssid' : 'YOUR_SSID',
    'password' : 'YOUR_SSID_PASS',
    'aio_username': 'YOUR_AIO_USERNAME',
    'aio_key': 'YOUR_AIO_KEY'
    'timezone' : "Etc/UTC", # http://worldtimeapi.org/timezones
    'google_client_id' : 'YOUR_GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID',
    'google_client_secret' : 'YOUR_GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET',
    'google_access_token' : 'YOUR_GOOGLE_ACCESS_TOKEN',
    'google_refresh_token' : 'YOUR_GOOGLE_REFRESH_TOKEN'
    }

Now that your device is authorized to make requests to the Google Calendar API, let's use it to fetch calendar events!

This guide was first published on Jan 13, 2021. It was last updated on Mar 27, 2024.

This page (Code Setup) was last updated on Mar 26, 2024.

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