EV Charging API for Developers

Integration Options

REST API

Standard RESTful JSON API at /api/v1/. Search stations by location, city, state, network, or connector type. Interactive docs (Swagger UI) | API Reference (ReDoc)

MCP Server

Model Context Protocol server for Claude, Cursor, Gemini, and compatible AI agents. Endpoint: https://chargingnear.me/api/mcp. Tools: search_stations, get_nearest_stations, get_station_details, get_city_charging_stats, get_state_charging_stats, find_stations_on_route.

GeoJSON Feed

Full station catalog as GeoJSON at /api/v1/stations.geojson. Supports bbox filtering for efficient map tile loading.

ChatGPT Plugin

OpenAI-compatible plugin manifest at /.well-known/ai-plugin.json. Lets ChatGPT query station data conversationally.

Reliability Index

Machine-readable EV charging reliability rankings at /api/v1/reliability. Returns networks and states ranked by 30-day reliability with methodology, last-updated timestamp, and a 30-day window. Add ?state=CA to rank a state's cities. Powers the public EV Charging Reliability Index.

Demand Graph (Commercial)

Anonymized, geohash-bucketed EV charger-search demand aggregate at /api/v1/demand/aggregate. Each cell returns search volume, unmet-search counts, distinct sessions, and a 0–100 demand_score for site selection and market-gap analysis. Counts only — no PII. Commercially licensed (not CC-BY-4.0) and available on paid API tiers only (Starter and up); anonymous and free-tier callers get a 403. Filter with ?window=30&unmet=true&bbox=south,west,north,east. See the EV charging demand data product page and pricing.

OpenAPI Specification

Machine-readable API spec at /.well-known/openapi.json (OpenAPI 3.1).

Authentication

The API supports both unauthenticated and authenticated requests:

• No key required: 100 requests/day per IP
• Free API key: 100 requests/day (authenticated)
• Starter ($99/mo): 5,000 requests/day
• Pro ($295/mo): 25,000 requests/day
• Scale ($595/mo): 1,000,000 requests/day
• Enterprise ($2,495+/mo): 10,000,000 requests/day + SLA

Commercial datasets: reliability scores, real-time availability, and the Demand Graph aggregate (/api/v1/demand/aggregate) are proprietary and licensed separately from the CC-BY-4.0 base directory. They ship only on paid tiers (Starter and above); anonymous and free-tier callers receive a 403 commercial_license_required.

Pass your API key as Authorization: Bearer cnm_your_key_here in the request header.

Every /api/v1/* response includes X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, and X-RateLimit-Reset headers so you always know where you stand. To check your bucket without burning a 429, call GET /api/v1/me/usage with your API key, or use the Usage panel on the /developers page.

Preview the Demand Graph

Evaluate the dataset before you buy. Below is a fixed, representative sample of the GET /api/v1/demand/aggregate response (window = 30 days). These are illustrative counts, not the live feed, but the shape is identical: each cell carries a geohash, search volume, unmet-search count, distinct sessions, and a 0–100 demand_score.

Want a live slice without writing code? Fetch the sample JSON — no API key required.

Commercial license: the Demand Graph aggregate is proprietary and not covered by CC-BY-4.0. The live feed is available on any paid API tier (Starter and up); anonymous and free-tier keys receive a 403. See pricing →

Quick Start Examples

cURL — Search stations in San Francisco

curl "https://chargingnear.me/api/v1/stations?city=San+Francisco&state=CA&limit=5"

cURL — Find nearest stations

curl "https://chargingnear.me/api/v1/stations/nearest?lat=37.7749&lng=-122.4194&radius_mi=5"

JavaScript (fetch)

const response = await fetch(
  "https://chargingnear.me/api/v1/stations?city=Austin&state=TX&limit=10",
  { headers: { Authorization: "Bearer cnm_your_key" } }
);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.stations);

Python (requests)

import requests

resp = requests.get(
    "https://chargingnear.me/api/v1/stations",
    params={"city": "Denver", "state": "CO", "limit": 10},
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer cnm_your_key"}
)
stations = resp.json()["stations"]

MCP Configuration (Claude / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chargingnearme": {
      "url": "https://chargingnear.me/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

MCP Tools

• search_stations — Search by city, state, network, or connector type
• get_nearest_stations — Find stations nearest to coordinates
• get_station_details — Full details for a specific station by ID
• get_city_charging_stats — City-level charging statistics
• get_state_charging_stats — State-level charging statistics
• find_stations_on_route — Find chargers along a multi-waypoint route

Data & Attribution

Station data is sourced from the US Department of Energy NREL Alternative Fuel Stations database and enriched with Google Places, OpenChargeMap, and OpenStreetMap data. Licensed under CC-BY-4.0.

When using our data, please include a link to chargingnear.me and credit "US Department of Energy NREL" as the upstream source.