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Smartcar Connect is the starting point for connecting vehicles to your application. It uses Smartcar’s patented and secure OAuth 2.0 flow to let vehicle owners grant your app access to their car data and control features.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have configured your Smartcar application in the Smartcar Dashboard. You will need:
  • Your application’s Client ID and Client Secret
  • A valid redirect_uri for your application, if you use the Authorization Code flow (response_type=code)
  • The vehicle data you want to access (e.g., odometer, location, etc.)
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Step 1: Launch Smartcar Connect

Direct your users to the Smartcar Connect URL. This can be done using the Smartcar SDK for your platform (web, iOS, or Android) or copying the URL from the Smartcar Dashboard. The user will:
  • Select their vehicle brand
  • Log in with their connected services account
  • Review and approve the requested permissions
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Step 2: Handle the Connect Response

After the user authorizes access, Smartcar will redirect them back to your application using the default redirect_uri you provided in your app configuration. The user_id query parameter will be needed for vehicle api requests. Read more about Connect redirect URL parameters here.The authorization code applies to the Authorization Code flow (response_type=code). If you launched Connect with response_type=none, no code is returned. You can still set a redirect_uri to bring the user back to your application; if you don’t, the flow ends on a Smartcar-hosted completion page. You can look up the new connection with the user_id returned in the redirect or the external_id you provided at the /connections endpoint.
Vehicle owners may occasionally need to re-authenticate due to OEM platform migrations, credential changes, or permission updates. Build your integration to handle these scenarios gracefully. See Handle Re-authentication for implementation guidance.

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What’s Next