CarAPI
carapi.app · Company
Developer-friendly vehicle database API — search by year/make/model/trim, decode VINs, look up 9,000+ OBD-II diagnostic codes, access engine specs, and decode license plates. Free tier available.
Authentication
Bearer token
JWT token authentication. Free plan available. Get token via POST /auth with api_token and api_secret from your dashboard.
Sample Requests
GET
Get makes
Get all vehicle makes.
https://carapi.app/api/makes
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
Headers — extra info sent with the request
| Authorization | Bearer YOUR_JWT |
curl -X GET "https://carapi.app/api/makes" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
import requests
headers = {
"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://carapi.app/api/makes",
headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())const url = 'https://carapi.app/api/makes';
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'
},
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
)
func main() {
targetURL := "https://carapi.app/api/makes"
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://carapi.app/api/makes")
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://carapi.app/api/makes";
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
"header" => implode("\r\n", [
"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));
GET
Get models for make/year
Get models for a specific make and year.
https://carapi.app/api/models?make=Toyota&year=2022
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
Headers — extra info sent with the request
| Authorization | Bearer YOUR_JWT |
curl -X GET "https://carapi.app/api/models?make=Toyota&year=2022" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
import requests
params = {
"make": "Toyota",
"year": "2022"
}
headers = {
"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://carapi.app/api/models",
params=params,
headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://carapi.app/api/models');
url.searchParams.set('make', 'Toyota');
url.searchParams.set('year', '2022');
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'
},
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://carapi.app/api/models")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("make", "Toyota")
q.Set("year", "2022")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://carapi.app/api/models")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"make" => "Toyota",
"year" => "2022"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://carapi.app/api/models?" . http_build_query([
"make" => "Toyota",
"year" => "2022"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
"header" => implode("\r\n", [
"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));
GET
Look up OBD-II code
Look up an OBD-II diagnostic trouble code (P0420 = catalyst efficiency).
https://carapi.app/api/obd2-codes/P0420
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
Headers — extra info sent with the request
| Authorization | Bearer YOUR_JWT |
curl -X GET "https://carapi.app/api/obd2-codes/P0420" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
import requests
headers = {
"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://carapi.app/api/obd2-codes/P0420",
headers=headers,
)
print(response.json())const url = 'https://carapi.app/api/obd2-codes/P0420';
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'
},
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
)
func main() {
targetURL := "https://carapi.app/api/obd2-codes/P0420"
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://carapi.app/api/obd2-codes/P0420")
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
req["Authorization"] = "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://carapi.app/api/obd2-codes/P0420";
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
"header" => implode("\r\n", [
"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN"
]),
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));Postman Setup Guide
- Sign up at carapi.app for a free account
- Get your api_token and api_secret from the dashboard
- POST to https://carapi.app/api/auth with {"api_token":"...","api_secret":"..."} to get a JWT
- Set Authorization: Bearer YOUR_JWT header on all requests
- Free tier: 100 requests/day
What can you build with CarAPI?
CarAPI is a Company API. Developers commonly use company APIs for:
- enriching CRM records with company firmographics
- building lead-generation and prospecting tools
- verifying business identity and registration details
- monitoring competitors and market intelligence
- powering B2B data enrichment pipelines
Bearer token. Your app exchanges credentials for a short-lived token, then sends it as an Authorization header. Tokens expire, so your code needs to handle renewal. CarAPI is free to use up to a usage limit, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.
New to APIs? Read our beginner's guide