IMS Feed Imports

Overview

IMS (Inventory Management System) providers push CSV inventory files to AutoSnap’s SFTP server. The IMS feed system automatically:

Polls for new/changed files every 60 seconds
Parses CSVs using provider-specific field mappings
Normalizes data into a unified vehicle schema
Tracks additions, updates, and removals between imports
Fires webhooks on updates and staleness

Supported Providers

Provider	Description
`vauto`	vAuto
`homenet`	HomeNet
`vincue`	VinCue
`promax`	ProMax
`maxdigital`	MaxDigital / Firstlook
`inventoryplus`	InventoryPlus
`dealercenter`	DealerCenter
`idms`	IDMS
`ansira`	Ansira

How It Works

1. Provider pushes CSV to SFTP

Each provider pushes a CSV file to files.autosnap.cloud under /import/{provider}/. For example, vAuto files land in /import/vauto/MP14015.csv. Providers overwrite the same filename on each push.

2. Create a feed config

curl -X POST "https://api.autosnap.com/v1/ims/feeds" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "dealership_id": "dlr_8cfc0b00a98b",
    "provider": "vauto",
    "ftp_path": "vauto",
    "file_name": "MP14015.csv",
    "staleness_threshold_hours": 48
  }'

The endpoint validates that the file exists and was updated within 48 hours before creating the config.

The provider and ftp_path fields may differ. provider determines which field mapping is used to parse the CSV. ftp_path is the actual directory name on SFTP. For example, MaxDigital uses provider: "maxdigital" but ftp_path: "firstlook".

3. Automatic polling

Once created, the system polls SFTP every 60 seconds. On each poll:

Checks file mtime (modification time) — skips download if unchanged
Downloads and computes MD5 hash — skips import if hash matches last import
Parses CSV with the provider’s field mapping
Upserts vehicles into ims_vehicle (keyed on feed + VIN)
Marks vehicles as removed if they were in the previous import but not in the current file
Fires ims.import.complete webhook with import stats
Fires per-vehicle webhooks (ims.vehicle.created, ims.vehicle.updated, ims.vehicle.removed)

4. Staleness detection

A separate check runs every 30 minutes. If a feed’s file hasn’t been updated within the staleness_threshold_hours (default 48), an ims.feed.stale webhook fires. Stale alerts are throttled to once per 24 hours per feed.

Multi-Dealer Files

Some providers (like ProMax) send all dealers in a single CSV file. Use the dealer_identifier field to filter rows:

curl -X POST "https://api.autosnap.com/v1/ims/feeds" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
    "dealership_id": "dlr_abc123",
    "provider": "promax",
    "ftp_path": "promax",
    "file_name": "Preownedplus.csv",
    "dealer_identifier": "9553"
  }'

The dealer_identifier is matched against the dealer ID column in the CSV (e.g., ProMaxID for ProMax, DealerId for vAuto).

Webhook Events

Subscribe to IMS webhook events to get real-time notifications. See Webhooks for setup instructions.

Event	Fires when
`ims.import.complete`	An import cycle finishes for a feed
`ims.vehicle.created`	A new vehicle appears in a feed import
`ims.vehicle.updated`	An existing vehicle’s data changes
`ims.vehicle.removed`	A vehicle is no longer in the feed (marked inactive)
`ims.feed.stale`	A feed file hasn’t been updated within the staleness threshold

The ims.* prefixed events are specific to IMS feed imports. The non-prefixed equivalents (import.complete, vehicle.created, vehicle.updated, vehicle.removed) cover website scraper events only. If a dealership has both a website scraper and an IMS feed, subscribe to both sets to receive events from both sources.

`ims.import.complete`

Fired after each successful import cycle. Includes counts for new, updated, and removed vehicles.

{
  "event": "ims.import.complete",
  "dealership_id": "dlr_8cfc0b00a98b",
  "timestamp": "2026-04-14T06:15:12+00:00",
  "data": {
    "feed_config_id": 1,
    "dealership_id": "dlr_8cfc0b00a98b",
    "batch_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
    "file_name": "MP14015.csv",
    "vehicle_count": 381,
    "new_count": 3,
    "updated_count": 378,
    "removed_count": 2,
    "error_count": 0,
    "status": "success"
  }
}

`ims.vehicle.created`

Fired for each new vehicle added during an import.

{
  "event": "ims.vehicle.created",
  "dealership_id": "dlr_8cfc0b00a98b",
  "timestamp": "2026-04-14T06:15:12+00:00",
  "data": {
    "vin": "1GCHSCEA7L1214921",
    "feed_config_id": 1,
    "dealership_id": "dlr_8cfc0b00a98b",
    "year": 2020,
    "make": "Chevrolet",
    "model": "Colorado 2WD",
    "condition": "Used",
    "price": 18999,
    "stock_number": "M1382"
  }
}

`ims.vehicle.updated`

Same payload structure as ims.vehicle.created. Fired when an existing vehicle’s data changes between imports.

`ims.vehicle.removed`

Fired when a vehicle was in the previous import but is no longer in the current file.

{
  "event": "ims.vehicle.removed",
  "dealership_id": "dlr_8cfc0b00a98b",
  "timestamp": "2026-04-14T06:15:12+00:00",
  "data": {
    "vin": "1GCHSCEA7L1214921",
    "feed_config_id": 1,
    "dealership_id": "dlr_8cfc0b00a98b"
  }
}

`ims.feed.stale`

Fired when a feed file hasn’t been updated within the configured threshold.

{
  "event": "ims.feed.stale",
  "dealership_id": "dlr_8cfc0b00a98b",
  "timestamp": "2026-04-16T12:00:00+00:00",
  "data": {
    "feed_config_id": 1,
    "dealership_id": "dlr_8cfc0b00a98b",
    "provider": "vauto",
    "staleness_threshold_hours": 48,
    "hours_since_last_import": 53.2,
    "last_import_at": "2026-04-14T06:15:12+00:00"
  }
}

API Reference

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/v1/ims/feeds`	`POST`	Create Feed Configuration
`/v1/ims/feeds`	`GET`	List Feed Configurations
`/v1/ims/feeds/{id}`	`PATCH`	Update Feed Configuration
`/v1/ims/feeds/{id}/history`	`GET`	Get Feed Import History
`/v1/ims/vehicles`	`GET`	Fetch IMS Inventory

Get Started

Concepts

Guides

Support

Overview

Supported Providers

How It Works

1. Provider pushes CSV to SFTP

2. Create a feed config

3. Automatic polling

4. Staleness detection

Multi-Dealer Files

Webhook Events

`ims.import.complete`

`ims.vehicle.created`

`ims.vehicle.updated`

`ims.vehicle.removed`

`ims.feed.stale`

API Reference

​Overview

​Supported Providers

​How It Works

​1. Provider pushes CSV to SFTP

​2. Create a feed config

​3. Automatic polling

​4. Staleness detection

​Multi-Dealer Files

​Webhook Events

​ims.import.complete

​ims.vehicle.created

​ims.vehicle.updated

​ims.vehicle.removed

​ims.feed.stale

​API Reference

Overview

Supported Providers

How It Works

1. Provider pushes CSV to SFTP

2. Create a feed config

3. Automatic polling

4. Staleness detection

Multi-Dealer Files

Webhook Events

`ims.import.complete`

`ims.vehicle.created`

`ims.vehicle.updated`

`ims.vehicle.removed`

`ims.feed.stale`

API Reference