topic Using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Proc HTTP in SAS Programming

Using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Proc HTTP

vfarmak — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:06:46 GMT

Hi Community!

I am trying to use the GA4 with SAS Enterprise Guide Proc HTTP.

I have created a test application in Google Analytics and I have enabled the APIs & Service to create an OAuth 2.0 Client Id which is set to Desktop.

I have retrieved the client-id, secret-id, built a URL to authorize my account for this application and run the below code:

%let auth_code=xxx;
%let client_id=yyy;
%let client_secret=zzz;

filename pbody temp;

data _null_;
    file pbody lrecl=32767;
    put "code=&auth_code" @;
    put "&" @;
    put "client_id=&client_id" @;
    put "&" @;
    put "client_secret=&client_secret" @;
    put "&" @;
    put "redirect_uri=urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob" @;
    put "&" @;
    put "grant_type=authorization_code";
run;


/* === 3. Send token request === */
filename tokresp temp;
filename hedresp temp;

proc http
    url="https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token"
    method="POST"
    in=pbody
    ct="application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
    out=tokresp
    headerout=hedresp
    headerout_overwrite;
run;

/* === 4. Print Headers === */
data _null_;
    infile hedresp lrecl=32767;
    input;
    put 'HEADER: ' _infile_;
run;

/* === 5. Print Body (raw dump, works for all cases) === */
data _null_;
    infile tokresp recfm=n lrecl=32767;
    input c $char1. @;
    put c $char1. @;
run;

Even though I run the code, I get the following errors:

NOTE: The file PBODY is:
      Filename=E:\SAS\Temp\_TD35700_SASBI_\#LN00105,
      RECFM=V,LRECL=32767,File Size (bytes)=0,
      Last Modified=19Mar2026:17:04:34,
      Create Time=19Mar2026:17:04:34
2                                                          The SAS System                             16:58 Thursday, March 19, 2026


NOTE: 1 record was written to the file PBODY.
      The minimum record length was 269.
      The maximum record length was 269.
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
      real time           0.00 seconds
      user cpu time       0.00 seconds
      system cpu time     0.00 seconds
      memory              574.18k
      OS Memory           21340.00k
      Timestamp           03/19/2026 05:04:34 PM
      Step Count                        13  Switch Count  0
      

51         
52         
53         /* === 3. Send token request === */
54         filename tokresp temp;
55         filename hedresp temp;
56         
57         proc http
58             url="https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token"
59             method="POST"
60             in=pbody
61             ct="application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
62             out=tokresp
63             headerout=hedresp
64             headerout_overwrite;
65         run;

NOTE: 400 Bad Request
NOTE: PROCEDURE HTTP used (Total process time):
      real time           0.25 seconds
      user cpu time       0.00 seconds
      system cpu time     0.01 seconds
      memory              486.50k
      OS Memory           21596.00k
      Timestamp           03/19/2026 05:04:34 PM
      Step Count                        14  Switch Count  3
      

66         
67         /* === 4. Print Headers === */
68         data _null_;
69             infile hedresp lrecl=32767;
70             input;
71             put 'HEADER: ' _infile_;
72         run;

NOTE: The infile HEDRESP is:
      Filename=E:\SAS\Temp\_TD35700_SASBI_\#LN00107,
      RECFM=V,LRECL=32767,File Size (bytes)=398,
      Last Modified=19Mar2026:17:04:34,
      Create Time=19Mar2026:17:04:34

HEADER: HTTP/1.1 400 Bad Request
HEADER: Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8
HEADER: Vary: X-Origin
3                                                          The SAS System                             16:58 Thursday, March 19, 2026

HEADER: Vary: Referer
HEADER: Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:04:34 GMT
HEADER: Server: scaffolding on HTTPServer2
HEADER: X-XSS-Protection: 0
HEADER: X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN
HEADER: X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
HEADER: Alt-Svc: h3=":443"; ma=2592000,h3-29=":443"; ma=2592000
HEADER: Accept-Ranges: none
HEADER: Vary: Origin,Accept-Encoding
HEADER: Transfer-Encoding: chunked
HEADER: 
NOTE: 14 records were read from the infile HEDRESP.
      The minimum record length was 0.
      The maximum record length was 55.
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
      real time           0.00 seconds
      user cpu time       0.01 seconds
      system cpu time     0.00 seconds
      memory              597.40k
      OS Memory           21596.00k
      Timestamp           03/19/2026 05:04:34 PM
      Step Count                        15  Switch Count  0
      

73         
74         /* === 5. Print Body (raw dump, works for all cases) === */
75         data _null_;
76             infile tokresp recfm=n lrecl=32767;
77             input c $char1. @;
78             put c $char1. @;
79         run;

NOTE: UNBUFFERED is the default with RECFM=N.
NOTE: The infile TOKRESP is:
      Filename=E:\SAS\Temp\_TD35700_SASBI_\#LN00106,
      RECFM=N,LRECL=32767,File Size (bytes)=108,
      Last Modified=19Mar2026:17:04:34,
      Create Time=19Mar2026:17:04:34

{  "error": "unsupported_grant_type",  "error_description": "Invalid grant_type: authorization_code\r\n"}
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
      real time           0.00 seconds
      user cpu time       0.00 seconds
      system cpu time     0.00 seconds
      memory              589.09k
      OS Memory           21596.00k
      Timestamp           03/19/2026 05:04:34 PM
      Step Count                        16  Switch Count  0
      

80         
81         %LET _CLIENTTASKLABEL=;
82         %LET _CLIENTPROCESSFLOWNAME=;
83         %LET _CLIENTPROJECTPATH=;
84         %LET _CLIENTPROJECTPATHHOST=;
85         %LET _CLIENTPROJECTNAME=;
86         %LET _SASPROGRAMFILE=;
87         %LET _SASPROGRAMFILEHOST=;
4                                                          The SAS System                             16:58 Thursday, March 19, 2026

88         
89         ;*';*";*/;quit;run;
90         ODS _ALL_ CLOSE;
91         
92         
93         QUIT; RUN;
94

Does anyone from the community have an idea on what went wrong?

Best Regards,

Vasileios

#googleanalytics #sas #prochttp #GA4

Re: Using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Proc HTTP

Stu_SAS — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 18:25:19 GMT

Hey @vfarmak! Looking at your error code, I notice that it is including CRLF. This means what's being sent is not "authorization_code", but "authorization_code\r\n".

Three options to fix it:

1. Fastest: Add recfm=n to your pbody filename statement:

filename pbody temp recfm=n;

If we write this file out both with and without recfm=n, you'll notice that the file without recfm=n has a carriage return:

Whereas the one with recfm=n does not:

This prevents sending CRLF within your payload.

2. Recommended: Use the form option in PROC HTTP to create name-value pairs and automatically URL encode values:

%let auth_code=xxx;
%let client_id=yyy;
%let client_secret=zzz;

filename tokresp temp;
filename hedresp temp;

proc http
    url="https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token"
    method="POST"
    ct="application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
    in=form(
        "code"="&auth_code"
        "client_id"="&client_id"
        "redirect_uri"="urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob"
        "grant_type"="authorization_code"
    )
    out=tokresp
    headerout=hedresp
    headerout_overwrite;
run;

3. Less-preferred: write your payload to the in option directly with a macro variable, but that gets a bit harder to read, and you'll still need to URL encode anything that needs it.

%let auth_code=xxx;
%let client_id=yyy;
%let client_secret=zzz;
%let payload=code=&auth_code%nrstr(&)client_id=&client_id%nrstr(&)redirect_uri=urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob%nrstr(&)grant_type=authorization_code;

filename tokresp temp;
filename hedresp temp;

proc http
    url="https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token"
    method="POST"
    in="&payload"
    ct="application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
    out=tokresp
    headerout=hedresp
    headerout_overwrite;
run;

Re: Using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Proc HTTP

vfarmak — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 09:15:56 GMT

Thank your @Stu_SAS for your reply.

I tried the 2nd solution and it still gives me HTTP 404:Bad Request.

I have copied and paste the code in a Notepad++ and checked for \r\n characters (basically I confirmed that when I use the let statement in SAS code, no \r\n occurs. Used the solution and produced the below log

1                                                          The SAS System                               10:52 Monday, March 23, 2026

1          ;*';*";*/;quit;run;
2          OPTIONS PAGENO=MIN;
3          %LET _CLIENTTASKLABEL='Retrieve Data 3';
4          %LET _CLIENTPROCESSFLOWNAME='Process Flow';
5          %LET _CLIENTPROJECTPATH='C:\Users\Vasilios.Farmakiotis\OneDrive - Generali Hellas Insurance Company SA\Projects\29.
5        ! Google Analytics Cloud\Snoopy\Google Analytics 4.egp';
6          %LET _CLIENTPROJECTPATHHOST='GHATH7777';
7          %LET _CLIENTPROJECTNAME='Google Analytics 4.egp';
8          %LET _SASPROGRAMFILE='';
9          %LET _SASPROGRAMFILEHOST='';
10         
11         ODS _ALL_ CLOSE;
12         OPTIONS DEV=SVG;
13         GOPTIONS XPIXELS=0 YPIXELS=0;
14         %macro HTML5AccessibleGraphSupported;
15             %if %_SAS_VERCOMP_FV(9,4,4, 0,0,0) >= 0 %then ACCESSIBLE_GRAPH;
16         %mend;
17         FILENAME EGHTML TEMP;
18         ODS HTML5(ID=EGHTML) FILE=EGHTML
19             OPTIONS(BITMAP_MODE='INLINE')
20             %HTML5AccessibleGraphSupported
21             ENCODING='utf-8'
22             STYLE=HTMLBlue
23             NOGTITLE
24             NOGFOOTNOTE
25             GPATH=&sasworklocation
26         ;
NOTE: Writing HTML5(EGHTML) Body file: EGHTML
27         
28         /* Parameteres for proc http */
29         %let auth_code=xxx;
30         %let client_id=yyy;
31         %let client_secret=zzz;
32         
33         /* filenames */
34         filename tokresp temp;
35         filename hedresp temp;
36         
37         proc http
38            url="https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token"
39            method="POST"
40            ct="application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
41            in=form(
42                "code"="&auth_code"
43                "client_id"="&client_id"
44                "redirect_uri"="urn:ietf:wg:oauth:2.0:oob"
45                "grant_type"="authorization_code"
46            )
47            out=tokresp
48            headerout=hedresp
49            headerout_overwrite;
50         run;

NOTE: 400 Bad Request
NOTE: PROCEDURE HTTP used (Total process time):
      real time           0.07 seconds
      user cpu time       0.00 seconds
      system cpu time     0.00 seconds
2                                                          The SAS System                               10:52 Monday, March 23, 2026

      memory              461.37k
      OS Memory           22108.00k
      Timestamp           03/23/2026 11:06:34 AM
      Step Count                        27  Switch Count  0
      

51         
52         %LET _CLIENTTASKLABEL=;
53         %LET _CLIENTPROCESSFLOWNAME=;
54         %LET _CLIENTPROJECTPATH=;
55         %LET _CLIENTPROJECTPATHHOST=;
56         %LET _CLIENTPROJECTNAME=;
57         %LET _SASPROGRAMFILE=;
58         %LET _SASPROGRAMFILEHOST=;
59         
60         ;*';*";*/;quit;run;
61         ODS _ALL_ CLOSE;
62         
63         
64         QUIT; RUN;
65

I don't know whether it is the credential type or something else (below is the screenshot).

I will try to create another client ID (not a desktop one) to see if this is the case.

Re: Using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Proc HTTP

Stu_SAS — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 18:45:58 GMT

Did PROC HTTP write anything to the out file? That can help determine what went wrong in the request.

Re: Using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Proc HTTP

vfarmak — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 11:19:29 GMT

Hi @Stu_SAS

I am still working on it. I have read that I need to setup a service account (because I will access with proc http the GA4 and ingest the data via the SAS DI Studio / SAS Enterprise Guide - ETL process).

I will ping you when I get some progress. There is a JWT option that needs to be setup with SAS Datastep (9.4M8 installation here).

As soon I get a result, I will let you know.

Re: Using Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Proc HTTP

vfarmak — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:56:05 GMT

Hi @Stu_SAS

I had to rework on the following things:

Create a service account in GA4 (since this will be used for ETL extraction from SAS)
Associate the application in google analytics with the google cloud console service account via service account's email
Got the JSON file from GA4 and read in SAS Enterprise Guide (Step 1)
I had then to retrieve the access token from google by using python code (I tried with SAS but I couldn't deal with the base encoding 64 URL and got errors while parsing the private key from JSON (there were non legit characters) (Step 2)
Last but not least, while I retrieved the access token I used the proc http method and returned results (Step 3)

Below you will see the code in Steps.

/* Step 1 */
filename keyfile "C:\Users\Vasilios.Farmakiotis\Documents\Work\GA4\mobilehub-greece-3e8f337fe225.json";
libname keyjson json fileref=keyfile;

data svc;
    set keyjson.root;
    call symputx("PRIVATE_KEY", private_key);
    call symputx("CLIENT_EMAIL", client_email);
    call symputx("TOKEN_URI", token_uri);
run;

/* Step 2 */
/* Call Python script to generate token */
options noxwait noxsync;

/* Adjust path as needed */
x "python C:\Users\Vasilios.Farmakiotis\Documents\Work\GA4\get_ga4_token.py";

/* Read token from access_token.txt */
filename tok "C:\Users\Vasilios.Farmakiotis\Documents\Work\GA4\access_token.txt";

data _null_;
    infile tok;
    input;
    call symputx("ACCESS_TOKEN", _infile_);
run;

%put &=ACCESS_TOKEN;

/* Step 3 */
filename ga4req temp;
filename ga4resp temp;

/* Request body */
data _null_;
    file ga4req;
    put '{';
    put '  "property": "properties/999999999",';
    put '  "dateRanges": [{"startDate":"7daysAgo","endDate":"today"}],';
    put '  "metrics": [{"name":"activeUsers"}],';
    put '  "dimensions": [{"name":"country"}]';
    put '}';
run;

proc http
    method="POST"
    url="https://analyticsdata.googleapis.com/v1beta/properties/999999999:runReport" in=ga4req out=ga4resp; headers "Authorization" = "Bearer &ACCESS_TOKEN" "Content-Type" = "application/json"; run; libname ga4 json fileref=ga4resp;

I am still working on it.

I will let you know.