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Documentation

Getting started

This guide takes you from nothing to your first search in a few minutes.

1. Check the API is up

Code
curl http://localhost:3000/health

Code
{ "status": "ok" }

2. Find a make

Code
curl http://localhost:3000/api/makes

Each make has an id. Acura is 1.

3. List its models

Code
curl "http://localhost:3000/api/makes/1/models?year=2024"

Each model has an id. The Acura Integra is 2.

4. List the model's trims

Code
curl "http://localhost:3000/api/models/2/trims?year=2024"

5. Get full specs for one trim

Code
curl http://localhost:3000/api/trims/401901022

6. Or skip the browsing and search directly

Electric SUVs under $50,000, cheapest first:

Code
curl "http://localhost:3000/api/trims?body_type=SUV&engine_type=electric&max_price=50000&sort=price"

Running the server yourself

The server lives in the server folder and needs Node.js 22.5 or newer.

Code
cd server
npm install
npm start

Variable	Default	Description
PORT	3000	Port to listen on
DB_PATH	data/carbase.sqlite (inside server/)	Path to the SQLite database

Tools

• Postman: import server/CarBase.postman_collection.json for 29 ready-made requests.
• OpenAPI: the spec is at GET /openapi.json and in APIs/openapi.json.

Next

Read the conventions that apply to every endpoint.