VIN MCP
Free VIN decoder for humans and AI. No API keys. No accounts. No limits.
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:
| Source | Data Provided |
|---|---|
| NHTSA vPIC | Make, model, year, trim, body class, engine specs, transmission, drive type, weight, plant info, 140+ decoded fields |
| NHTSA Recalls | Open recalls with campaign number, component, summary, consequence, and remedy |
| NHTSA Complaints | Consumer complaints with crash, fire, injury, and death statistics |
| NHTSA Safety Ratings | NCAP star ratings for overall, frontal, side, and rollover crash tests |
| EPA Fuel Economy | City/highway/combined MPG, annual fuel cost, CO2 emissions, EV range and charge time |
| IMAGIN.studio | Stock vehicle photos from multiple angles |
Additionally, VIN validation (checksum, WMI country/manufacturer decode, model year) is computed locally with zero API calls.
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
| Tool | Description | Input |
|---|---|---|
decode_vin | Full VIN decode with specs, recalls, complaints, safety ratings, fuel economy, and photos | { vin: string } |
validate_vin | Quick local validation -- checksum, WMI country/manufacturer, model year. No external API calls | { vin: string } |
lookup_recalls | Look up recalls by VIN or by make/model/year | { vin?: string, make?: string, model?: string, year?: number } |
batch_decode | Decode up to 50 VINs in a single request via NHTSA batch API | { vins: string[] } |
REST API
All endpoints are available at https://mcp.vin or on your self-hosted instance.
| Method | Endpoint | Description |
|---|---|---|
GET | /api/vin/:vin | Full decode -- all 6 sources aggregated |
GET | /api/vin/:vin/validate | Quick checksum and format validation |
GET | /api/vin/:vin/recalls | Recall data only |
GET | /api/vin/:vin/complaints | Consumer complaints only |
GET | /api/vin/:vin/safety | NCAP safety ratings only |
GET | /api/vin/:vin/fuel | EPA fuel economy only |
GET | /api/vin/:vin/photo | Redirects to vehicle photo URL |
POST | /api/batch | Batch decode (body: { "vins": ["VIN1", "VIN2", ...] }, max 50) |
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 18+
- Server: Express 5
- MCP SDK:
@modelcontextprotocol/sdkwith 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
License
MIT
Built for mcp.vin