| name | carsxe |
| description | Access the full suite of CarsXE vehicle data APIs — VIN decoding, license plate lookup, market value, vehicle history, safety recalls, lien/theft checks, OBD-II diagnostic code decoding, vehicle images, international VIN decoding, Year/Make/Model lookups, and plate/VIN OCR from images. Use this skill any time the user asks about a vehicle by VIN, plate, make/model, or OBD code. Also triggers for: "what's this car worth", "check for recalls", "vehicle history report", "decode this plate", "what does check engine code X mean", or any automotive data query. Always use this skill when working with CarsXE APIs — do not guess API behavior without it.
|
CarsXE Skill
CarsXE provides a REST API for comprehensive vehicle data. All endpoints are at
https://api.carsxe.com and require an API key passed as ?key=YOUR_API_KEY.
API Key setup: The user must have a CarsXE API key from https://api.carsxe.com/dashboard/developer.
If no key is configured, ask the user to provide it before making any API calls.
See references/api-reference.md for full endpoint details, parameters, and response formats.
Quick API Map
| User intent | Endpoint | Parameters |
|---|
| Decode a VIN / get specs | GET /specs | vin |
| Decode a license plate | GET /platedecoder | plate, country (required), state (optional) |
| Market value | GET /marketvalue | vin |
| Vehicle history report | GET /history | vin |
| Vehicle images | GET /images | make, model + optional filters |
| Safety recalls | GET /recalls | vin |
| Lien & theft check | GET /lientheft | vin |
| International VIN | GET /internationalvin | vin |
| Year/Make/Model lookup | GET /ymm | year, make, model, optional trim |
| OBD code diagnosis | GET /obd | code |
| VIN OCR from image | POST /vinocr | imageUrl in JSON body |
| Plate OCR from image | POST /platerecognition | imageUrl in JSON body |
Workflow
1. Authenticate
Always confirm or ask for the API key before making requests. The key is passed as a query param:
https://api.carsxe.com/specs?key=USER_API_KEY&vin=WBAFR7C57CC811956
2. Choose the right endpoint
Match the user's query to the table above. When context is ambiguous:
- VIN provided → prefer
/specs first, then chain to other endpoints as needed
- Plate provided → use
/platedecoder to resolve VIN, then chain if needed
- Make/Model/Year only → use
/ymm or /images
- OBD code (P/C/B/U + digits) → use
/obd
- Image URL provided → use
/vinocr or /platerecognition (POST)
3. Chain requests when helpful
A common power workflow: plate → VIN → specs + history + recalls in parallel.
Example: "Is this plate stolen and does it have open recalls?"
GET /platedecoder → extract VIN- In parallel:
GET /lientheft + GET /recalls
4. Present results
Format output clearly with sections per API call. Use Markdown tables or lists for specs,
highlight important findings (open recalls, theft records, salvage titles) prominently.
Error Handling
| HTTP Status | Meaning | Action |
|---|
401 / invalid key | Bad or missing API key | Ask user to check their key |
404 / no results | VIN/plate not found in database | Inform user, suggest double-checking |
| 429 | Rate limit exceeded | Wait and retry, inform user |
| 5xx | Server error | Retry once, then report error |
Always check the error field in JSON responses — CarsXE sometimes returns HTTP 200 with an error body.
Examples
"What are the specs for VIN WBAFR7C57CC811956?"
→ GET https://api.carsxe.com/specs?key=KEY&vin=WBAFR7C57CC811956
"Decode California plate 7XER187"
→ GET https://api.carsxe.com/platedecoder?key=KEY&plate=7XER187&state=CA&country=US
"What's my car worth? VIN WBAFR7C57CC811956"
→ GET https://api.carsxe.com/marketvalue?key=KEY&vin=WBAFR7C57CC811956
"Does this car have any recalls? 1C4JJXR64PW696340"
→ GET https://api.carsxe.com/recalls?key=KEY&vin=1C4JJXR64PW696340
"My check engine light shows P0300"
→ GET https://api.carsxe.com/obd?key=KEY&code=P0300
"Extract the VIN from this photo: https://example.com/vin.jpg"
→ POST https://api.carsxe.com/vinocr?key=KEY with body {"imageUrl":"https://example.com/vin.jpg"}
Reference Files
references/api-reference.md — Full parameter lists, response field descriptions, and edge cases for all 11 endpoints. Read this when you need exact field names or want to use optional filters.
