Introduction

The AnchorRide API lets you fetch shipping rates and create prepaid deliveries through Okada's own network of active riders. Every order is a real delivery — the same rider pool that handles ordinary Okada rides.

The base URL for all API requests is:

https://api.anchorride.name.ng/api/anchorride/v1

All request and response bodies are JSON. All amounts are in Nigerian Naira (NGN).

Authentication

Every request to the API is authenticated with your API key, sent as a Bearer token in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer ar_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Get your API key from your dashboard after signing up. Keys are only ever shown once, at the moment they're created — store it somewhere safe.

Sandbox mode

Every API key comes in two flavors: ar_live_... keys create real, billed deliveries. ar_test_... keys let you build and test your integration risk-free — orders created with a test key skip the wallet debit entirely and are never dispatched to a real driver.

You can generate a test key from your dashboard alongside your live keys.

Simulating status changes

Since a test order never reaches a real driver, use this endpoint to manually advance it through the delivery lifecycle — it fires the exact same webhook and email notifications a real status change would, so you can test your integration end to end. Only available for orders created with a test key.

Request body

Example request

POST /orders/7/simulate
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "status": "driver_en_route"
}

Get a rate

Returns a real fare quote for a pickup and dropoff, based on actual road distance — the exact same fare an order created with these coordinates will be charged.

Request body

Example request

POST /rates
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "pickup": { "latitude": 7.398657, "longitude": 3.9495069 },
  "dropoff": { "latitude": 7.417546, "longitude": 3.964764 }
}

Example response

200 OK

{
  "quoteId": "e41decb7-6ecb-43a7-bd01-37cacb617e47",
  "quoteExpiresInSeconds": 300,
  "fare": 1233,
  "currency": "NGN",
  "distanceKm": 4.88,
  "durationMin": 11
}

Create an order

Creates a real delivery and debits the fare from your wallet balance immediately. There's no separate confirmation step — call /rates first to see the fare, then call this endpoint to actually book it at that price.

Headers

Request body

Example request

POST /orders
Content-Type: application/json
Idempotency-Key: order-1001-attempt-1

{
  "pickup": { "latitude": 7.398657, "longitude": 3.9495069 },
  "dropoff": { "latitude": 7.417546, "longitude": 3.964764 },
  "quoteId": "e41decb7-6ecb-43a7-bd01-37cacb617e47",
  "pickupLabel": "Warehouse, Iwo Road",
  "dropoffLabel": "12 Bodija Estate",
  "externalReference": "ORDER-1001"
}

Example response

201 Created

{
  "orderId": 2,
  "rideId": 66,
  "externalReference": "ORDER-1001",
  "status": "requested",
  "fare": 1233,
  "currency": "NGN",
  "distanceKm": 4.88,
  "dropoffPin": "2360"
}

Insufficient balance

If your wallet balance doesn't cover the fare, the order is not created and no charge occurs:

402 Payment Required

{
  "message": "Insufficient wallet balance.",
  "required": 1233,
  "available": 500
}

Get order status

Looks up an order by its AnchorRide order ID (the orderId returned when you created it).

Example response

200 OK

{
  "orderId": 2,
  "externalReference": "ORDER-1001",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "fare": 1233,
  "distanceKm": 4.88,
  "createdAt": "2026-08-23T06:15:09.367Z"
}

Possible status values

List orders

Returns your orders, most recent first, with pagination and optional status filtering.

Query parameters

Example request

GET /orders?limit=20&offset=0&status=completed

Example response

200 OK

{
  "orders": [
    {
      "orderId": 6,
      "externalReference": "ORDER-1006",
      "status": "completed",
      "fare": 1295,
      "distanceKm": 4.88,
      "createdAt": "2026-08-30T09:12:41.001Z"
    }
  ],
  "pagination": {
    "total": 14,
    "limit": 20,
    "offset": 0,
    "hasMore": false
  }
}

Cancel an order

Cancels an order, provided a driver hasn't already picked up the package. Whether you're refunded depends on how far along the delivery is:

Orders that are in_progress, completed, or already cancelled can't be cancelled through this endpoint.

Example response

200 OK

{
  "orderId": 6,
  "status": "cancelled",
  "refunded": true,
  "refundAmount": 1295
}

Order can't be cancelled

409 Conflict

{
  "error": "Order cannot be cancelled",
  "currentStatus": "in_progress",
  "message": "Order has progressed past the point where cancellation is allowed"
}

Order status events

Register a webhook URL from your dashboard to be notified automatically whenever one of your orders changes status, instead of polling GET /orders/:id.

Event types

Payload

POST https://your-server.com/your-webhook-path
Content-Type: application/json
X-AnchorRide-Signature: 8f2a91c3...

{
  "event": "order.picked_up",
  "orderId": 2,
  "externalReference": "ORDER-1001",
  "status": "in_progress",
  "timestamp": "2026-08-23T06:57:14.221Z"
}

Your endpoint should respond with any 2xx status to acknowledge receipt. Deliveries are logged in your dashboard so you can see what was sent and whether it succeeded.

Verifying signatures

Every webhook request includes an X-AnchorRide-Signature header — an HMAC-SHA256 hash of the raw request body, signed with your webhook secret (shown once when you set your webhook URL). Verify it to confirm a request genuinely came from AnchorRide.

Node.js example

const crypto = require("crypto");

function verifySignature(rawBody, signature, secret) {
  const expected = crypto
    .createHmac("sha256", secret)
    .update(rawBody)
    .digest("hex");
  return signature === expected;
}

Errors

Errors return a JSON body with a message field describing what went wrong.