CPO onboarding

How a charge point operator (CPO) connects to NetworkCore, and what happens on the wire once charging starts.

NetworkCore connects to your network as an eMSP over OCPI 2.2.1. Drivers reach your chargers through NetworkCore’s distribution partners; you keep operating your network as usual.

Before you start

You need an OCPI 2.2.1 endpoint reachable over HTTPS that implements these modules:

Step 1. Send us your connection details

Give your NetworkCore contact:

• Business name
• Versions URL, for example https://ocpi.example.com/versions. Must be HTTPS.
• Token A, a one-time credential NetworkCore uses to start the handshake. Share it through a secure channel, not plain email.

Step 2. Credentials handshake

NetworkCore registers you and runs the OCPI credentials handshake automatically:

sequenceDiagram
    participant NC as NetworkCore
    participant CPO as Your OCPI endpoint
    NC->>CPO: GET versions (Token A)
    CPO-->>NC: Supported versions, incl. 2.2.1
    NC->>CPO: GET 2.2.1 details (Token A)
    CPO-->>NC: Your module endpoints
    NC->>CPO: POST credentials (Token A), with Token B
    CPO-->>NC: Your credentials, with Token C

Your connection is Pending while the handshake runs. It then becomes Registered, or Failed with a reason we share with you. Every response in the handshake must carry OCPI status_code: 1000, and your version details must advertise a credentials endpoint.

You may call NetworkCore with Token B as soon as you receive it, even before your credentials response returns.

Step 3. Authentication

All OCPI calls use the standard header, with the token Base64-encoded:

Authorization: Token <base64 token>

• You call NetworkCore with Token B.
• NetworkCore calls you with Token C.

Requests and responses carry X-Request-ID and X-Correlation-ID. NetworkCore echoes yours back, or generates one if you did not send it.

Step 4. Locations and tariffs

• Locations are pulled from your locations endpoint.
• Tariffs are pulled from your tariffs endpoint every hour. To publish a change sooner, push it to NetworkCore with PUT /2.2.1/tariffs/{country_code}/{party_id}/{tariff_id}.

List endpoints must support OCPI pagination: NetworkCore follows Link: <...>; rel="next" until the last page. Always set last_updated; NetworkCore keeps the newest version of each tariff.

Charging flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant NC as NetworkCore
    participant CPO as Your OCPI endpoint
    NC->>CPO: PUT tokens/{country}/{party}/{uid}
    NC->>CPO: POST commands/START_SESSION (response_url, authorization_reference)
    CPO-->>NC: ACCEPTED
    CPO->>NC: POST response_url with command result
    CPO->>NC: POST tokens/{uid}/authorize
    NC-->>CPO: ALLOWED
    CPO->>NC: PUT/PATCH sessions/{country}/{party}/{session_id}
    NC->>CPO: POST commands/STOP_SESSION (session_id)
    CPO-->>NC: ACCEPTED
    CPO->>NC: POST response_url with command result
    CPO->>NC: POST cdrs

1. Driver token. Before a driver’s first charge on your network, NetworkCore pushes their token to your tokens endpoint. Tokens are type APP_USER with whitelist: NEVER, so authorize each charge in real time against NetworkCore.
2. Start. NetworkCore sends START_SESSION with a response_url and an authorization_reference. Answer ACCEPTED synchronously, then post the final result to the response_url.
3. Authorize. Call POST /2.2.1/tokens/{uid}/authorize. NetworkCore answers ALLOWED or BLOCKED, or 2004 for an unknown token.
4. Session updates. Push the session with PUT and keep it current with PATCH.
5. Stop. NetworkCore sends STOP_SESSION with your session id. Answer and post the result the same way as for start.
6. CDR. Post the charge detail record to POST /2.2.1/cdrs when the session ends.

Requirements

• Return authorization_reference unchanged on every session and CDR. NetworkCore uses it to match your records to the charge that was started.
• Send command results within 10 minutes. After that, the command counts as timed out.
• Always set last_updated on sessions. Updates older than the stored version are ignored.
• CDR IDs are final. The first CDR received for an ID is kept, and a resend with the same ID does not replace it. Credit CDRs are held for manual review.
• Price CDRs with the published tariff. NetworkCore checks every CDR against the tariff in force when the session started and holds CDRs that drift from it.

NetworkCore OCPI endpoints

Base URL: https://ocpi.networkcore.org. Interactive reference: https://ocpi.networkcore.org/docs.

Every response follows the OCPI envelope: status_code, optional status_message, timestamp, and data.