Encarapi MCP Server

EnCarAPI MCP server: Korean and Chinese used car data for AI assistants

Model Context Protocol server for EnCarAPI. Lets Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT and other MCP clients search live used car listings from South Korea (Encar, KB Chachacha, K Car) and China (Dongchedi, Che168), and pull full details, inspection reports and accident records.

An API key is required. Get one (5-day trial) at encarapi.com. Chinese data works with a ChinaCarAPI key or an EnCarAPI key with the China add-on.

Tools

All tools are read-only.

Option 1: hosted (no install)

Add this URL as a remote MCP server:

https://mcp.encarapi.com/mcp

In clients with OAuth support the URL is all you need. On first use a browser window opens, you paste your EnCarAPI key once, and the client is connected:

• Claude (claude.ai, desktop, mobile): Settings - Connectors - Add custom connector, paste the URL
• ChatGPT (developer mode): Settings - Connectors - create a connector with the URL
• Cursor: {"mcpServers": {"encarapi": {"url": "https://mcp.encarapi.com/mcp"}}} in .cursor/mcp.json
• VS Code: "MCP: Add Server" - HTTP - paste the URL
• Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http encarapi https://mcp.encarapi.com/mcp

The key is checked once and is not stored on the server: it is encrypted into the token your client receives. To disconnect, remove the server in your client; to cut off access everywhere, rotate your key at encarapi.com.

Alternative: send the key yourself

Clients without OAuth support, scripts and gateways can send the key directly:

https://mcp.encarapi.com/mcp
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ENCARAPI_KEY

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http encarapi https://mcp.encarapi.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ENCARAPI_KEY"

The x-api-key: YOUR_ENCARAPI_KEY header works as well. Clients that only accept a URL and have no OAuth support can use https://mcp.encarapi.com/mcp?key=YOUR_ENCARAPI_KEY (a header is preferred, since URLs can end up in logs). A separate ChinaCarAPI key goes into the x-china-key header, or into the second field of the browser form.

Option 2: local (npx)

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json), Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json) and most other clients:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "encarapi": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "encarapi-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ENCARAPI_KEY": "YOUR_ENCARAPI_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code:

claude mcp add encarapi -e ENCARAPI_KEY=YOUR_ENCARAPI_KEY -- npx -y encarapi-mcp

Optional: CHINACARAPI_KEY for a separate ChinaCarAPI key.

Example prompts

• "Find accident-free Genesis GV80 from 2022 or newer under 50 million KRW and compare the mileage."
• "Show the inspection report and accident record for Encar listing 41000001."
• "What are the cheapest export-ready BYD Seal listings in China right now?"

Self-hosting the HTTP endpoint

docker build -t encarapi-mcp .
docker run -p 3000:3000 encarapi-mcp     # POST /mcp, GET /health

Stateless: every request carries its own key, nothing is stored.

To enable the OAuth flow ("connect by URL only"), set two environment variables:

docker run -p 3000:3000 -e MCP_OAUTH_SECRET="$(openssl rand -base64 48)" \
  -e MCP_PUBLIC_URL=https://mcp.example.com encarapi-mcp

This adds /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource, /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server, /register, /authorize and /token (OAuth 2.1 with PKCE, dynamic client registration). There is still no database: client ids, authorization codes and tokens are encrypted, self-contained values (AES-256-GCM) that carry the key. Consequences:

• Changing MCP_OAUTH_SECRET signs out all OAuth clients (they reconnect through the browser).
• Access tokens last 1 hour, refresh tokens 90 days and are replaced on every use.
• Single use of authorization codes and of replaced refresh tokens is tracked in memory, so it is best-effort: it does not survive a restart and is not shared between instances.
• A single token cannot be revoked on the server. Rotating the EnCarAPI key cuts off all access.

Links

• EnCarAPI: https://encarapi.com
• ChinaCarAPI: https://chinacarapi.com
• SDKs: Node.js, Python

EnCarAPI is an independent service and not affiliated with Encar, KB Chachacha, K Car, Dongchedi or Che168.

License

MIT