If you need higher rate limits, you can upgrade to one of our paid plans. Each plan is flexible and can accommodate varying token usage levels to suit your needs.

For additional details, visit Rate Limits

  API tokens are used to manage your rate limits and are issued to paying customers. These tokens ensure that your usage is tracked and that rate limits are properly enforced.

To upgrade your account, visit Usage Contracts

  Rate limits are enforced based on the IP address of the client making the request. If you plan to generate a large number of barcodes from a central server or location, you will need an API key to manage your rate limits effectively.

  If you have an API token, include it in the Authorization header with each request. The token should be passed as follows:

Authorization: Token=xxxxxxxxxxxx
					

Note: When embedding barcodes in an application accessed by end users, do not include the API key in client-side requests. Rate limits will be managed at the IP level instead, so no API key is needed for each user.

HTML
 To embed a barcode in an HTML page:

<img src="https://barcodeapi.org/api/auto/test" />
					

JavaScript
 Use fetch to request a barcode and display it on the current page, while printing the remaining token count to the console.

let url = 'https://barcodeapi.org/api/auto/Try%20Me'
fetch(url, { cache: "no-store" })
  .then(response => {

    var tokens = response.headers.get('X-RateLimit-Tokens');
    console.log("Tokens remaining: " + tokens);

    response.blob().then(blob => {
      var img = document.createElement("img");
      img.src = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
      document.body.appendChild(img);
    });
});
					

curl
 Request and save a barcode using curl

curl https://barcodeapi.org/api/A_Barcode > test.png
					

wget
 Request and save a barcode using wget

wget -o test.png https://barcodeapi.org/api/A_Barcode
					

PowerShell
 Request and save a barcode using PowerShell

Invoke-WebRequest `
  https://barcodeapi.org/api/auto/test -OutFile test.png
					

Python
 Request and save a barcode using Python

import shutil
import requests

url = 'https://barcodeapi.org/api/auto/Try%20Me'
response = requests.get(url, stream=True)
with open('test.png', 'wb') as out_file:
  shutil.copyfileobj(response.raw, out_file)
					

Barcode Headers

  The server will add several headers related to the barcode including the type and encoded contents.

$ curl --head https://barcodeapi.org/api/auto/abc123
...
Content-Type: image/png
X-Barcode-Type: Code128
X-Barcode-Content: abc123
Content-Disposition: filename=abc123.png
					

Cache Control

  In an attempt to minimize the number of requests, barcodes requested outside of the webapp will have a cache expiration time set.

$ curl --head https://barcodeapi.org/api/auto/abc123
...
Access-Control-Max-Age: 86400
Cache-Control: max-age=86400, public
Expires: Sat, 04 Jan 2025 06:57:14 GMT
					

Rate Limit Headers

  The server will add several headers related to the rate limiter applied to the client.

$ curl --head https://barcodeapi.org/api/auto/abc123
...
X-RateLimit-Cost: 2
X-RateLimit-Tokens: 2032.40
					

Should a client become rate limited, requests will result in a 429. Users must wait until new tokens are generated before additional requests will be served.

$ curl --head https://barcodeapi.org/api/auto/abc123
HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
...
X-Error-Message: Client is rate limited, try again later.
					

API Redirect

  The server provides a set of static resources served from the root url of the server, in the event a request is made which is not targeted directly at the API nor references a known resources, a 403 redirect will be provided to send the send request to the API handler.

$ curl --head https://barcodeapi.org/abc123
HTTP/1.1 302 Found
...
Location: https://barcodeapi.org/api/auto/abc123
					

Error Headers

  In the event of a render error, an additional header [X-Error-Message] will be available containing details about the exception.

$ curl --head https://barcodeapi.org/api/8/00000009
HTTP/1.1 409 Conflict
...
X-Error-Message: Expected checksum: 0
					

Each type of application failure will result in a unique error code.

400	EMPTY		The request was empty.
400	INVALID		Invalid data for selected code type.
403	BLACKLIST	The request was rejected.
409	CHECKSUM	Expected checksum: 0
429	LIMITED		Client is rate limited, try again later.
500	FAILED		Failed to render barcode.
503	BUSY		Server is busy, please try again.