Skip to main content
Cariqa Connect API is available in two separate environments: development and production. Each environment is isolated and intended for a different stage of your integration lifecycle.

​
Environments

API credentials are environment-specific: development credentials won’t work in production, and production credentials won’t work in development.
EnvironmentPurposeURL
Development
(DEV)		Integration and testinghttps://dev.connect.cariqa.com/
Production
(PROD)		Real-life charginghttps://connect.cariqa.com/

​
Capabilities

EnvironmentPaymentsEV-ChargingLocations data
Development
(DEV)		FakeFakeReal + fake
Production
(PROD)		RealRealReal

​
Connect API Playground

The Connect API Playground lets you explore every supported use case hands-on, no code needed. It’s the fastest way to understand what the API can do before writing a single line of integration code. If you have your API keys ready, try it at play.connect.cariqa.com.

​
Development Environment

The development environment is designed to help you test the complete Connect API integration without relying on live charging infrastructure behavior. You should use DEV to validate flows such as:
  • Creating and managing users
  • Adding payment methods in test mode
  • Discovering stations and connectors
  • Starting and stopping charging sessions
  • Reading charging session history
  • Handling charging session updates

​
Production Environment

The production environment is connected to live operational flows and should be used only after your integration has been reviewed and validated. Before going live, make sure that:
  • Your backend securely stores the production API token
  • Your frontend payment integration is configured correctly
  • Your backend and user-facing flows handle charging errors gracefully
  • Your team has completed end-to-end testing in DEV
Production charging sessions may involve real users, live charging infrastructure, and real financial transactions. Do not use production for exploratory testing.

​
Testing Charging Sessions in development environment

The development environment uses Virtual Charging Points (VCPs) to help you test charging session flows without relying on live charging infrastructure. There are currently two types of VCPs available in development environment:
  1. Shared VCP without progress updates
  2. VCP with progress updates
VCP behavior is independent from the charging session status returned in station details responses or station tile responses. A station may appear available in station data while the underlying VCP is busy, or vice versa.

​
Type 1: Shared VCP without Progress Updates

This type of VCP allows you to test the basic charging lifecycle:
  • Starting a charging session
  • Stopping a charging session
  • Receiving the final CDR
This type does not send progress updates, so you should not expect consumed kWh to increase while the session is active. The final CDR is the confirmation that the session was processed. The VCP is shared between multiple external parties. This means another integration partner may start a charging session on the same VCP while you are testing. As a result, a start charging request may fail because the VCP is busy, even if the station details response shows the station as available.
Because this VCP is shared, stop your test charging session as soon as possible. Keeping a session open for longer than necessary may prevent other parties from testing and can cause service interruption for them.

​
Testing Busy Station Behavior

You can use this Virtual Charging Point type to simulate a busy station scenario. To test this:
  1. Start a charging session with one test user.
  2. While the first session is still active, try to start another session on the same station with a different test user.
  3. The second start attempt should behave as a busy-station scenario.

​
Example EVSE IDs

Try to use the following EVSE IDs to trigger the test at this VCP type:
  • DE*CIQ*EWBNHHLM82TLA*1
  • IT*PWY*EP0078*01*02
  • DEQRMEF7GRC21
  • AT*VIE*E2334770022*2

​
Type 2: VCP with Progress Updates

This type of VCP supports charging progress messages. You can use it to test how consumed kWh values appear in charging session details while a session is ongoing. This is useful for validating UI behavior such as:
  • Showing an active charging session
  • Displaying consumed kWh
  • Updating session details over time
  • Handling the final CDR after charging is complete
Quite some Charge Point Operators do not support progress messages. This means that even if a charging session has started successfully, the final CDR may be the only confirmation that charging was actually ongoing. Take this into account when designing and developing your UI in production.
Progress messages for this VCP type are hard-coded in the testing environment. They may continue to arrive even if you send a stop charging request. You should expect:
  • Up to 10 progress messages
  • Consumed kWh values to update during the test flow
  • The final CDR to arrive automatically eventually
Busy-station behavior cannot be tested with this VCP type. Use the shared VCP without progress updates if you need to test busy-session scenarios.

​
Example EVSE IDs

Use the following EVSE IDs to test this VCP type:
  • DE*PWA*EALP22541X01617*01
  • DE*2GO*EMCD1520*1B*3
  • DE*EUL*EAUT0002*01
  • AT*HTB*EOCPI1*1
Use the checklist below before requesting production access or enabling the integration for real users.

​
Backend Integration

  • API token is stored securely
  • Requests include the correct Bearer token
  • User creation and lookup flows are implemented
  • Charging start and stop flows are implemented
  • Charging session polling is implemented
  • API errors are logged and handled safely

​
Frontend Integration

  • Payment method collection is implemented
  • Test payment methods are validated
  • Charging status is visible to the user
  • Stop charging action is available where applicable
  • Error messages are user-friendly
  • Loading and retry states are handled

​
Before go-live

Once your DEV testing is complete, contact the Cariqa team to coordinate production enablement. Before production access is enabled, Cariqa may review:
  • Your implemented user journey
  • Payment method setup
  • Charging session handling
  • Error handling behavior
  • Support readiness
  • Country-specific requirements, if applicable