README

Open pieces of Elgarde, a structured pre-purchase used-car inspection: the inspection data itself, the scoring specification, the API contract, and every tool that runs on somebody else's machine.

The mobile app, the marketing site and the backend service are not here — see PUBLIC_BOUNDARY.md for what belongs in this repository and why.

What's inside

Path	What it is	Status
`inspection-core/`	The canon: checklist content in five languages, curated model-specific defect rules, the scoring specification, and the conformance vectors every implementation must pass	✅
`openapi/`	The published contract of the free `/v1` API	✅
`packages/`	Ports of the core for Dart, Python, JS and PHP	planned
`mcp/`	MCP server — ask an assistant what to check on a given car	planned
`plugins/wordpress/`	WordPress plugin embedding the inspection checklist	planned
`extension/`	Browser extension surfacing known defects on used-car listings	planned

The free API

No key, no sign-up, CORS open, rate-limited per IP:

curl "https://api.elgarde.com/api/v1/checklist?fuel=diesel&make=Volkswagen&model=Golf&lang=en"
curl "https://api.elgarde.com/api/v1/defects?make=Peugeot&model=208"

Reference: https://elgarde.com/api/ · spec: https://api.elgarde.com/api/openapi.json (a snapshot is committed at openapi/elgarde-api.json).

The canon

inspection-core/ is the single source of truth. The Elgarde app, the API and every language port are thin wrappers over it, and each runs the same conformance/vectors.json in CI — so a score computed in the app and a score computed through the API are the same number.

25 base checklist items plus 10 across four fuel modules, authored in English, Portuguese, Russian, Ukrainian and French
8 ordered make/model match rules covering 25 curated known defects — the DQ200 dry clutch, the PureTech wet belt, the N47 timing chain
spec/SCORING.md: group rollups (average, weighted, worst-case) and the critical clamp that stops one failed safety item from averaging away

A group holds child groups or items:

{
  "id": "ext.body",
  "order": 0,
  "title": { "en": "Body & paint", "pt": "Carroçaria e pintura", "…": "…" },
  "aggregation": "average",
  "items": [
    {
      "id": "ext.body.rust",
      "order": 2,
      "prompt": { "en": "No rust or corrosion", "…": "…" },
      "critical": true
    }
  ]
}

A defect rule matches when any of its clauses matches — the make contains one of makeAny, and, when present, the model contains one of modelAny. Rules are ordered, the first match wins, and at most one defect group is ever appended:

{
  "id": "ford-known-issues",
  "label": { "en": "Ford known issues", "pt": "Problemas conhecidos Ford" },
  "match": [{ "makeAny": ["ford"], "modelAny": ["focus", "fiesta", "ecosport", "puma"] }],
  "defects": [
    {
      "id": "ecoboost.coolant",
      "critical": true,
      "text": {
        "en": "1.0 EcoBoost coolant/overheating (degas hose, head) — check history",
        "pt": "1.0 EcoBoost sobreaquecimento/líquido — verificar histórico"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Item ids are permanent — they are what makes an inspection comparable over time. JSON Schemas for both files are in inspection-core/data/schema/.

Self-check, before you rely on any of it:

python3 inspection-core/tools/check.py     # schemas, structure, all 32 vectors

Porting the core

Load inspection-core/data/checklist.json and inspection-core/data/defects.json.
Implement spec/SCORING.md.
Run all four sections of conformance/vectors.json in your test suite — scoring, assembly, matching, canonScoring. Compare floats with a tolerance of 1e-9.

Honest limits

Elgarde is a self-service checklist. It is not a certified, mechanical or legal inspection, not professional advice, and not a vehicle-history or title service. A defect entry describes a known weak point on a model — something worth checking — and is never a claim about any individual car. An empty defect result means nothing is curated for that model yet, not that the model is trouble-free.

Licence

Data (inspection-core/data/, inspection-core/conformance/) — CC-BY-4.0. Commercial use is fine; keep the attribution to https://elgarde.com/.
Code and tooling — MIT.

Corrections and additional model defects are welcome — open an issue or a pull request. Elgarde is made in Porto, Portugal by TransparentCaprice, Lda. (NIPC 517840642).

elgarde / inspection

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