Frequently Asked Questions

Click Create Trial Account in the top-right corner, fill in your email and password, and confirm your email address. Once logged in, go to Developer Settings in your console and click Create First API Key. Copy the key — it is only shown once. Pass it as the x-apiprofile-key header on every request.

Yes. Every new account starts with a free trial quota, enough to explore all endpoints, test vehicle lookups, and validate article data against your application. No credit card is required to register. When you're ready to scale, upgrade to a paid plan from your console.

Here's the simplest possible call using curl:

curl --request GET \
  --url https://api.autopartsapi.com/api/languages/list \
  --header 'x-apiprofile-key: apk_your_key_here'

Replace apk_your_key_here with the key from your Developer Settings page. A 200 OK with a JSON body confirms your key is valid.

The API Playground lists every endpoint grouped by domain (vehicles, articles, manufacturers, engines, etc.). Select any endpoint to see its parameters, required/optional flags, and example values. The interactive console lets you fire live requests directly from the browser.

When you generate a key, the server stores only a SHA-256 hash of it — the raw key is never persisted. On each request, the incoming x-apiprofile-key header value is hashed and matched against your subscription's stored hash. This means even if the database were exposed, your raw key stays secret.

Go to Console → Developer Settings and click Regenerate API Key. This immediately invalidates the old key and issues a new one. Update your application's environment variable before the old key is revoked. The new raw key is shown only once at generation time — copy it immediately.

Each subscription has one active key. You can share it across multiple servers belonging to the same project, but quota and rate-limit counters are shared. If you need separate usage tracking per application, create a separate subscription for each one.

The platform runs on the TecDoc 2025 Q3 dataset, synchronised weekly. New vehicle releases, superseding part numbers, aftermarket additions, and cross-reference updates are applied automatically. You do not need to do anything to receive updated data — all calls always hit the latest available copy.

Three vehicle categories are available via the typeId path parameter:

• 1 — Passenger Cars (PC)
• 2 — Commercial Vehicles (CV / Trucks)
• 3 — Motorbikes

Each type maps to its own TecDoc table set internally.

Yes. The article search endpoints accept both supplier article numbers and OEM/OE references. You can pass an OE number directly in the articleNumber path segment and the API returns matching aftermarket parts, their cross-references, fitment vehicles, media, and specifications.

Article responses include direct CDN URLs for high-resolution product images, installation diagrams, dimension drawings, and technical datasheets where available in the dataset. The S3CDN configuration controls the CDN base URL, so assets are always served close to your users.

Requests above your plan's monthly limit are charged at the overage rate shown on your plan (displayed as $/request). Your application is never blocked mid-request. You can also enable Auto-renew on exhaustion in your subscription settings — this resets your quota automatically when it runs out, billed at your plan's base rate.

We accept all major credit and debit cards via Stripe, and PayPal subscriptions. You can switch payment methods at any time from the Billing & Invoices section of your console without interrupting your active subscription.

Yes. You can cancel from Console → Subscriptions → Cancel plan. By default, cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period — you retain full access until then. If you need immediate cancellation, contact support and we'll process it manually.

Yes. If the public plans don't fit your needs — for example, you require a dedicated rate limit, a custom SLA, or volume pricing above the highest published tier — email us with your expected request volume and use-case. We'll put together a custom offer within one business day.

Rate limits are enforced per subscription at two levels:

• RPS (requests per second) — a Redis-backed fixed-window limiter blocks bursts above your plan's RPS cap. Excess requests receive a 429 Too Many Requests response.
• Monthly quota — tracked as a running counter in your active usage cycle. When exhausted, further requests are either blocked or trigger auto-renew, depending on your settings.

All errors return a JSON body with a message field. Common HTTP status codes:

• 401 — missing or invalid x-apiprofile-key
• 403 — subscription inactive or quota exhausted
• 429 — RPS rate limit exceeded
• 404 — endpoint not found or no results for the given parameters
• 500 — internal server error (contact support if recurring)

Yes. The VIN decode endpoint takes a 17-character VIN and returns the matched vehicle — make, model, engine, production year range, and TecDoc type ID — which you can then pass to any other endpoint to fetch compatible parts. VIN decoding calls are counted against your monthly quota.

Very straightforward. Our JSON field names follow the same conceptual structure as classic TecDoc catalogs. The main changes are:

• Replace the legacy SOAP/XML transport with a simple HTTPS GET request.
• Pass your profile key in the x-apiprofile-key header instead of an account token.
• Map typeId (1 / 2 / 3) to the vehicle category you previously selected via table name.

Most teams complete a working prototype within a few hours.