> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.volteras.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Commands

## Introduction

We provide the ability to make commands to vehicles and other devices, such as start / stop charge, lock / unlock doors etc.

## How to send

Please see the:

* Individual commands endpoint documentation for details of how to send commands for each (e.g. [start charging](/api-reference/vehicle-command-executions/action-start-charging))
* See [list vehicle commands endpoint](/api-reference/vehicle-command-executions/list-vehicle-command-executions)
  and [get vehicle command endpoint](/api-reference/vehicle-command-executions/get-vehicle-command-execution) for details of
  how to check the status of send commands, as all commands are asynchronous (given that it can take time for the vehicle to
  process the command)
* Finally see the [webhooks documentation](https://docs.volteras.com/overview/webhooks) for details of command webhooks.

## Command behavior

* Commands are usually executed by the device within a few seconds, but sometimes it can take more time, depending on the OEM and device model.
* As a result, all commands are asynchronous, so after you have sent the command, you either need to poll the result in our API (see above) or listen to the command webhooks for updates.
* Only one pending command of each type can be in progress at any time for each device. For instance if there is a pending start charge command, you cannot send another until it resolves. This is to prevent errors from sending duplicate commands to the device.
* Whilst some commands can take a few minutes to execute, we timeout any that take longer than 5 minutes, so that you can then try again. For example, in rare cases, a device might receive a command but not respond.