encarapi-com Archive API

openapi: 3.2.0
info:
  title: encarapi Archive API
  version: 1.3.0
  description: 'Real-time Korean used-car data from the full Encar inventory, served as clean JSON. Filter the whole catalog with simple **English** query parameters (or the advanced `q` query syntax). Add `lang=en` to receive every value in English. Discover all valid filter values at `/api/enums`. ## SDKs & AI agents


    - Node.js: `npm install encarapi`

    - Python: `pip install encarapi`

    - AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code): add the MCP server `https://mcp.encarapi.com/mcp` and sign in with your API key in the browser. Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http encarapi https://mcp.encarapi.com/mcp`


    ## Catalog scope


    `/api/catalog` covers standard-sale listings only (Encar''s "일반" sell type). Lease-takeover ("리스") and rental ("렌트") listings are a separate endpoint, `/api/catalog/leasing` - they price by monthly payment rather than a purchase price, so mixing them into `/api/catalog` would distort `Price`. For a brand with e.g. 16,000 total Encar listings, expect roughly 5-10% to be lease/rental. ## Caching


    Recommended cache times:

    - `/api/enums`, the taxonomy CSVs and `/api/nav`: 24 hours (makes, models, badges and filter values barely change)

    - `/api/catalog` listings: 4 to 6 hours

    - `/api/vehicle/{id}` details: 24 hours (a listing''s specs change rarely; it only drops out when sold)


    Serve listings from your own database and refresh periodically rather than calling live on every user click. Fair use applies. ## Live queries vs. a local copy


    There are two supported ways to use this API - pick the one that matches what you are building:


    - **Starter - live queries.** Call `/api/catalog` with the filters your users actually search for and cache each response for the times above. This is the default, and it is what the per-key daily catalog-row cap protects (re-pulling the entire catalog on this plan will eventually hit it). - **Business / Scale - a local copy.** Pull `/api/catalog/export` once for a full baseline (does not count against the daily cap), then keep it current with `/api/catalog/changes?since=` instead of re-dumping the whole catalog. Scale additionally has no daily catalog-row cap. Both are 403 on Starter. ## Duplicate listings


    Korean dealers commonly list the same physical car twice (sometimes more) under different listing IDs for extra visibility. We detect these and flag the extra copies with `IsDuplicate: true` and `DuplicateOf: ` on the catalog item; the original listing is left unflagged. Duplicates are flagged, not removed, so you can decide how to treat them. `/api/catalog` and `/api/catalog/leasing` accept `exclude_duplicates=true` to filter them out server-side. `/api/catalog/changes` stays a complete, lossless event log (no filtering there) - it still carries `IsDuplicate`/`DuplicateOf` on every item, so filter client-side if you keep a local copy of the catalog. ## Data sources - Encar, KB Chachacha and K Car


    The API serves listings from three Korean platforms:


    | Source | Platform | Live listings | Depth |

    |---|---|---|---|

    | `encar` | Encar (encar.com) | 190,000+ | full detail, inspection and insurance reports (default) |

    | `kbc` | KB Chachacha (kbchachacha.com) | 110,000+ | catalog plus public history block |

    | `kcar` | K Car (kcar.com, direct-sale channel) | 5,000+ | full detail incl. VIN and accident history |


    **Plans.** Encar is part of every plan. KB Chachacha and K Car are included in Business and Scale and in the 5-day trial, and are an add-on for Starter. A key without them gets 403 with a hint on `source=kbc`, `kcar` or `all`. **Trial.** The trial includes 100,000 catalog rows and 2,000 detail lookups in total, with at most 1,000 detail lookups per day. Catalog rows are counted over the whole trial across `/api/catalog`, `/api/catalog/leasing` and the items of `/api/catalog/changes`, with at most 100 items per request; detail lookups are `/api/vehicle/{id}`, `/api/inspection/{id}` and `/api/record/{id}` together - the daily budget resets at 00:00 UTC, the totals do not.'
  contact:
    name: encarapi
    url: https://encarapi.com
servers:
- url: https://api.encarapi.com
  description: Production
security:
- ApiKeyHeader: []
- ApiKeyQuery: []
tags:
- name: Archive
  description: Business/Scale; trials get a daily preview of 100 lookups. Removed listings with their last known data, earlier versions of inspection reports and insurance records, and 6 months of change events.
paths:
  /api/inspection/{id}/versions:
    get:
      tags:
      - Archive
      summary: Inspection report versions - Business/Scale
      description: 'Every earlier inspection report we held for the listing (`previous`, oldest first, each with `collectedAt` and `supersededAt`) plus the `current` one. A new version is recorded only when the report content actually changes. Part of the archive: Business and Scale; trials get a daily preview of 100 lookups.'
      parameters:
      - name: id
        in: path
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
        description: The Id from the catalog response.
        example: '39781121'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
        '403':
          description: Archive not included in this plan.
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
      operationId: getApiInspectionByIdVersions
      x-operation-id-source: derived
  /api/record/{id}/versions:
    get:
      tags:
      - Archive
      summary: Insurance record versions - Business/Scale
      description: Same as /api/inspection/{id}/versions for the insurance-history record.
      parameters:
      - name: id
        in: path
        required: true
        schema:
          type: string
        description: The Id from the catalog response.
        example: '39781121'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: OK
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
        '403':
          description: Archive not included in this plan.
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
      operationId: getApiRecordByIdVersions
      x-operation-id-source: derived
components:
  responses:
    NotFound:
      description: Listing not found (sold or removed).
  securitySchemes:
    ApiKeyHeader:
      type: apiKey
      in: header
      name: x-api-key
      description: Your API key.
    ApiKeyQuery:
      type: apiKey
      in: query
      name: api_key
      description: Your API key (alternative to the header).