Installation

What you receive

A standard Windows customer package contains the signed application binaries, built-in profiles, configuration templates, protocol assets, documentation, and—when licensed—the NI VeriStand integration components. It does not contain the development repository.

Typical installed layout:

C:\Program Files\ChargeLink Native\
  bin\chargelink.exe
  bin\chargelinkd.exe
  bin\ChargeLink.Veristand.NativeClientBroker.exe
  bin\ChargeLink.Veristand.OperatorLauncher.exe
  bin\ChargeLink.Veristand.NiBroker.exe
  config\
  profiles\builtin\
  docs\

Your package can omit components not included in your license. Do not copy third-party NI assemblies into the ChargeLink folder; configure the gateway to use the version-matched NI ClientAPI installed with VeriStand.

Prerequisites

- Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit.

- Administrator rights for installation and Windows Firewall changes.

- IPv6 enabled on the interface used for ISO 15118 communication.

- A valid ChargeLink license file or activation code.

- For NI VeriStand integration: NI VeriStand 2024, its Gateway/ClientAPI components, and a compatible Windows execution target.

Install

1. Sign in with an administrator account.
2. Close older ChargeLink processes.
3. Run the supplied installer.
4. Keep the default installation directory unless your IT policy requires another location.
5. Select the features included in your order: Core Runtime, EVSE, EVCC, ATS, HIL, NI VeriStand Native Gateway, REST/OPC UA, or Enterprise Services.
6. Allow the installer to add the bin directory to the system PATH.
7. Finish the installation and open a new PowerShell window.

Verify the binary

chargelink --version
chargelink --help
chargelink doctor --json

A healthy installation returns the version, the command catalogue, and a JSON diagnostic result. Save the diagnostic output for support:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force C:\ChargeLinkData\support | Out-Null
chargelink doctor --json | Out-File -Encoding utf8 C:\ChargeLinkData\support\doctor.json

Create customer data directories

Do not store runtime data under Program Files.

$CLDATA = 'C:\ChargeLinkData'
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force `
  "$CLDATA\runtime", `
  "$CLDATA\artifacts", `
  "$CLDATA\profiles", `
  "$CLDATA\licenses", `
  "$CLDATA\logs", `
  "$CLDATA\veristand" | Out-Null

Activate a license

Online or file-based activation:

chargelink license activate --file C:\ChargeLinkData\licenses\customer.cllic --json
chargelink license verify --file C:\ChargeLinkData\licenses\customer.cllic --json

For an offline system:

chargelink license request-offline `
  --customer-id '<CUSTOMER_ID>' `
  --output C:\ChargeLinkData\licenses\offline-request.json `
  --json

Transfer the request to your licensing contact. When the issued .cllic file is returned, copy it to C:\ChargeLinkData\licenses and activate it as shown above.

Set reusable PowerShell variables

$env:CHARGELINK_LICENSE = 'C:\ChargeLinkData\licenses\customer.cllic'
$env:CHARGELINK_RUNTIME_ROOT = 'C:\ChargeLinkData\runtime'
$env:CHARGELINK_ARTIFACT_ROOT = 'C:\ChargeLinkData\artifacts'

ChargeLink global options can always override these locations:

chargelink `
  --license $env:CHARGELINK_LICENSE `
  --runtime-root $env:CHARGELINK_RUNTIME_ROOT `
  --artifact-root $env:CHARGELINK_ARTIFACT_ROOT `
  doctor --json

Firewall ports

Open only the ports required by your topology:

Example for a local gRPC server:

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'ChargeLink gRPC 50051' `
  -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 50051 -Action Allow

Upgrade

1. Export or back up C:\ChargeLinkData.
2. Stop sessions and services.
3. Install the new package over the existing version.
4. Open a new PowerShell window.
5. Run chargelink --version, chargelink license verify, and chargelink doctor --json.
6. Run your normal smoke recipe before reconnecting a physical test bench.