CarsXE

Access the full suite of CarsXE vehicle data APIs — VIN decoding, license plate lookup, market value, vehicle history, safety recalls (VIN, year/make/model, or batch), lien/theft checks, OBD-II diagnostic code decoding, vehicle images, international VIN decoding, Year/Make/Model lookups, YMM options, ownership (Enterprise), 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", "any recalls on a 2023 Toyota Camry", "check recalls for this list of VINs", "what Toyota models were sold in 2023", "who is the registered owner", "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 at https://api.carsxe.com.

Detailed parameter notes for newer endpoints live in {baseDir}/references/.

API Key

The API key is injected as the CARSXE_KEY environment variable. Read it before making any request:

• Use process.env.CARSXE_KEY in Node.js
• Use $env:CARSXE_KEY in PowerShell
• Use $CARSXE_KEY in bash/zsh

If CARSXE_KEY is empty or missing, tell the user to run:

text

openclaw config set skills.entries.carsxe.env.CARSXE_KEY "cxe_live_YOUR_KEY"

Then restart the gateway.

Always append &source=openclaw to every request.

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Quick API Map

User intent	Endpoint	Method	Key Parameters
Decode a VIN / get specs	GET /specs	GET	vin, optional: deepdata, disableIntVINDecoding
Decode a license plate	GET /v2/platedecoder	GET	plate, country (required), state, district (optional)
Market value	GET /v2/marketvalue	GET	vin, optional: state, mileage, condition
Vehicle history report	GET /history	GET	vin
Vehicle images	GET /images	GET	make, model, optional: year, trim, color, angle, photoType, size, license, transparent
Safety recalls (VIN)	GET /v1/recalls	GET	vin
Safety recalls (YMM)	GET /v1/recalls-ymm	GET	year, make, model
Safety recalls (batch)	POST /v1/recalls-batch/submit	POST	JSON body: vins and/or csv / csvUrl; optional webhookUrl
Safety recalls (batch)	GET /v1/recalls-batch/status|results|download	GET	batchId
Lien & theft check	GET /v1/lien-theft	GET	vin
International VIN	GET /v1/international-vin-decoder	GET	vin
Year/Make/Model lookup	GET /v1/ymm	GET	year, make, model, optional: trim
YMM options (dropdowns)	GET /v1/ymm-options	GET	optional: dimension, year, make, model, trim
Ownership (Enterprise)	GET /v1/ownership/vin|person|address|zip	GET	VIN / name+address+zip / address+zip / zip; optional include
OBD code diagnosis	GET /obdcodesdecoder	GET	code
VIN OCR from image	POST /v1/vinocr	POST	JSON body: {"image": "<URL>"}
Plate OCR from image	POST /platerecognition	POST	JSON body: {"image": "<URL>"}
Validate API key	GET /v1/auth/validate	GET	key

Do not call usPlateDecoder or /v1/ownership/phone.

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Workflow

1. Build the request URL

Replace $CARSXE_KEY with the actual value of the CARSXE_KEY environment variable.

2. Choose the right endpoint

• VIN provided → /specs first, chain to other endpoints as needed
• Plate provided → /v2/platedecoder to resolve VIN, then chain if needed
• Make/Model/Year only → /v1/ymm for specs, /v1/ymm-options for dropdowns / "what years was X sold", /images for photos
• Recalls by VIN → /v1/recalls; by year/make/model (no VIN) → /v1/recalls-ymm; many VINs / fleet / CSV → /v1/recalls-batch/*
• Owner or resident lookup (Enterprise) → /v1/ownership/vin, /person, /address, or /zip
• OBD code (P/C/B/U + digits) → /obdcodesdecoder
• Image URL for VIN → POST /v1/vinocr with {"image": "<URL>"}
• Image URL for plate → POST /platerecognition with {"image": "<URL>"}

3. Chain requests when helpful

Example: "Is this plate stolen and does it have open recalls?"

1. GET /v2/platedecoder → extract VIN
2. In parallel: GET /v1/lien-theft + GET /v1/recalls

4. Present results

Format output clearly. Highlight important findings (open recalls, theft records, salvage titles) prominently.

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Error Handling

HTTP Status	Meaning	Action
401 / invalid key	Bad or missing API key	Tell user to set key via openclaw config set skills.entries.carsxe.env.CARSXE_KEY
404 / no results	VIN/plate not found	Inform user, suggest double-checking
404 / no_data	Ownership: no match	Nothing was billed. Say so clearly.
409	Batch still processing	Wait and re-check /v1/recalls-batch/status
429	Rate limit exceeded	Wait and retry
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.

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Examples (replace $CARSXE_KEY with actual env var value)

"What are the specs for VIN WBAFR7C57CC811956?" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/specs?key=$CARSXE_KEY&vin=WBAFR7C57CC811956&source=openclaw

"Decode California plate 7XER187" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/v2/platedecoder?key=$CARSXE_KEY&plate=7XER187&country=US&state=CA&source=openclaw

"What's my car worth? VIN WBAFR7C57CC811956, 45k miles, clean condition, California" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/v2/marketvalue?key=$CARSXE_KEY&vin=WBAFR7C57CC811956&state=CA&mileage=45000&condition=clean&source=openclaw

"Does this car have any recalls? 1C4JJXR64PW696340" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/recalls?key=$CARSXE_KEY&vin=1C4JJXR64PW696340&source=openclaw

"Any recalls on a 2023 Toyota Camry?" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/recalls-ymm?key=$CARSXE_KEY&year=2023&make=Toyota&model=Camry&source=openclaw

"Check recalls for this list of VINs" → Submit: POST https://api.carsxe.com/v1/recalls-batch/submit?key=$CARSXE_KEY&source=openclaw with Content-Type: application/json and body {"vins":["1HGBH41JXMN109186","5YJSA1E26HF000001"]} → Status: GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/recalls-batch/status?key=$CARSXE_KEY&batchId=brb_mnablbn7_wvbaqv&source=openclaw → Results: GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/recalls-batch/results?key=$CARSXE_KEY&batchId=brb_mnablbn7_wvbaqv&source=openclaw → Download CSV: GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/recalls-batch/download?key=$CARSXE_KEY&batchId=brb_mnablbn7_wvbaqv&source=openclaw

"What Toyota models were sold in 2023?" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/ymm-options?key=$CARSXE_KEY&year=2023&make=Toyota&source=openclaw

"Who is the registered owner of VIN 1FT8X3BT0BEA61538?" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/ownership/vin?key=$CARSXE_KEY&vin=1FT8X3BT0BEA61538&source=openclaw

"Check liens and theft for WBAFR7C57CC811956" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/lien-theft?key=$CARSXE_KEY&vin=WBAFR7C57CC811956&source=openclaw

"Decode this international VIN: WF0MXXGBWM8R43240" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/international-vin-decoder?key=$CARSXE_KEY&vin=WF0MXXGBWM8R43240&source=openclaw

"Look up 2020 Toyota Camry LE" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/ymm?key=$CARSXE_KEY&year=2020&make=Toyota&model=Camry&trim=LE&source=openclaw

"My check engine light shows P0300" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/obdcodesdecoder?key=$CARSXE_KEY&code=P0300&source=openclaw

"Extract the VIN from this photo: https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/5663423/30922082-64edb4fa-a3a8-11e7-873e-3fbcdce8ea3a.png" → POST https://api.carsxe.com/v1/vinocr?key=$CARSXE_KEY&source=openclaw → Body: {"image": "https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/5663423/30922082-64edb4fa-a3a8-11e7-873e-3fbcdce8ea3a.png"}

"Extract the plate from this photo: https://imagedelivery.net/moyiiSImjJPI_EZVxNMBBw/f49aed53-d736-4370-f3f4-97418841c800/public" → POST https://api.carsxe.com/platerecognition?key=$CARSXE_KEY&source=openclaw → Body: {"image": "https://imagedelivery.net/moyiiSImjJPI_EZVxNMBBw/f49aed53-d736-4370-f3f4-97418841c800/public"}

"Get vehicle images for BMW X5 2019" → GET https://api.carsxe.com/images?key=$CARSXE_KEY&make=BMW&model=X5&year=2019&source=openclaw