IDE code completion

IDEs such as VS Code and PyCharm offer built-in code completion for the Python language.

The google-ads-python library generates protobuf message classes dynamically at runtime using getter methods on the GoogleAdsClient class, which can inhibit IDE code completion features that rely on static analysis of source code.

To improve compatibility with code completion tools that rely on static analysis, you can either:

  1. Use type annotations with dynamic getter methods (recommended).
  2. Import protobuf message classes and service clients directly.

Dynamic imports with type hints

Using dynamic imports ensures your code remains resilient across library updates. Adding type annotations enables IDE code completion without losing the benefits of dynamic initialization:

from google.ads.googleads.client import GoogleAdsClient
from google.ads.googleads.v25.resources.types.campaign import (
    Campaign,
)

client = GoogleAdsClient.load_from_storage()

# Type hints allow the IDE to provide code completion suggestions while
# retaining dynamic class generation.
campaign: Campaign = client.get_type("Campaign")

Direct imports

You can also import protobuf message classes directly. This approach enables IDE code completion out of the box, without using getter methods:

from google.ads.googleads.v25.resources import Campaign

# The Campaign class is imported directly, enabling the IDE to read the
# class definition and make code completion suggestions.
campaign = Campaign()

Disadvantages of direct imports

While directly importing generated classes helps with code completion, it also introduces some trade-offs:

  1. Harder to locate: It's not always obvious which module a given class is located in, so finding the correct import path can be difficult.
  2. Brittle across upgrades: The directory structure of generated classes can change with new versions of the client library. If you import classes directly, your code may break when you upgrade, whereas code that uses getter methods is unaffected by these types of changes.

  3. Manual initialization required: The get_service method initializes services with authentication, transport settings, and gRPC interceptors (which attach headers such as login-customer-id and linked-customer-id, handle logging, and wrap errors in GoogleAdsException) before returning them. If you import and instantiate services directly, those interceptors are bypassed and you must configure credentials and transport channels manually:

    from google.ads.googleads.v25.services.services import (
    campaign_service as campaign_service_module,
)

# Dynamic service getter (initializes credentials, transport, and gRPC
# interceptors automatically).
campaign_service = client.get_service("CampaignService")

# Direct service client import (requires manual credential and interceptor
# configuration).
campaign_service_client = campaign_service_module.CampaignServiceClient(
    credentials=client.credentials,
)