Google Checkout : Failed to Get Basic Authentication Headers

Google Checkout : Send failed with code: 401. Response body was: Failed to Get Basic Authentication Headers

The most common problem facing php file in Google Checkout is ResponseHandler.php. Many of us really don't know how exactly its working and behave. After few days of my r&d in Google Checkout i have the solution to fix the "Get Basic Authentication Headers" problem.

I started running ResponseHandler.php against Google Checkout running under different situations and I ran into a problem with authentication when PHP was being run as a CGI under Apache. When running as a server module (mod_php) PHP takes care of decoding HTTP basic for you (see HTTP basic authentication in PHP). When a using HTTP basic PHP will automatically populate $_SERVER[’PHP_AUTH_USER’] and $_SERVER[’PHP_AUTH_PW’] variables with the username and password that were provided. IF and ONLY IF PHP is being run as a server module (like mod_php). If you are running PHP as a CGI then those two variables won’t get created at all, ever, even when using HTTP basic authentication. And since you can’t do anything in WordPress via AtomPub without authenticating you are dead in the water. Well, not exactly.

However, there is a workaround available which can make HTTP Auth for PHP working even when in CGI mode.

1. Create one .htaccess file in the folder where your responsehandler.php file is :

.htaccess file:

<<<Start--- AuthName "Google checkout Basic Authentication" AuthType Basic AuthUserFile D:\\\\www\\\\webroot\\\\projectfolder\\\\googlelibraryforcheckout/.htpasswd
require valid-user
---End>>>

2. Create one .htpasswd file in the folder where your responsehandler.php file is :

.htpasswd
$merchant_id:$merchant_key

and now you need to disable few codes from googleresponse.php file :

* googlecheckout/responsehandler.php folowing code will be disabled if
* CGI config is set to True
*
*
[CODE]
//Parse the HTTP header to verify the source.
if(isset($HTTP_SERVER_VARS['PHP_AUTH_USER']) && isset($HTTP_SERVER_VARS['PHP_AUTH_PW'])) {
$compare_mer_id = $HTTP_SERVER_VARS['PHP_AUTH_USER'];
$compare_mer_key = $HTTP_SERVER_VARS['PHP_AUTH_PW'];
}
else {
error_func("HTTP Basic Authentication failed.\n");
exit(1);
}

if($compare_mer_id != $merchant_id || $compare_mer_key != $merchant_key) {
error_func("HTTP Basic Authentication failed.\n");
exit(1);
}
[/CODE]

I hope this article will help you alot to work arround the Google Checkout's "Send failed with code: 401. Response body was: Failed to Get Basic Authentication Headers"

Regards,
Prashant Agarwal
(If you have any problem then please write here i will try to solve all queries related to php and google / paypal chekckout)