Your feed URL and token
Where your inventory feed URL lives, how its token secures it, how to replace the key, and why a paused channel returns a 404.
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A marketplace feed is a single web link that lists your published inventory. A marketplace that accepts a feed fetches it on a schedule, so your latest cars flow through automatically and sold cars drop off on their own. This page explains where that link lives, what the token in it does, and how to keep it secure.
A feed URL is just the data. Not every marketplace is a "paste a URL" connection: Google and Facebook are paid ads on your own accounts, and the listing sites are set up with us through Request setup. See How each channel actually connects below before you assume a URL is all you need.
Where your feed URL is
Each channel on the Marketplaces settings page shows its own feed URL while it's on. There's no separate file to upload anywhere.
- Go to Settings → Marketplaces.
- Find the channel and turn it on with its switch. The first time you turn one on, we create your feed key for you. It powers every link on this page.
- The channel's card now has a Feed URL section with a ready-to-copy link. A channel that's off shows no link, because the link only works while it's on.
- Click Copy link, then use it wherever that channel's How it works tells you to (which is not always a paste-a-URL field; see below).
Every feed URL looks like this:
https://your-slug.autodealer.io/api/feeds/YOUR_TOKEN/google.tsvThe host is your own storefront subdomain (your-slug.autodealer.io), so a copied link reads as your dealership's feed. The last part of the path (google.tsv, facebook.csv, carfax.csv, generic.csv, etc.) tells us which marketplace format to build. Each channel gets its own URL so you can track and pause them independently.
Only Owners and Admin managers can open the Marketplaces page, so only they can turn on, pause or replace feeds. It is not listed in Settings for other roles.
How each channel actually connects
A feed URL is the inventory data. Whether a marketplace uses that URL, and what it needs from you, varies by channel:
- Google Vehicle Ads: a paid Google Ads product on your own Google accounts. Google retired its free vehicle listings in 2025, so the feed powers paid ads, not a free listing.
- Facebook: paid Vehicle Ads on your own Meta accounts, never free Marketplace listings. When the card reads Set up in Meta, add the Facebook feed URL in Meta Commerce Manager. When it shows Connect Facebook, a Facebook login pushes and auto-syncs your catalog instead.
- CarGurus: needs a CarGurus dealer account and no URL from you. Choose Request setup, and AutoDealer.io finishes the setup with CarGurus. See CarGurus and the generic feed.
- CARFAX: needs CARFAX Car Listings, an upgrade CARFAX Advantage dealers buy from CARFAX. Turn the CARFAX card on and tell your CARFAX rep that AutoDealer.io provides your inventory. CARFAX Car Listings sets up the rest with us and then reads your feed about once a day, so there's nothing to send or paste. See CARFAX listings.
- Autotrader, Cars.com, Carsforsale.com, TrueCar and Edmunds: each has its own card and its own file. You need an account with that site, then you turn its card on and choose Request setup. If your rep asks for your inventory file, send them that card's feed URL. See Autotrader, Cars.com and other listing sites.
- Generic feed: a broad CSV for any other marketplace or tool that accepts a dealer-supplied URL.
A feed URL does not, by itself, list your cars anywhere. Each channel still needs its own account and setup. Follow the channel's guide above for the real steps.
How the token secures the feed
The long random string in the middle of the URL is the password. Marketplace crawlers don't log in. They just request the URL on a schedule, so the token is what proves the request is allowed to read your inventory.
A few things this means for you:
- Treat the full URL like a secret. Anyone with the link can read your published inventory feed (the same cars already public on your website; never costs, customer info, or deals).
- We only ever show the last 4 characters of the key on the settings page (
••••1234). The full token only appears inside the copyable feed URLs. - Every failure returns the same plain 404. A wrong token, a paused feed, or an unknown channel all look identical, so no one can probe to discover valid tokens or dealers.
The public feed only ever exposes inventory that's already published to your website. It never includes your cost, profit, customer data, or any deal information.
Replace the key
Replace your key when a feed URL may have leaked. This makes a brand-new token: the old URLs stop working within minutes and return a 404 (a copy of each feed is kept for up to five minutes).
- Go to Settings → Marketplaces. Feed key is the first box on the page.
- Next to the masked key (
••••1234), click Replace key. We ask first, and name the channels that will stop getting your inventory. - After you confirm, you'll see: "Feed key replaced. Update the link anywhere you gave out the old one."
- Copy the new URL from each channel card and update it everywhere you previously used the old one.
Replacing the key breaks every place the old URL was used. Any marketplace still pointed at the old link will fail to fetch until you give it the new URL. Plan to update each connected marketplace right after you replace it. For CARFAX there's no URL for you to change: contact us through Support and we'll give CARFAX Car Listings the new link (see CARFAX listings). The same goes for any site set up through Request setup.
A paused or disabled channel returns a 404
Turning a feed off actually stops it. The URL doesn't just go stale, it starts returning a 404.
- The Feeds switch (off), under Feed key: every marketplace URL returns a 404 until you turn it back on. We ask first, and a notice at the top of the page shows while feeds are paused.
- A single channel switched off: that one channel's feed URL returns a 404 while the others keep serving. (Facebook is the exception: its switch controls live auto-sync, not the fallback feed.)
- Feeds keep working when on: an empty inventory still returns a valid (empty) feed, not an error.
Feeds also stop on their own if your dealership account is suspended or your subscription is cancelled; every feed URL returns a 404 in that case.
How fresh is the feed?
The feed is built live from your current inventory each time it's fetched, with a short cache (up to about 5 minutes at the edge). So a sold car, a paused channel, or a replaced key all take effect on the next fetch within a few minutes. There's no manual "republish" step.
Feeds are also tagged noindex, so the raw feed URL won't show up in Google search results.
FAQ
Where do I find my feed URL?
Settings → Marketplaces. Turn the channel on, then copy the link from its Feed URL section.
Can I have one feed URL for everything?
No. Each marketplace has its own URL ending (like google.tsv or facebook.csv) so you can pause and track them separately. There's also a Generic feed URL that other marketplaces which accept a dealer-supplied URL can ingest.
I have a feed URL but nothing showed up on the marketplace. Why?
A feed URL is only the inventory data. By itself it doesn't connect you to a marketplace. Each channel still needs its own account and setup. For example, Google Vehicle Ads and Facebook Vehicle Ads are paid ad products on your own accounts; CARFAX needs CARFAX Car Listings on your CARFAX account; CarGurus, Autotrader, Cars.com, Carsforsale.com, TrueCar and Edmunds need an account with that site and Request setup. Check the channel's guide.
I replaced the key and now a marketplace stopped working. Why?
Replacing the key creates a new token, so the old URL returns a 404. Copy the new URL from the channel card and give it to that marketplace again to restore it. For CARFAX, contact us through Support and we'll give CARFAX Car Listings the new link. Do the same for any site set up through Request setup.
My feed URL returns "Not found" (404). What's wrong?
Check, in order: the Feeds switch under Feed key is on, the specific channel is switched on, the URL matches the current key (you may have replaced it), and your account is active. Any of these will return the same 404.
Is it safe to share the feed URL?
Only with the marketplace you're connecting. The token in the URL is the password, and the feed exposes the same inventory that's already public on your website, but never costs, customer data, or deals. If a link leaks, replace the key.
Why is my feed on my own subdomain instead of autodealer.io?
So the feed reads as your dealership's own feed (your-slug.autodealer.io). Your storefront slug is pulled fresh from your account, so this always uses your current subdomain.