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API Overview
Public API Reference
Public API Docs
Everything you need to integrate ARC public APIs for VIN decode and Explorer lookup workflows. This reference only covers the endpoints that are publicly supported on /docs.
Public surface only
These docs intentionally exclude internal backend routes. If an endpoint is not linked in this reference, it is not part of the public API contract for this pass.
Response times
ARC runs its own VIN decode and battery enrichment infrastructure. Active lookups usually return in a few hundred milliseconds—Explorer by VIN typically averages around 400ms (250–550ms). The first request after a quiet period may take up to about 10 seconds while the pipeline warms up; that is expected, not an outage.
Start Here
- 1 Create or copy an API key from your ARC account.
- 2 Send the key in the X-API-Key header on every request.
- 3 Start with a single VIN decode to validate your integration path.
- 4 Review the error and rate-limit behavior before shipping retries or bulk jobs.
What This API Covers
VIN decode
Resolve a VIN into a normalized vehicle record with electrification data and technical details.
Batch decode
Decode up to 50 VINs in one request and handle per-VIN failures without losing successful results.
Explorer by VIN
Pair vehicle decode output with refined battery attributes when VIN rules can pick the specific pack.
Explorer by YMM
Look up battery candidates when VINs are unavailable and you only know year, make, and model.
Public Endpoints
Every public endpoint page follows the same structure: auth reminder, request contract, curl example, response example, and response field notes.
Decode Vehicle by VIN
Resolve a 17-character VIN to a normalized vehicle record with electrification fields and technical details.
Batch Decode Vehicles by VIN
Decode multiple VINs in one request and receive successful results plus per-VIN validation or upstream failures.
Explorer Decode by VIN
Decode a VIN and return the vehicle payload plus minimal battery attributes. The response includes the most specific battery match available.
Explorer Lookup by Year/Make/Model
Retrieve Explorer battery candidates when VINs are unavailable and you only know year, make, and model.