VIN MCP

Free VIN decoder for humans and AI. No API keys or accounts required for public vehicle lookups. Rate limits apply.

mcp.vin -- Try it now

What It Does

Enter a 17-character VIN and get a comprehensive vehicle report by aggregating six free data sources into a single response:

Additionally, VIN validation (checksum, WMI country/manufacturer decode, model year) is computed locally with zero API calls.

Related MCP server: CarsXE

Quick Start -- Connect via MCP

Smithery (one command)

npx -y @smithery/cli install @keptlive/vin-mcp --client claude

Claude Code (stdio)

Add to your .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vin": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "vin-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Or if you have the repo cloned locally:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vin": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/vin-mcp/server.mjs"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop / claude.ai (HTTP)

Use the hosted MCP endpoint:

https://mcp.vin/mcp

Add to your Claude Desktop config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vin": {
      "url": "https://mcp.vin/mcp"
    }
  }
}

MCP Tools

The 22 tools are organized into three groups. The live directory at /api/tools and MCP tools/list come from the same registry. See service organization for extension and testing guidance.

Account tools require the user's website login token. Public lookup tools require no API key. Source coverage and unknown values are part of the returned data.

REST API

All endpoints are available at https://mcp.vin or on your self-hosted instance.

Rate limits: 30 requests/minute per IP for most endpoints, 60/minute for validation and photos, 5/minute for batch.

Example:

curl https://mcp.vin/api/vin/1HGCM82633A004352

Direct VIN URLs also work -- visit https://mcp.vin/1HGCM82633A004352 to see the web report.

Self-Hosting

git clone https://github.com/keptlive/vin-mcp.git
cd vin-mcp
npm install
node server.mjs --http --port 3200

The server starts in HTTP mode with:

• Web frontend at http://localhost:3200

• REST API at http://localhost:3200/api/vin/{vin}

• MCP endpoint at http://localhost:3200/mcp

For stdio mode (Claude Code integration without a web server):

node server.mjs

How VINs Work

A VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is a 17-character code assigned to every vehicle manufactured since 1981. Each position encodes specific information:

1 H G C M 8 2 6 3 3 A 0 0 4 3 5 2
|_____| |___| | | | |_| |_________|
  WMI    VDS  | | | |yr  Sequential
              | | | plant
              | | check digit
              | vehicle attributes
              manufacturer ID

• Positions 1-3 (WMI): World Manufacturer Identifier -- country and manufacturer

• Positions 4-8 (VDS): Vehicle Descriptor Section -- model, body, engine, transmission

• Position 9: Check digit -- validates the VIN using a weighted algorithm

• Position 10: Model year code (A-Y, 1-9 on a 30-year cycle)

• Position 11: Assembly plant

• Positions 12-17: Sequential production number

The letters I, O, and Q are never used in VINs to avoid confusion with 1, 0, and 9.

Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js 22+

• Server: Express 5

• MCP SDK: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk with stdio and Streamable HTTP transports

• Frontend: Vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

• Caching: In-memory LRU with TTL (1h for decodes, 6h for recalls, 24h for ratings and fuel data)

• External dependencies: Zero API keys required -- all data sources are free public APIs

Unified vehicle workspace (v1.7.0)

The main workspace combines VIN reports and saved vehicles with EPA configurations/emissions, Canadian dimensions, manufacturer communications, defect investigations, owner-reported MPG, dated Federal Reserve rate benchmarks, 2-4 VIN comparisons, ownership scenarios and developer tools. Existing /research/ links continue into the matching section, including their search parameters. Accounts, preferences, educational pages and OAuth remain available. Public data coverage varies.

Research is available through REST, 22 MCP tools, the JavaScript client at public/client.mjs and the source CLI cli.mjs. The hosted service is https://mcp.vin; set VIN_BASE_URL for CLI use. This release does not publish an updated npm package.

See data sources and scope and the machine-readable guide at public/research/api.json. Printable capability-comparison and methodology sheets are in public/research/sheets/. These describe source scope; full auto.dev data parity is incomplete.

Run and verify

Use Node.js 22 or later, run npm ci, then npm start. Run npm test and node --test test/transport.test.mjs for the application and actual MCP transport checks. The Python importer tests use only the standard library: python3 tests/investigations_test.py and python3 tests/communications_storage_test.py.

Install public indexes with python3 scripts/import-communications.py and python3 scripts/import-investigations.py. Use --refresh for a new official snapshot. The standard bulletin index needs about 3.4 GB plus archives. To reduce storage without changing the API, run python3 scripts/compact-communications.py data/communications.db data/communications-compact.db. The compact target is a separate file, verified row for row; deploy it under the name data/communications.db. Never overwrite account data. No automatic source refresh is configured.

With the server and indexes running, node scripts/research-smoke.mjs verifies real sources, pagination and MCP; set VIN_BASE_URL to select a server.

Agent analysis

Agents can query the structured results, combine them with explicit assumptions, and use charting or document tools to create figures and analysis. Custom chart rendering happens in the agent's tools. The API supplies comparisons, scenario calculations, provenance and JSON. Configuration/model-year data and VIN-specific facts retain their distinct scopes.

VIN recall repair status: Tesla and Ford open/completed statuses, GM open/completed or administratively closed records, Honda active safety recalls, positive Nissan open safety recalls, and Mopar VIN-matched open recall/campaign records are included in reports and comparisons, with vin_recall_status, GET /api/vin/{vin}/recall-status and VinClient.recallStatus(vin). Mopar safety-recall count and completed history remain unknown because its feed mixes campaign types. GM repair dates are shown only when explicitly supplied; administrative closing dates remain separate. Ford customer-satisfaction and GM non-recall programs stay separate from recall counts. Honda covers active safety recalls from the past 15 calendar years and does not supply completed history. Nissan requires matching full VINs and verified safety classifications; empty results remain unknown. Toyota/Lexus/Scion, Hyundai and Kia require interactive official verification. Other makes remain unknown. See the source and coverage notes.

Deployment caching: HTML must revalidate, API responses must not be stored by shared caches, and changed JavaScript/PDF links use a content-hash query version generated by node scripts/version-assets.mjs. API clients also bypass stored browser responses. Preserve these policies in any reverse proxy so updated recall records are rendered by the matching client code.

License

MIT

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