Devices and capabilities

Devices

Link and the SDK API name every device as { type, id }. The only type today is charger, and id is the charger’s id in the SDK API. Ignore types you don’t know: later SDK releases and API versions may add some, such as meters.

Capabilities

Every charger from List chargers and Get a charger has capabilities: what Plugchoice can do for it.

"capabilities": {
  "network_setup": { "capable": true, "needs": ["ble"] },
  "electrical_setup": { "capable": true, "needs": [] },
  "reconnect": { "capable": true, "needs": [] }
}

Capability	Action	`capable` when
`network_setup`	`network`	Link can set up the network of the charger’s brand and model
`electrical_setup`	`setup`	Plugchoice can apply an electrical setup to the charger’s model
`reconnect`	`reconnect`	Always

needs lists what the phone or browser must be able to do for it. It’s empty when the capability isn’t capable.
More capabilities may be added. Ignore the ones you don’t know.
Capabilities follow the hosted flow: when Link learns a new brand or model, its chargers become capable without a release of your app.

Transports

needs holds transports: what the phone or browser must be able to do.

Transport	What it is
`wifi`	Join a charger’s own Wi-Fi hotspot
`http`	Talk HTTP and WebSocket to a device on the local network
`socket`	Talk raw TCP and UDP to a device on the local network
`lan`	Find devices on the home network
`ble`	Talk to a charger over Bluetooth

The SDK tells you which ones this phone and your app have, without asking for a permission:

Platform	Call	Notes
iOS	`Plugchoice.transports()`	`wifi`, `http`, `socket` always. `lan` when your Info.plist declares a service type in `NSBonjourServices`. `ble` on a device with Bluetooth (not the simulator) when your Info.plist has `NSBluetoothAlwaysUsageDescription`.
Android	`Plugchoice.transports(context)`	`http`, `socket`, `lan` always; `wifi` on a device with Wi-Fi. `ble` on a device with Bluetooth when your app kept the SDK’s Bluetooth permissions.
React Native	`await getTransports()`	As the native platform. Rejects where the SDK isn’t in the build, such as Expo Go.
A browser	—	None, except `ble` in Chrome and Edge (Web Bluetooth: check `navigator.bluetooth`).

Show a button only where it works

Offer an action when the charger is capable of it and the phone has everything it needs:

type Capability = { capable: boolean; needs: string[] };

function isCapableHere(capability: Capability | undefined, transports: string[]): boolean {
  return !!capability?.capable && capability.needs.every((need) => transports.includes(need));
}

// Show "Network settings" for this charger?
const charger = await yourServer.getCharger(chargerId); // from GET /sdk/v1/chargers/{id}
const showNetworkSettings = isCapableHere(charger.capabilities.network_setup, await getTransports());

struct Capability: Decodable { let capable: Bool; let needs: [String] }

func isCapableHere(_ capability: Capability?) -> Bool {
    guard let capability, capability.capable else { return false }
    let transports = Set(Plugchoice.transports())
    return capability.needs.allSatisfy(transports.contains)
}

data class Capability(val capable: Boolean, val needs: List<String>)

fun isCapableHere(capability: Capability?, context: Context): Boolean {
    if (capability == null || !capability.capable) return false
    val transports = Plugchoice.transports(context)
    return capability.needs.all { it in transports }
}

Your server reads capabilities with its own credentials and passes them to your app; your app checks the transports. If your app opens an action the charger can’t do here anyway, Link shows what it can do instead. See Actions.

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Platforms

Concepts

Chargers

API reference

Errors

Resources

Devices and capabilities

Devices

Capabilities

Transports

Show a button only where it works

​Devices

​Capabilities

​Transports

​Show a button only where it works

Devices

Capabilities

Transports

Show a button only where it works