RPC
ThingsBoard supports both server-initiated and device-initiated RPC over CoAP. For a full explanation of the RPC model, see Command & Control.
See Getting Connected for credential types and connection details.
Server-Side RPC
Section titled “Server-Side RPC”The device subscribes to commands using the CoAP Observe option. When a server-side RPC is triggered (from the Rule Engine, REST API, or a dashboard widget), ThingsBoard pushes it to the observing client.
Subscribe to Commands
Section titled “Subscribe to Commands”| Credential type | URL |
|---|---|
| Access Token | coap(s)://THINGSBOARD_HOST/api/v1/$ACCESS_TOKEN/rpc |
| X.509 Certificate | coaps://THINGSBOARD_HOST/api/v1/rpc |
Access Token:
coap-client -v 6 -m GET -s 60 "coap://$THINGSBOARD_HOST:5683/api/v1/$ACCESS_TOKEN/rpc"X.509 Certificate:
coap-client-openssl -v 6 -c cert.pem -j key.pem -m GET -s 60 "coaps://$THINGSBOARD_HOST/api/v1/rpc"You subscribe and observe for 60 seconds (-s 60). When a command arrives, the response body contains:
{ "id": 1, "method": "setGpio", "params": {"pin": 23, "value": 1}}| Field | Description |
|---|---|
id |
Integer request identifier — use this in the reply |
method |
RPC method name |
params |
Method parameters (arbitrary JSON) |
Send a Reply
Section titled “Send a Reply”The device sends a reply to a two-way server-side RPC call with a POST request:
| Credential type | URL |
|---|---|
| Access Token | coap(s)://THINGSBOARD_HOST/api/v1/$ACCESS_TOKEN/rpc/{id} |
| X.509 Certificate | coaps://THINGSBOARD_HOST/api/v1/rpc/{id} |
Access Token:
coap-client -v 6 -m POST -t "application/json" -e '{"result":"ok"}' "coap://$THINGSBOARD_HOST:5683/api/v1/$ACCESS_TOKEN/rpc/1"X.509 Certificate:
coap-client-openssl -v 6 -c cert.pem -j key.pem -m POST -t "application/json" -e '{"result":"ok"}' "coaps://$THINGSBOARD_HOST/api/v1/rpc/1"Replace 1 with the id value from the received command.
Client-Side RPC
Section titled “Client-Side RPC”The device initiates an RPC call to the server with a POST request:
| Credential type | URL |
|---|---|
| Access Token | coap(s)://THINGSBOARD_HOST/api/v1/$ACCESS_TOKEN/rpc |
| X.509 Certificate | coaps://THINGSBOARD_HOST/api/v1/rpc |
Access Token:
coap-client -v 6 -m POST -t "application/json" -e '{"method":"getTime","params":{}}' "coap://$THINGSBOARD_HOST:5683/api/v1/$ACCESS_TOKEN/rpc"X.509 Certificate:
coap-client-openssl -v 6 -c cert.pem -j key.pem -m POST -t "application/json" -e '{"method":"getTime","params":{}}' "coaps://$THINGSBOARD_HOST/api/v1/rpc"The Rule Engine processes the request and the response body contains the result returned by the RPC reply node:
{"time": "2026-01-01T12:00:00Z"}When the device profile payload type is set to Protobuf, the request and response use fixed schemas. See MQTT RPC for the Protobuf schemas.
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