Docs · Quickstart

Get started

Quickstart

From zero to your first response in about five minutes. No SDK required — it's just HTTPS and JSON.

1. Check the API is up

The status endpoint needs no key — a good first ping to confirm you can reach the API.

curl 
$ curl https://api.carvector.io/v1/status
200 OK 
{
  "status": "ok",
  "data_updated": "2026-05-27T04:00:00Z",
  "schema_version": 3
}

2. Create an account & API key

Create a free account, then open your dashboard and create an API key. The key starts with cv_.

Copy it immediately

Your key's raw value is shown once, at creation. We only store a hash — if you lose it, revoke it and make a new one.

3. Make your first authenticated call

Pass your key as a bearer token. Here's a full vehicle lookup by its id (the opaque token returned by search):

curl 
$ curl https://api.carvector.io/v1/vehicles/1laqdklflb3hfav \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer cv_your_key"
200 OK 
{
  "id": "1laqdklflb3hfav",
  "year": 2018,
  "make": "Toyota",
  "model": "Tacoma Access Cab",
  "horsepower": 278,
  "displacement_l": 3.5,
  "transmission": "Automatic 6-spd",
  "drive_type": "4x2",
  "image_type": "illustration",
  "recall_count": 0
}

4. Where to go next

← Overview Authentication →