EnCarAPI: Node.js client for Korean and Chinese used car data

Official Node.js / TypeScript client for EnCarAPI, the REST Encar API and Korean Car API. One package for:

• Korea: Encar.com, KB Chachacha (source: "kbc") and K Car (source: "kcar"), with photos, specs, options, inspection reports, accident and ownership records, condition reports, price history, a change feed and full catalog export.
• China: Dongchedi and Che168 in English via ChinaCarAPI (separate key or the China add-on for EnCarAPI keys).

Built for car exporters, dealers and marketplaces that need reliable used car data without scraping, proxies or geo-blocks.

An API key is required. The data is a paid service. Get a key (5-day trial) at encarapi.com.

Install

npm install encarapi

Requires Node.js 18+ (uses the global fetch). No dependencies. TypeScript types included.

Quick start

const { EnCarAPI } = require("encarapi");

const client = new EnCarAPI("YOUR_API_KEY"); // or set ENCARAPI_KEY

// Search Korean listings with flat English filters
const cars = await client.korea.catalog({
  manufacturer: "Hyundai",
  max_mileage: 60000,
  frame_clean: true,   // accident-free chassis only
  lang: "en",
  count: true,
});
console.log(cars.Count, cars.SearchResults[0]);

// Full detail, inspection report and insurance record for one car
const detail = await client.korea.vehicle("12345678");
const inspection = await client.korea.inspection("12345678");
const record = await client.korea.record("12345678");

// KB Chachacha and K Car listings, or all three marketplaces deduplicated
const kbc = await client.korea.catalog({ source: "kbc", limit: 20 });
const all = await client.korea.catalog({ source: "all", count: true });

// Chinese listings (Dongchedi + Che168)
const byd = await client.china.catalog({ make: "BYD", export_ready: true, limit: 25 });

Keep a local copy in sync (Business / Scale)

// 1) Baseline: full catalog as CSV
const csv = await client.korea.exportCsv();

// 2) Then follow the change feed; every event arrives exactly once
for await (const change of client.korea.iterateChanges({ cursor: savedCursor ?? 0 })) {
  // change.type: "added" | "updated" | "reappeared" | "removed"
}
saveCursor(client.korea.lastCursor);

The China API works the same way (client.china); its events are { id, source, vehicleId, type: "new" | "price" | "removed" | "relisted", oldPrice, newPrice, at }:

for await (const change of client.china.iterateChanges({ cursor: savedCursor ?? 0 })) {
  // change.type: "new" | "price" | "removed" | "relisted"
}
saveCursor(client.china.lastCursor);

Korea API (client.korea)

Method	Endpoint	Notes
catalog(params)	GET /api/catalog	Search & list. source: encar (default), kbc, kcar, all
iterateCatalog(params)	GET /api/catalog	Async iterator over all pages
leasing(params)	GET /api/catalog/leasing	Lease takeovers and rentals
nav(params)	GET /api/nav	Filter facets with counts
enums(params)	GET /api/enums	Valid values for the flat filters
modelSearch(search, params)	GET /api/model-search	Model autocomplete
vehicle(id)	GET /api/vehicle/:id	Ids: Encar id, kbc:<id>, kcar:<id>
inspection(id)	GET /api/inspection/:id	Official inspection report
record(id)	GET /api/record/:id	Accident & ownership record
refresh(id)	POST /api/vehicle/:id/refresh	On-demand refresh (daily quota)
priceCheck(id)	GET /api/price-check/:id	Market estimate (beta, Scale)
bulkVehicles(ids) / bulkInspections(ids) / bulkRecords(ids)	POST /api/.../bulk	Up to 500 ids (Business/Scale)
inspectionVersions(id) / recordVersions(id)	GET /api/.../versions	Report history (Business/Scale)
changes(params) / iterateChanges(params)	GET /api/catalog/changes	Incremental sync (Business/Scale)
exportCsv()	GET /api/catalog/export	Full catalog CSV (Business/Scale)
makesCsv() / modelsCsv() / badgesCsv()	GET /api/taxonomy/*.csv	Reference data

China API (client.china)

Method	Endpoint	Notes
catalog(params)	GET /api/catalog	make, price_min/max (CNY), export_ready, sort, ...
iterateCatalog(params)	GET /api/catalog	Async iterator over all pages (up to the 10,000-result depth limit)
vehicle(id)	GET /api/vehicle/:id	Price history, photos, seller, export status
inspection(id)	GET /api/inspection/:id	Accident, flood and fire checks, EV battery data
bulkVehicles(ids)	POST /api/vehicle/bulk	Up to 500 ids
changes(params) / iterateChanges(params)	GET /api/catalog/changes	Change feed (Business/Scale)
exportCsv()	GET /api/catalog/export	Full catalog CSV
enums() / models(make)	GET /api/enums, /api/models	Filter values, models per make

China only? const { ChinaCarAPI } = require("encarapi") (also available as the chinacarapi package).

Errors

Every failed request throws EnCarAPIError with status and the raw body. A 403 on a plan-gated endpoint includes an upgrade hint from the API.

try {
  await client.korea.changes({ cursor: 0 });
} catch (e) {
  if (e.status === 403) console.log("Plan does not include this endpoint:", e.body);
}

Links

• Website and pricing: https://encarapi.com
• Documentation: https://encarapi.com/documentation
• OpenAPI reference: https://api.encarapi.com/reference
• China data: https://chinacarapi.com/?utm_source=github&utm_medium=encarapi_sdk_node
• Python client: https://github.com/ThatMojo/encarapi-python

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

License

MIT