Louie API

Query Louie's dealer intelligence from any tool. REST, JSON, instant responses. Build integrations, feed your DMS, or pull live market data into your own dashboards.

REST / JSON X-Louie-API-Key auth 100 req/day default 2 public unauthenticated endpoints TLS 1.3 in transit

Authentication

Two separate key schemes exist today, scoped to different endpoint groups below. Both are issued per dealer account, hashed (SHA-256) at rest — the raw key is shown exactly once on creation — and scoped to a single dealer org.

Dealer Intelligence endpoints (Lender Route, Stip Check, Gross Calc, Morning Briefing, Market Pulse) use the X-Louie-API-Key header, key prefix lak_:

curl https://louieauto.com/api/v1/market-pulse \
  -H "X-Louie-API-Key: lak_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

Read-Only Feed endpoints (Inventory, Sales Summary) use the X-Api-Token header, key prefix louie_live_:

curl https://louieauto.com/api/v1/inventory \
  -H "X-Api-Token: louie_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

Not sure which key you have? Check the prefix on the raw key you were issued. If you need one you don't have, request it via brian@louieauto.com.

Rate Limits

lak_ keys (Dealer Intelligence endpoints): 100 requests/day by default, tracked per key and reset daily. Exceeding it returns HTTP 429 with {"error":"daily rate limit reached"}. Higher limits available on request.

louie_live_ tokens (Read-Only Feed endpoints): no per-token quota is enforced today.

Base URL & Versioning

All authenticated endpoints are versioned under /api/v1/. Public endpoints live at /api/public/ and /api/moat/. The current stable version is v1.

Base URL: https://louieauto.com
Auth endpoints: /api/v1/*
Public endpoints: /api/public/* and /api/moat/*

Breaking changes will be announced via the /changelog at least 30 days before deprecation, and will move to a new version prefix (/api/v2/) without removing the prior version immediately.

Error Codes

HTTP Status	Error Code	Meaning
400	invalid_request	Missing or malformed request body. Check required fields.
401	unauthorized	Missing or invalid X-Louie-API-Key or X-Api-Token header (whichever your endpoint requires).
403	forbidden	Key is valid but lacks permission for this endpoint or org.
404	not_found	Endpoint does not exist. Check your path spelling and version prefix.
422	validation_error	Request parsed but failed validation. Response body contains field-level errors.
429	daily_rate_limit_reached	lak_ key's daily quota exhausted. Resets at midnight UTC.
500	internal_error	Server error. Retry with exponential backoff. Report persistent 500s to brian@louieauto.com.
503	upstream_timeout	AI inference call exceeded timeout (30s). Common on complex multi-variable deal queries. Break into two sequential calls.

Platform Stats — No Auth Required

GET /api/public/stats ✓ No auth

Returns live platform-level statistics: demo sessions started, distinct organizations represented in routing data, and total deals routed through the AI matching engine.

curl https://louieauto.com/api/public/stats

Response:

{
  "demo_sessions": 127,
  "unique_orgs": 29,
  "deals_through_ai": 13046,
  "last_updated": "2026-05-02T07:02:00Z"
}

Market Intel Feed — No Auth Required

GET /api/moat/public ✓ No auth

Returns the 20 most recent market intelligence entries from Louie's moat builder: macro signals (FRED, EIA gas price, UMich consumer sentiment), lender environment flags, Manheim index readings, and any active dealer-market alerts. Refreshed nightly.

curl https://louieauto.com/api/moat/public

Response (truncated):

{
  "count": 20,
  "last_refresh": "2026-05-02T02:15:00Z",
  "entries": [
    {
      "id": "moat_1234",
      "category": "lender_environment",
      "signal": "Ally Financial tightened subprime thresholds — avoid sub-580 FICO this week",
      "severity": "high",
      "source": "CFPB complaint spike + lender press release",
      "date": "2026-05-01"
    },
    {
      "id": "moat_1233",
      "category": "macro",
      "signal": "UMich consumer sentiment: 67.4 — flat MoM. No urgency signal.",
      "severity": "low",
      "source": "University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers",
      "date": "2026-05-01"
    }
  ]
}

Inventory

GET /api/v1/inventory 🔑 Auth required

Returns your dealership's current inventory (up to 500 units), ordered by days in stock. Scoped to your org only.

curl https://louieauto.com/api/v1/inventory \
  -H "X-Api-Token: $LOUIE_KEY"

Response:

{
  "count": 214,
  "inventory": [
    { "stock_number": "A1042", "vin": "1G1...", "year": 2020, "make": "Chevrolet",
      "model": "Equinox", "trim": "LT", "condition": "used", "days_in_stock": 67,
      "asking_price": 24995, "store": "Main St" }
  ]
}

Sales Summary

GET /api/v1/sales-summary 🔑 Auth required

Returns unit counts and total gross by store and month (up to 200 rows), most recent first. Scoped to your org only.

curl https://louieauto.com/api/v1/sales-summary \
  -H "X-Api-Token: $LOUIE_KEY"

Response:

{
  "count": 12,
  "salesSummary": [
    { "store": "Main St", "saleMonth": "2026-04", "units": 38, "totalGross": 142500 }
  ]
}

Lender Route

POST /api/v1/lender-route 🔑 Auth required

Routes a deal profile against the same real 53-lender matrix used inside the app.

Field	Type	Description
beacon*	integer	Customer FICO score (300–850)
down_payment*	number	Down payment in USD
vehicle_price*	number	Vehicle selling price in USD
vehicle_type*	string	`"car"`, `"truck"`, `"suv"`, `"van"`
known_issues	array	Optional: `"repo"`, `"bk7"`, `"bk13"`, `"itin"`, `"thin_file"`, `"charge_off"`
term_months	integer	Optional: desired term (24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84)

curl -X POST https://louieauto.com/api/v1/lender-route \
  -H "X-Louie-API-Key: $LOUIE_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "beacon": 580,
    "down_payment": 1500,
    "vehicle_price": 14000,
    "vehicle_type": "car",
    "known_issues": ["repo"]
  }'

Response:

{
  "primary": { "lender": "GLS", "rate_range": "18–22%", "confidence": 0.84 },
  "backup": { "lender": "Westlake", "rate_range": "19–24%", "confidence": 0.71 },
  "avoid": ["Ally", "Flagship"],
  "avoid_reason": "Ally tightened sub-600 thresholds this week. Flagship complaint rate elevated.",
  "predicted_stips": ["Proof of income (2 months)", "Proof of residence", "Reference list"],
  "routing_note": "Repo within 24 months: GLS has best approval rate (84%) on this profile in your store history."
}

Stip Check

POST /api/v1/stip-check 🔑 Auth required

Predicts required stips for a given lender/FICO/profile combination.

Field	Type	Description
lender*	string	Lender name (e.g. `"Westlake"`, `"GLS"`, `"CAC"`)
beacon*	integer	Customer FICO score
known_issues	array	Same values as lender-route
income_type	string	`"w2"`, `"self_employed"`, `"itin"`, `"fixed"`

curl -X POST https://louieauto.com/api/v1/stip-check \
  -H "X-Louie-API-Key: $LOUIE_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "lender": "Westlake", "beacon": 540, "known_issues": ["repo"], "income_type": "w2" }'

Response:

{
  "lender": "Westlake",
  "required_stips": [
    { "stip": "Last 2 pay stubs", "priority": "required" },
    { "stip": "3 months bank statements", "priority": "required" },
    { "stip": "Proof of residence (utility bill within 60 days)", "priority": "required" },
    { "stip": "Reference list (3 local, with phone numbers)", "priority": "likely" }
  ],
  "submission_tip": "Westlake routes repo cases through secondary review — submit complete package first call. Incomplete packages go to the bottom of the queue.",
  "avg_turnaround_hours": 4
}

Gross Calc

POST /api/v1/gross-calc 🔑 Auth required

Computes true-cost gross for a given purchase/selling price and holding time.

curl -X POST https://louieauto.com/api/v1/gross-calc \
  -H "X-Louie-API-Key: $LOUIE_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "purchase_price": 18000,
    "vehicle_type": "car",
    "days_on_lot": 42,
    "selling_price": 22500
  }'

Response:

{
  "true_cost": 19240,
  "holding_cost_allocated": 420,
  "pack": 800,
  "front_gross": 3260,
  "front_gross_pct": 14.5,
  "pricing_recommendation": "On track — this unit is priced within 3% of the 30-day market median for this segment in your market.",
  "aged_flag": false
}

Morning Briefing

POST /api/v1/morning-briefing 🔑 Auth required

Returns the same aged-inventory morning briefing shown inside the app.

Field	Type	Description
role	string	`"new_car_manager"` for the new-car-focused briefing; any other value (or omitted) returns the used-car-manager briefing.

curl -X POST https://louieauto.com/api/v1/morning-briefing \
  -H "X-Louie-API-Key: $LOUIE_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "role": "new_car_manager" }'

Response:

{
  "alerts": [
    {
      "stock_no": "A1042",
      "year": 2020, "make": "Chevrolet", "model": "Equinox",
      "days_on_lot": 67,
      "list_price": 24995,
      "market_value": 18200,
      "alert_type": "aged_and_overpriced",
      "recommendation": "Reprice to $18,490 or wholesale. Holding cost: $28/day.",
      "wholesale_est": 15800
    }
  ],
  "total_aged_units": 8,
  "total_aged_exposure_usd": 186400
}

Market Pulse

GET /api/v1/market-pulse 🔑 Auth required

Current consumer sentiment, lender environment, and key market alerts. Illustrative today — goes live from real aggregated dealer-network data as the Louie Network grows (see the public preview).

curl https://louieauto.com/api/v1/market-pulse \
  -H "X-Louie-API-Key: $LOUIE_KEY"

Webhooks

Not yet available on the public API — subscribing your endpoint to real dealer events (deal created/closed, inventory updated, new lead/customer) is on the roadmap. Email brian@louieauto.com if this is a blocker for your integration.

JavaScript SDK

The official LouieAuto SDK wraps all API endpoints with proper error handling, retry logic, and TypeScript-compatible types.

<!-- Browser -->
<script src="https://louieauto.com/js/louieauto-sdk.js"></script>

// Initialize
const louie = new LouieAuto({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

// Route a lender
const result = await louie.routeLender({ beacon: 580, down_payment: 1500, vehicle_price: 14000, vehicle_type: 'car' });

// Check stips
const stips = await louie.stipCheck({ lender: 'Westlake', beacon: 580 });

// True-cost gross calc
const gross = await louie.grossCalc({ purchase_price: 14000, vehicle_type: 'car', days_on_lot: 12, selling_price: 17500 });

Full SDK reference and partner program →

Node.js Example

import fetch from 'node-fetch';

const LOUIE_KEY = process.env.LOUIE_API_KEY;

async function routeLender({ beacon, downPayment, vehiclePrice, vehicleType, knownIssues = [] }) {
  const res = await fetch('https://louieauto.com/api/v1/lender-route', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'X-Louie-API-Key': LOUIE_KEY,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      beacon,
      down_payment: downPayment,
      vehicle_price: vehiclePrice,
      vehicle_type: vehicleType,
      known_issues: knownIssues,
    }),
  });

  if (!res.ok) {
    const err = await res.json();
    throw new Error(`Louie API error: ${err.error}`);
  }

  return res.json();
}

// Usage
const routing = await routeLender({
  beacon: 580,
  downPayment: 1500,
  vehiclePrice: 14000,
  vehicleType: 'car',
  knownIssues: ['repo'],
});

console.log(`Primary lender: ${routing.primary.lender} at ${routing.primary.rate_range}`);

Python Example

import os
import httpx

LOUIE_KEY = os.environ["LOUIE_API_KEY"]
BASE = "https://louieauto.com/api/v1"

def stip_check(lender: str, beacon: int, known_issues: list[str] = None) -> dict:
    r = httpx.post(
        f"{BASE}/stip-check",
        headers={"X-Louie-API-Key": LOUIE_KEY},
        json={"lender": lender, "beacon": beacon, "known_issues": known_issues or []},
        timeout=30,
    )
    r.raise_for_status()
    return r.json()

def get_morning_briefing(role: str = None) -> dict:
    r = httpx.post(
        f"{BASE}/morning-briefing",
        headers={"X-Louie-API-Key": LOUIE_KEY},
        json={"role": role} if role else {},
        timeout=30,
    )
    r.raise_for_status()
    return r.json()

# Usage
stips = stip_check("Westlake", 540, ["repo"])
for s in stips["required_stips"]:
    print(f"[{s['priority'].upper()}] {s['stip']}")

Get an API Key

lak_ keys are created per dealer account by a logged-in staff member — POST /api/public-api/keys while authenticated in the app, or by contacting the team directly. Each key is scoped to a single dealer organization and cannot cross org boundaries.

curl -X POST https://louieauto.com/api/public-api/keys \
  --cookie "your-session-cookie" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "label": "My Integration", "permissions": "read", "rate_limit": 100 }'

Response includes the raw key exactly once. Store it immediately — it cannot be retrieved later. Lost keys must be revoked and reissued.

Request an API key →

Integration support: brian@louieauto.com — response within 1 business day.