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Get Fleet Data in 10 Minutes

Connect to telematics providers and start retrieving fleet data with just a few API calls

This guide walks you through the complete integration flow—from authenticating with the API to inviting fleets and retrieving their telematics data. By the end, you’ll have successfully connected a fleet and made your first data request.

What You’ll Build: A working integration that authenticates, invites a fleet, and retrieves live vehicle location data—all in under 10 minutes.

Integration Steps

1

Authenticate with the API

Exchange your Client ID and Secret for an access token to authorize your API requests.

2

Create a Fleet Invitation

Generate a secure invitation link to connect a fleet’s telematics provider to your organization.

3

Retrieve Fleet Data

Make API calls to access real-time vehicle locations and other telematics data from your connected fleet.

Prerequisites: You’ll need your Client ID and Client Secret from the Catena team. Don’t have credentials yet? Get access in minutes.

Step 1: Authenticate with the API

Before making any API requests, you need to obtain an access token using your Client ID and Secret. This token authorizes all subsequent requests to the Catena API.

Request an Access Token

Replace <string> with your actual Client ID and Client Secret:

Request
curl -X POST \
  --url https://auth.catenatelematics.com/realms/catena/protocol/openid-connect/token \
  --data grant_type=client_credentials \
  --data 'client_id=<string>' \
  --data 'client_secret=<string>'

Authentication Response

The response includes your access_token, which you’ll use in the Authorization header for all API requests:

Response
{
  "access_token": "eyJhbGciOiJIUzUxMiIsInR5cCIgOiAiS...",
  "expires_in": 123,
  "refresh_expires_in": 123,
  "token_type": "Bearer",
  "session_state": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "not-before-policy": 0,
  "scope": "fleet:read share-agreement:read telematics:read"
}

Store your token securely: The access_token expires after the time specified in expires_in (in seconds).

API Reference: Authentication

View complete authentication documentation including token refresh and scope management.

Step 2: Create a Fleet Invitation

Fleet invitations are the gateway for fleets to connect their telematics providers to your organization. Each invitation generates a unique, secure link that you can share with the fleet.

Send an Invitation Request

Include a fleet_ref to track this fleet using your internal identifier:

Request
curl -X POST \
  --url https://api.catenatelematics.com/v2/orgs/invitations \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  -H 'accept: application/json' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
  "fleet_ref": "<your internal fleet id>",
  "success_redirect_url": "https://yourdomain.com/onboarding/success"
}'

Invitation Response

The response includes the magic_link that you’ll share with the fleet:

Response
{
  "id": "3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6",
  "created_at": "2025-11-28T13:14:05.223Z",
  "magic_link": "https://connect.catenatelematics.com/?invite=3fa85f64-5717-4562-b3fc-2c963f66afa6",
  "expires_at": "2025-11-29T13:14:05.223Z",
  "expires_in_hours": 24,
  "status": "active",
  "partner_provided_fleet_name": null,
  "accepted_at": null,
  "pre_registration_access_token": null,
  "pre_registration_refresh_token": null,
  "success_redirect_url": "https://yourdomain.com/onboarding/success",
  "failure_redirect_url": null,
  "limit_tsps": [],
  "exclude_tsps": [],
  "fleet_id": null,
  "partner_slug": "<your organization slug>",
  "partner_id": "123e4567-e89b-12d3-a456-426614174000",
  "decline_reason": null,
  "declined_at": null,
  "fleet_ref": "<your internal fleet id>"
}

Key Response Fields:

  • magic_link: The unique URL to send to the fleet for connecting their telematics provider
  • expires_in_hours: Invitations are valid for 24 hours by default
  • fleet_ref: Your internal identifier for tracking this fleet in your system
  • status: Track invitation state (active, accepted, expired, or declined)
  • success_redirect_url: The URL where fleets will be redirected after successfully completing the onboarding process

Delivering the Invitation: You can embed the magic_link in your product flow, send it via email, or share it through any communication channel. Configure success_redirect_url to return fleets to your application after they complete the connection process.

API Reference: Create Invitation

Explore advanced invitation options including TSP filtering, custom redirect URLs, and pre-registration tokens.

Step 3: Fleet Onboarding Experience

When a fleet clicks the invitation link, they enter the Catena Connect onboarding flow. This white-labeled experience can be customized to match your brand.

The Connection Process

Animated walkthrough of fleet onboarding process showing acceptance, TSP selection, authentication, and successful connection
Fleet onboarding flow: Accept invitation → Select TSP → Authenticate → Connection active

The fleet completes these steps in the Catena Connect interface:

  1. Review and Accept - The fleet reviews the data sharing agreement and accepts the invitation
  2. Select Provider - Choose their telematics service provider from our supported options
  3. Authenticate - Securely input their TSP credentials or API key
  4. Connection Active - Catena begins ingesting their telematics data in real-time
  5. Optional - Connect additional TSPs or return to your application via success_redirect_url

Catena currently supports 288 ELD providers. See the list.

Data Available Immediately: Once the connection is active, telematics data begins flowing through the Catena API within minutes. You can start retrieving vehicle locations, driver information, and other data right away.

Step 4: Retrieve Fleet Data

Now that a fleet is connected, you can access their telematics data through the Catena API. Let’s start by retrieving real-time vehicle locations.

Request Vehicle Locations

Use your access token to retrieve vehicle location data from all connected fleets:

Request
curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.catenatelematics.com/v2/telematics/vehicle-locations \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>'

Vehicle Locations Response

The response returns an array of vehicle location records with comprehensive telemetry data:

Response
{
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a",
      "fleet_id": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a",
      "source_name": "eroad",
      "source_id": "<string>",
      "occurred_at": "2023-11-07T05:31:56Z",
      "vehicle_id": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a",
      "driver_id": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a",
      "co_driver_id": "3c90c3cc-0d44-4b50-8888-8dd25736052a",
      "location": {
        "type": "<string>",
        "coordinates": [
          "123.45",
          "67.89"
        ]
      },
      "h3_index_11": 123,
      "speed": 123,
      "odometer": 123,
      "fuel_level": 123,
      "engine_hours": 123,
      "oil_pressure": 123,
      "coolant_temperature": 123
    }
  ],
  "current_page": "<string>",
  "current_page_backwards": "<string>",
  "previous_page": "<string>",
  "next_page": "<string>"
}

Understanding the Response:

  • fleet_id: Catena’s unique identifier for the fleet
  • source_name: The telematics provider (e.g., Samsara, Geotab, Motive)
  • location.coordinates: GeoJSON format [longitude, latitude]
  • occurred_at: ISO 8601 timestamp when the location was recorded
  • Pagination: Use next_page and previous_page tokens to navigate through results

Congratulations! You’ve successfully integrated with the Catena Telematics API.

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