Get tracking events · Bob Go API

Returns the tracking history for a shipment: every checkpoint the courier has reported, plus the shipment's current status and the courier's branding.

This is the pull side of tracking. If you want the events as they happen rather than on a schedule, subscribe to the tracking/updated webhook, which delivers the same object, so the same parsing code handles both.

Unlike every other endpoint, this one is not tied to your account: it looks the tracking reference up across Bob Go, the way the public tracking page does.

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`tracking_reference`	string	yes	Bob Go's tracking reference for the shipment.

There is no paging: every checkpoint comes back, and limit and offset are ignored.

Response

The response is an array, even when you asked for one tracking reference. Take the first element.

See the example response.

Field	Notes
`status`	The shipment's current tracking status. Use this for display.
`status_friendly`	The same status, written for a human.
`checkpoints`	Every event the courier reported, most recently received first. That is usually, but not always, the order they happened in, so sort on `time` if the order matters.
`grouped_checkpoints`	The same events grouped by day and sorted by `time`, for rendering a timeline.
`shipment_movement_events`	The five milestone timestamps, extracted from the checkpoints, and empty until reached. Usually the only part you need.
`courier_`, `merchant_`, `show_branding`	For rendering a tracking page. `show_branding` reflects the merchant's setting.
`last_checkpoint_time`	When the courier last reported anything.
`shipment_estimated_delivery_date_from` / `_to`	The estimated window, as full timestamps. Empty once the shipment is delivered or otherwise finished, and while it waits at a pickup point.

id and custom_order_name are still returned but are due to be discontinued. Key on shipment_tracking_reference and channel_order_number instead.

Three things to expect from real courier data:

Fields are often blank. country, zone, city and zip on a checkpoint are always empty, and location and message depend entirely on what the courier sends. Render what is there rather than requiring it.
Times are strings, not RFC 3339, and not all in one zone. Checkpoint time and the estimated delivery window are South African time (2023-06-05 14:15:41+02:00), and time_string is only the time of day. last_checkpoint_time, shipment_time_created and the shipment_movement_events are UTC (+00:00). Parse the offset rather than assuming one.
Errors have their own shape. message holds a JSON string rather than text. Parse it, and the error is in data.message and data.code. A tracking reference that does not exist comes back as a 500.

Pickup point shipments carry extra fields, collection_location, delivery_location, pickup_point_provider_name and the show_pickup_point_details flags, for rendering locker collection details.

The shipment object, with the collection and delivery contact details, is only included in the tracking/updated webhook payload. It is not returned here.