Add VIN OCR to Your Bolt.new App in 5 Minutes

The problem: Standard AI can't read through windshield glare

Tools like Bolt.new are remarkable at generating apps instantly — but they stop at the file boundary. You can build a beautiful fleet management interface in minutes, yet the actual extraction of a 17-character VIN from a reflective windshield or a scuffed door sticker requires a dedicated VIN OCR API. Standard vision models routinely confuse '8' with 'B' or '0' with 'O', which breaks downstream database lookups.

The solution: 17-character precision, instantly

StructOCR's /v1/vin endpoint accepts a photo and returns a clean JSON object with the validated VIN — bypassing glare, shadows, and bad angles. Because it speaks plain HTTP, Bolt.new can wire it up from a single fetch call without heavy backend dependencies.

Integrate StructOCR in Bolt.new (3 Steps)

1. 1

   Create a Bolt.new project and describe your app

   Open bolt.new and start a new prompt. Describe the automotive tool you want to build — be specific about the scanning interface.

   💬Try this prompt: "Build a mobile-friendly VIN scanner app. Users can upload a photo of a car dashboard or door jamb, and the app will display the extracted 17-character VIN and confidence score."
2. 2

   Tell Bolt to call the StructOCR API

   Once Bolt scaffolds the UI, paste the follow-up prompt below. Bolt will write the fetch call, handle the file upload, and wire the response to your UI components in its in-browser editor.

   💬Follow-up prompt: "When a user uploads an image, send it as a multipart/form-data POST to https://api.structocr.com/v1/vin with an Authorization header containing my API key. Display the returned JSON fields in the results panel."

   // Bolt generates something like this — you just supply the key in .env const response = await fetch('https://api.structocr.com/v1/vin', { method: 'POST', headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${import.meta.env.VITE_STRUCTOCR_KEY}` }, body: formData, });
3. 3

   Add your StructOCR API key to your environment

   In the Bolt.new file explorer, create or open the .env file to securely add your StructOCR key. The app will automatically reload with your live scanner.

   💬Variable name: VITE_STRUCTOCR_KEY — get your free key at structocr.com/dashboard

   VITE_STRUCTOCR_KEY=sk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What you can build in Bolt.new with this integration

• Dealership intake app: Let salespeople snap a photo of a car's dashboard to instantly populate trade-in appraisal forms without typing out 17 characters manually. A core feature of dealership automation.
• Fleet management tracker: Build a mobile app for drivers to scan their assigned vehicle's VIN at the start of a shift to log out the asset.
• Mobile mechanic diagnostics: Create a tool where mechanics scan a door jamb sticker to automatically fetch the vehicle's year, make, model, and engine specs.
• Auto insurance claims: Add an upload step to a self-service claims flow: extract the VIN automatically from the policyholder's photos to verify the insured vehicle.

The prompt and the code

Copy the follow-up prompt into your Bolt.new chat to generate the integration. The code block shows what Bolt typically produces — useful if you want to verify or tweak it.

Prerequisite: A free StructOCR account — get your API key at structocr.com/dashboard (no credit card required)

I need to add VIN OCR to this app.

When a user uploads an image:
1. Send it as multipart/form-data to: POST https://api.structocr.com/v1/vin
2. Include the header: Authorization: Bearer ${VITE_STRUCTOCR_KEY}
3. The response is JSON with fields: data.vin, data.confidence, data.carrier_type
4. Display the extracted VIN in a large, clear font
5. Show a loading spinner while the request is in flight
6. Show an error message if the upload fails

Use the environment variable VITE_STRUCTOCR_KEY for the API key.

What the API returns

A lightweight, direct JSON response. Your Bolt.new app can bind this directly to the UI components.

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "vin": "1M8GDM9A6KP042788",
    "confidence": "High",
    "carrier_type": "windshield"
  }
}