Skills auto-dev

Use when working with Auto.dev APIs, vehicle data, VIN decoding, car listings, vehicle photos, specs, recalls, payments, interest rates, taxes, OEM build data, plate-to-VIN, CLI commands, MCP tools, or SDK methods for any automotive data task

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/skills

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/openclaw/skills "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/bryant22/auto-dev" ~/.claude/skills/clawdbot-skills-auto-dev && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/bryant22/auto-dev/SKILL.md

source content

Auto.dev

Automotive data for AI agents — via MCP tools, CLI commands, SDK methods, or direct API calls.

Detect Your Surface

Check in this order. Use the first one available:

1. MCP — Check if

auto_decode

is in your available tools. If yes: use

auto_*

tools for everything. Do NOT make raw HTTP calls. To install:

npx @auto.dev/sdk mcp install

(installs globally and configures Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code Copilot, Cline, Zed).

2. CLI — Run

auto --version

. If installed: authenticate once with

auto login

(OAuth — no API key needed), then use

auto

commands. To install:

npm install -g @auto.dev/sdk

or use

npx @auto.dev/sdk <command>

without installing.

3. SDK — Check if

@auto.dev/sdk

is in project dependencies. If yes: use typed SDK methods. See code-patterns.md for all methods. To install:

npm install @auto.dev/sdk

4. Direct API — Check for

AUTODEV_API_KEY

env var. If not set: ask the user for it or direct them to https://auto.dev/pricing (free Starter plan).

MCP Tools

If MCP tools are available, this is your only section. Use

auto_docs

to look up parameters and response shapes before calling an unfamiliar endpoint.

auto_docs listings      # see all listing filters
auto_docs payments      # see payment params
auto_docs vin-decode    # see VIN decode response shape

Tool	Description	Plan
`auto_decode`	Decode a VIN	Starter
`auto_listings`	Search listings with filters	Starter
`auto_photos`	Get vehicle photos	Starter
`auto_specs`	Vehicle specifications	Growth
`auto_build`	OEM build data ($0.10/call)	Growth
`auto_recalls`	Safety recalls	Growth
`auto_payments`	Payment calculations	Growth
`auto_apr`	Interest rates	Growth
`auto_tco`	Total cost of ownership	Growth
`auto_open_recalls`	Open/unresolved recalls	Scale
`auto_plate`	Plate to VIN ($0.55/call)	Scale
`auto_taxes`	Taxes and fees	Scale
`auto_docs`	Search bundled API documentation	—
`auto_config_set`	Set a config value (e.g. `raw: true` )	—
`auto_config_get`	Get a config value or list all settings	—

API metadata is stripped from MCP tool responses by default. Use

auto_config_set

with

key: "raw"

and

value: "true"

to get full responses.

If MCP tools are available, skip to Important Rules below.

CLI Quick Reference

Install:

npm install -g @auto.dev/sdk

(or use

npx @auto.dev/sdk

without installing) Authenticate once:

auto login

auto decode <vin>
auto photos <vin>
auto listings --make Toyota --year 2024 --price 10000-40000 --state CA
auto specs <vin>
auto build <vin>
auto recalls <vin>
auto open-recalls <vin>
auto payments <vin> --price 35000 --zip 90210 --down-payment 5000
auto apr <vin> --year 2024 --make Honda --model Accord --zip 90210 --credit-score 750
auto tco <vin> --zip 90210
auto taxes <vin> --price 35000 --zip 90210
auto plate <state> <plate>
auto usage
auto docs [query]        # search bundled docs
auto explore [endpoint]  # browse params and mappings

All commands support

--json

--yaml

--raw

, and

--api-key <key>

flags.

API metadata is stripped by default — you get clean vehicle data. Use

--raw

to see the full API response.

auto config set raw true    # always show full responses
auto config get raw         # check current value
auto config list            # show all settings

Full CLI reference: https://docs.auto.dev/v2/cli-mcp-sdk

If CLI is available, skip to Important Rules below.

Direct API Quick Reference

Use these only when MCP and CLI are unavailable.

V2 (base:

https://api.auto.dev

Authorization: Bearer {key}

?apiKey={key}

V1 (base:

https://auto.dev/api

?apikey={key}

(query string only)

Endpoint	Plan	Required Params
`GET /listings?filters`	Starter	See v2-listings-api.md
`GET /listings/{vin}`	Starter	—
`GET /vin/{vin}`	Starter	—
`GET /photos/{vin}`	Starter	—
`GET /specs/{vin}`	Growth	—
`GET /build/{vin}`	Growth	— ($0.10/call)
`GET /recalls/{vin}`	Growth	—
`GET /tco/{vin}`	Growth	—
`GET /payments/{vin}`	Growth	`price` , `zip`
`GET /apr/{vin}`	Growth	`year` , `make` , `model` , `zip` , `creditScore`
`GET /openrecalls/{vin}`	Scale	—
`GET /plate/{state}/{plate}`	Scale	— ($0.55/call)
`GET /taxes/{vin}`	Scale	—

V1 supplemental (no V2 equivalent):

/api/models

/api/cities

/api/zip/{zip}

/api/autosuggest/{term}

Before making any Direct API call, read the relevant reference file for full parameter names and examples. Full parameter reference: v2-listings-api.md | v2-vin-apis.md | v2-plate-api.md | v1-apis.md

Common Gotchas (All Surfaces)

These parameter names do NOT exist on the Direct API — agents hallucinate them frequently:

make=    ← use vehicle.make
model=   ← use vehicle.model
state=   ← use retailListing.state
price=   ← use retailListing.price (on /listings), or price= (on /payments, /taxes)
rows=    ← use limit
sort=    ← no sort parameter exists
_order=  ← no sort parameter exists

MCP and CLI handle these mappings automatically. This only matters for Direct API calls.

Plans & Pricing

See pricing.md for full per-call costs and upgrade links.

Plan	Monthly	Includes
Starter	Free + data fees	VIN Decode, Listings, Photos (1,000 free calls/mo)
Growth	$299/mo + data fees	+ Specs, Recalls, TCO, Payments, APR, Build
Scale	$599/mo + data fees	+ Open Recalls, Plate-to-VIN, Taxes & Fees

All plans charge per-call data fees on every request. Growth/Scale have no cap on volume but data fees still apply.

Important Rules

Before batch operations, call the endpoint once with a single item to see the actual response shape. Do not guess field names or nesting — inspect the real response first.
Include ALL fields from the API response unless the user explicitly says to exclude some.
Small results (<10 items, single VIN): Display inline as formatted table
Large results (10+ listings): Ask user preference, default to CSV export
Always support: CSV, JSON export when user requests
Chain APIs when the query spans multiple endpoints — MCP tools and CLI commands can be called in parallel

Deep Reference

MCP or CLI: use

auto_docs [query]

auto docs [query]

for live parameter lookup. Full reference: https://docs.auto.dev/v2/cli-mcp-sdk

SDK: see code-patterns.md for typed methods and response format.

Direct API:

API Docs: v2-listings-api.md | v2-vin-apis.md | v2-plate-api.md | v1-apis.md
Workflows: chaining-patterns.md | interactive-explorer.md | business-workflows.md
Code Gen: code-patterns.md | app-scaffolding.md | integration-recipes.md
Other: error-recovery.md | pricing.md | examples.md