Special commands may be sent to devices to perform specific actions. Commands are usually issued as part of device management activities such as initiating app updates or rebooting a device. Commands are sent to the device immediately when issued or they can be scheduled for a one-time execution at a future date.
How are commands different than configurations?
- Commands are different than device configuration in that the command happens one time at the time the command is sent. Commands require the device be online to receive the command. This differs from configuration options in that configuration options are saved in the cloud and delivered to the device when it comes online. Configurations define how the device should behave normally vs one time actions of a command.
Commands may be sent to one or more devices via a deviceQuery parameter to the sendDeviceCommands request. Note the "command" options in the API doc for supported commands.
Sending a command via the API will result in a jobTraceId. Issue the jobTraceStatus request for information about the job. Devices that are offline or otherwise not available to receive the command will be listed under the error section of the jobTraceStatus response. Note that if a device is not listed under errors it does not guarantee that the command was received and the action executed. To determine if the action was executed it may be necessary to issue a separate command such as device or deviceReports.