# CarsXE MCP tool for ADK

Supported in ADKPythonTypeScript

The [CarsXE MCP server](https://github.com/carsxe/carsxe-mcp-server) connects your ADK agent to the [CarsXE](https://www.carsxe.com/) vehicle data platform. It exposes CarsXE's APIs — VIN decoding and full specifications, license-plate decoding, market value, title and ownership history, safety recalls, lien and theft records, OBD-II code decoding, and image lookups — as MCP tools your agent can call with natural language such as "Decode VIN 1HGBH41JXMN109186" or "Are there open recalls on this car?".

The server is hosted at `https://mcp.carsxe.com/mcp` over streamable HTTP, so no local install is required — the agent connects to the remote endpoint directly.

## Use cases

- **Decode a VIN or plate**: Turn a 17-character VIN or a license plate into structured make, model, year, engine, trim, and equipment data so the agent can reason about a specific vehicle.
- **Assess a vehicle**: Retrieve market value, full title and ownership history, and open safety recalls to support buying, selling, and servicing decisions.
- **Diagnose problems**: Decode OBD-II trouble codes (e.g. `P0300`) into human-readable definitions and likely causes.
- **Read vehicle images**: Extract a VIN or plate from a photo, and fetch vehicle images by make and model.

## Prerequisites

- A working [ADK installation](/get-started/installation/)
- A CarsXE API key — sign up at [api.carsxe.com](https://api.carsxe.com/dashboard/developer) and copy your key

## Use with agent

The agent connects to the hosted CarsXE MCP server over streamable HTTP and authenticates with your API key via the `X-API-Key` header.

```python
from google.adk.agents import Agent
from google.adk.tools.mcp_tool import McpToolset
from google.adk.tools.mcp_tool.mcp_session_manager import StreamableHTTPConnectionParams

CARSXE_API_KEY = "YOUR_CARSXE_API_KEY"

root_agent = Agent(
    model="gemini-flash-latest",
    name="carsxe_agent",
    instruction=(
        "You are a vehicle data assistant. Use the CarsXE tools to decode "
        "VINs and license plates and to look up specifications, market value, "
        "history, recalls, and OBD-II codes."
    ),
    tools=[
        McpToolset(
            connection_params=StreamableHTTPConnectionParams(
                url="https://mcp.carsxe.com/mcp",
                headers={"X-API-Key": CARSXE_API_KEY},
            ),
        )
    ],
)
```

```typescript
import { LlmAgent, MCPToolset } from "@google/adk";

const CARSXE_API_KEY = "YOUR_CARSXE_API_KEY";

const rootAgent = new LlmAgent({
    model: "gemini-flash-latest",
    name: "carsxe_agent",
    instruction:
        "You are a vehicle data assistant. Use the CarsXE tools to decode " +
        "VINs and license plates and to look up specifications, market value, " +
        "history, recalls, and OBD-II codes.",
    tools: [
        new MCPToolset({
            type: "StreamableHTTPConnectionParams",
            url: "https://mcp.carsxe.com/mcp",
            transportOptions: {
                requestInit: {
                    headers: {
                        "X-API-Key": CARSXE_API_KEY,
                    },
                },
            },
        }),
    ],
});

export { rootAgent };
```

## Available tools

| Tool                        | Description                                                                                |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `get-vehicle-specs`         | Decode a VIN into full vehicle specifications (make, model, year, engine, trim, equipment) |
| `decode-vehicle-plate`      | Decode a license plate into vehicle data                                                   |
| `get-market-value`          | Estimate a vehicle's market value by VIN                                                   |
| `get-vehicle-history`       | Retrieve title, ownership, accident, and odometer history by VIN                           |
| `get-vehicle-recalls`       | Check open safety recalls by VIN                                                           |
| `get-lien-theft`            | Check lien and theft records by VIN                                                        |
| `international-vin-decoder` | Decode a non-US (international) VIN                                                        |
| `vin-ocr`                   | Extract a VIN from an image using OCR                                                      |
| `recognize-plate-image`     | Recognize a license plate from an image                                                    |
| `get-year-make-model`       | Look up specifications by year, make, and model                                            |
| `get-vehicle-images`        | Retrieve vehicle images by make and model                                                  |
| `decode-obd-code`           | Decode an OBD-II diagnostic trouble code                                                   |

## Additional resources

- [CarsXE MCP server repository](https://github.com/carsxe/carsxe-mcp-server)
- [CarsXE API documentation](https://api.carsxe.com/docs)
- [CarsXE homepage](https://www.carsxe.com/)
- [Get a CarsXE API key](https://api.carsxe.com/dashboard/developer)