March 26, 2019

How to unlock your car with 4 lines of code

Charlotte Kosche

Sr. Content Writer

To unlock your car, you usually need one thing: keys. So, what if all you needed was a laptop, an internet connection, and basic knowledge of a programming language?

Welcome to Smartcar’s world

At Smartcar, we’re making exactly that possible. Our API makes it easy for app developers to locate, unlock, and read data from vehicles using nothing but simple HTTP requests. This is how it works:

  1. Sign up for a free account on our dashboard. Here you can view your client ID and client secret, and configure a redirect URI.
  2. Build a simple mobile or web app. Check out our getting started guide for help, and don’t forget to integrate a “Connect my car” button into your app.
  3. Run the app from your terminal. Click the “Connect my car” button, select your vehicle brand, and log in with your car's credentials. Those are the email and password you use to log into your Tesla app or Volkswagen Car-Net app.
  4. Now, you’re only 4 lines away from unlocking your car! This is how your request will look like in Node.js:

Easy, right? Don’t forget to lock your car back up when you’re done! 🔑

Now it’s your turn. Head to our docs to get started, and feel free to give us a shout at [email protected] with any questions or feedback!

Everything you need to know about car APIs. Delivered monthly.

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