Access the full suite of CarsXE vehicle data APIs — VIN decoding, license plate lookup, market value, vehicle history, safety recalls, lien/theft checks, OBD...
---
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 at `https://api.carsxe.com`.
## 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:
```
openclaw config set skills.entries.carsxe.env.CARSXE_KEY "cxe_live_YOUR_KEY"
```
Then restart the gateway.
Always append `&source=openclaw` to every request.
---
## 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 | `GET /v1/recalls` | GET | `vin` |
| 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` |
| 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` |
---
## 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` or `/images`
- 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.
---
## 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 |
| 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.
---
## 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=$CARSXE_KEY&vin=1C4JJXR64PW696340&source=openclaw`
**"Check liens and theft for WBAFR7C57CC811956"**
→ `GET https://api.carsxe.com/v1/lien-theft?key=$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`
don't have the plugin yet? install it then click "run inline in claude" again.