Barcode Generator#

Available Methods#

/barcode/generate#

Generate high quality barcode images. Supports QR Code, Datamatrix, Code 39, Code 128, PDF417 and many other barcode types.

  • Method: POST

  • Endpoint: /v1/barcode/generate

Attributes#

Attribute

Description

Required

value

Set the string value to encode inside the barcode, must be in a string format.

yes

type

Set the barcode type, must be in a string format. QRCode by default. See: Supported Barcode Types.

no

name

File name for the generated output, must be in a string format.

no

expiration

Set the expiration time for the output link in minutes (default is 60 i.e 60 minutes or 1 hour), After this specified duration, any generated output file(s) will be automatically deleted from PDF.co Temporary Files Storage. The maximum duration for link expiration varies based on your current subscription plan.

To store permanent input files (e.g. re-usable images, pdf templates, documents) consider using PDF.co Built-In Files Storage.

no

inline

Must be one of: true to return data as inline, or false to return the link to the output file (default).

no

decorationImage

Set this to the image that you want to be inserted the logo inside the QR-Code barcode. To use your file please upload it first to the temporary storage, see the Upload and Manage Files section below to learn how to do it.

no, QR-Code only

async

Set async to true for long processes to run in the background, API will then return a jobId which you can use with the Background Job Check endpoint to check the status of the process and retrieve the output while you can proceed with other tasks.

no

profiles

Use this parameter to set additional configurations for fine-tuning and extra options. Explore the Profiles section for more.

no

Query parameters#

No query parameters accepted.

QRCode Example#

Payload 3#

{
    "name": "barcode.png",
    "value": "abcdef123456",
    "type": "QRCode",
    "inline": false,
    "async": false
}

Response 2#

{
    "url": "https://pdf-temp-files.s3.amazonaws.com/72bc579b37844d9f9e63ce06de5196d8/barcode.png",
    "error": false,
    "status": 200,
    "name": "barcode.png",
    "duration": 380,
    "remainingCredits": 98725598,
    "credits": 7
}

CURL#

curl --location --request POST 'https://api.pdf.co/v1/barcode/generate' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'x-api-key: *******************' \
--data-raw '{
    "name": "barcode.png",
    "value": "abcdef123456",
    "type": "QRCode",
    "inline": false,
    "async": false
}'

QRCode with Logo Inside Example#

Payload 3#

{
    "name": "barcode.png",
    "value": "abcdef123456",
    "type": "QRCode",
    "inline": false,
    "async": false,
    "decorationImage": "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/barcode-generator/logo.png"
}

Response 2#

{
    "url": "https://pdf-temp-files.s3.amazonaws.com/9a87556a8b9e4f4eae60843e697250d4/barcode.png",
    "error": false,
    "status": 200,
    "name": "barcode.png",
    "remainingCredits": 60631
}

CURL#

curl --location --request POST 'https://api.pdf.co/v1/barcode/generate' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'x-api-key: *******************' \
--data-raw '{
    "name": "barcode.png",
    "value": "abcdef123456",
    "type": "QRCode",
    "inline": false,
    "async": false,
    "decorationImage": "https://pdfco-test-files.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/barcode-generator/logo.png"
}'

Data URI as Output Example#

Payload 3#

{
    "name": "barcode.png",
    "value": "abcdef123456",
    "type": "QRCode",
    "inline": true,
    "async": false
}

Response 2#

{
    "url": "data:image/png;base64,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",
    "error": false,
    "status": 200,
    "name": "barcode.png",
    "duration": 298,
    "remainingCredits": 98725605,
    "credits": 7
}

CURL#

curl --location --request POST 'https://api.pdf.co/v1/barcode/generate' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--header 'x-api-key: *******************' \
--data-raw '{
    "name": "barcode.png",
    "value": "abcdef123456",
    "type": "QRCode",
    "inline": true,
    "async": false
}'

Code samples#

var https = require("https");

// The authentication key (API Key).
// Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
const API_KEY = "***********************************";

// Result image file name
const DestinationFile = "./barcode.png";
// Barcode type. See valid barcode types in the documentation https://developer.pdf.co
const BarcodeType = "Code128";
// Barcode value
const BarcodeValue = "qweasd123456";

// Prepare request to `Barcode Generator` API endpoint
var queryPath = `/v1/barcode/generate`;

// JSON payload for api request
var jsonPayload = JSON.stringify({
    name: 'barcode.png',
    type: BarcodeType,
    value: BarcodeValue
});

var reqOptions = {
    host: "api.pdf.co",
    path: queryPath,
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
        "x-api-key": API_KEY,
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Content-Length": Buffer.byteLength(jsonPayload, 'utf8')
    }
};


exports.handler = async (event) => {

    let dataString = '';
    const promise_response = await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {

        // Send request
        var postRequest = https.request(reqOptions, (response) => {
            response.on('data', chunk => {
                dataString += chunk;
            });

            response.on('end', () => {
                resolve({
                    statusCode: 200,
                    body: JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(dataString), null, 4)
                });
            });

        }).on("error", (e) => {
            reject({
                statusCode: 500,
                body: 'Something went wrong!'
            });
        });

        // Write request data
        postRequest.write(jsonPayload);
        postRequest.end();
    });

    return promise_response;
};

import os
import requests # pip install requests

# The authentication key (API Key).
# Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
API_KEY = "******************************************"

# Base URL for PDF.co Web API requests
BASE_URL = "https://api.pdf.co/v1"

# Result file name
ResultFile = ".\\barcode.png"
# Barcode type. See valid barcode types in the documentation https://developer.pdf.co
BarcodeType = "Code128"
# Barcode value
BarcodeValue = "qweasd123456"


def main(args = None):
    generateBarcode(ResultFile)

def generateBarcode(destinationFile):
    """Generates Barcode using PDF.co Web API"""

    # Prepare requests params as JSON
    # See documentation: https://developer.pdf.co/api/barcode-generator/index.html
    parameters = {}
    parameters["name"] = os.path.basename(destinationFile)
    parameters["type"] = BarcodeType
    parameters["value"] = BarcodeValue

    # Prepare URL for 'Barcode Generate' API request
    url = "{}/barcode/generate".format(BASE_URL)

    # Execute request and get response as JSON
    response = requests.post(url, data=parameters, headers={ "x-api-key": API_KEY })
    if (response.status_code == 200):
        json = response.json()

        if json["error"] == False:
            #  Get URL of result file
            resultFileUrl = json["url"]
            # Download result file
            r = requests.get(resultFileUrl, stream=True)
            if (r.status_code == 200):
                with open(destinationFile, 'wb') as file:
                    for chunk in r:
                        file.write(chunk)
                print(f"Result file saved as \"{destinationFile}\" file.")
            else:
                print(f"Request error: {response.status_code} {response.reason}")
        else:
            # Show service reported error
            print(json["message"])
    else:
        print(f"Request error: {response.status_code} {response.reason}")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Net;
using Newtonsoft.Json;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;

namespace PDFCOWebApiExample
{
  class Program
  {
    // The authentication key (API Key).
    // Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
    const String API_KEY = "***********************************";


    // Result file name
    const string ResultFileName = @".\barcode.png";
    // Barcode type. See valid barcode types in the documentation https://developer.pdf.co
    const string BarcodeType = "Code128";
    // Barcode value
    const string BarcodeValue = "qweasd123456";


    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
      // Create standard .NET web client instance
      WebClient webClient = new WebClient();

      // Set API Key
      webClient.Headers.Add("x-api-key", API_KEY);

      // Prepare requests params as JSON
            // See documentation: https://apidocs.pdf.co/#barcode-generator
            Dictionary<string, string> parameters = new Dictionary<string, string>();
            parameters.Add("name", Path.GetFileName(ResultFileName));
            parameters.Add("type", BarcodeType);
            parameters.Add("value", BarcodeValue);
            // Convert dictionary of params to JSON
            string jsonPayload = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(parameters);

      try
      {
                // URL of "Barcode Generator" endpoint
                string url = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/barcode/generate";

                // Execute POST request with JSON payload
                string response = webClient.UploadString(url, jsonPayload);

        // Parse JSON response
        JObject json = JObject.Parse(response);

        if (json["error"].ToObject<bool>() == false)
        {
          // Get URL of generated barcode image file
          string resultFileURI = json["url"].ToString();

          // Download generated image file
          webClient.DownloadFile(resultFileURI, ResultFileName);

          Console.WriteLine("Generated barcode saved to \"{0}\" file.", ResultFileName);
        }
        else
        {
          Console.WriteLine(json["message"].ToString());
        }
      }
      catch (WebException e)
      {
        Console.WriteLine(e.ToString());
      }
            finally
            {
                webClient.Dispose();
            }


      Console.WriteLine();
      Console.WriteLine("Press any key...");
      Console.ReadKey();
    }
  }
}

package com.company;

import com.google.gson.JsonObject;
import com.google.gson.JsonParser;
import okhttp3.*;

import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main
{
    // The authentication key (API Key).
    // Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
    final static String API_KEY = "***********************************";

    // Result file name
    final static Path ResultFile = Paths.get(".\\barcode.png");
    // Barcode type. See valid barcode types in the documentation https://developer.pdf.co
    final static String BarcodeType = "Code128";
    // Barcode value
    final static String BarcodeValue = "qweasd123456";


    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException
    {
        // Create HTTP client instance
        OkHttpClient webClient = new OkHttpClient();

        // Prepare URL for `Barcode Generator` API call
        String query = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/barcode/generate";

        // Make correctly escaped (encoded) URL
        URL url = null;
        try
        {
            url = new URI(null, query, null).toURL();
        }
        catch (URISyntaxException e)
        {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }

        // Create JSON payload
        String jsonPayload = String.format("{\"name\": \"%s\", \"type\": \"%s\", \"value\": \"%s\"}",
            ResultFile.getFileName(),
            BarcodeType,
            BarcodeValue);

        // Prepare request body
        RequestBody body = RequestBody.create(MediaType.parse("application/json"), jsonPayload);

        // Prepare request
        Request request = new Request.Builder()
            .url(url)
            .addHeader("x-api-key", API_KEY) // (!) Set API Key
            .addHeader("Content-Type", "application/json")
            .post(body)
            .build();

        // Execute request
        Response response = webClient.newCall(request).execute();

        if (response.code() == 200)
        {
            // Parse JSON response
            JsonObject json = new JsonParser().parse(response.body().string()).getAsJsonObject();

            boolean error = json.get("error").getAsBoolean();
            if (!error)
            {
                // Get URL of generated barcode image file
                String resultFileUrl = json.get("url").getAsString();

                // Download the image file
                downloadFile(webClient, resultFileUrl, ResultFile);

                System.out.printf("Generated barcode saved to \"%s\" file.", ResultFile.toString());
            }
            else
            {
                // Display service reported error
                System.out.println(json.get("message").getAsString());
            }
        }
        else
        {
            // Display request error
            System.out.println(response.code() + " " + response.message());
        }
    }

    public static void downloadFile(OkHttpClient webClient, String url, Path destinationFile) throws IOException
    {
        // Prepare request
        Request request = new Request.Builder()
                .url(url)
                .build();
        // Execute request
        Response response = webClient.newCall(request).execute();

        byte[] fileBytes = response.body().bytes();

        // Save downloaded bytes to file
        OutputStream output = new FileOutputStream(destinationFile.toFile());
        output.write(fileBytes);
        output.flush();
        output.close();

        response.close();
    }
}

<?php

  // Get submitted form data
  $apiKey = $_POST["apiKey"]; // The authentication key (API Key). Get your own by registering at https://app.pdf.co
  $barcodeType = $_POST["barcodeType"];
  $barcodeValue = $_POST["inputValue"];

  // Create URL
  $url = "https://api.pdf.co/v1/barcode/generate";

  // Prepare requests params
  $parameters = array();
  $parameters["value"] = $barcodeValue;
  $parameters["type"] = $barcodeType;

  // Create Json payload
  $data = json_encode($parameters);

  // Create request
  $curl = curl_init();
  curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER, array("x-api-key: " . $apiKey, "Content-type: application/json"));
  curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
  curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POST, true);
  curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
  curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS, $data);

  // Execute request
  $result = curl_exec($curl);

  if (curl_errno($curl) == 0)
  {
      $status_code = curl_getinfo($curl, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);

      if ($status_code == 200)
      {
          $json = json_decode($result, true);

          if (!isset($json["error"]) || $json["error"] == false)
          {
              $resultFileUrl = $json["url"];

              // Display generated image
              echo "<div>## Result:<img src=" . $resultFileUrl . "></div>";
          }
          else
          {
              // Display service reported errors
              echo "<p>Error: " . $json["message"] . "</p>";
          }
      }
      else
      {
          // Display request error
          echo "<p>Status code: " . $status_code . "</p>";
          echo "<p>" . $result . "</p>";
      }
  }
  else
  {
      // Display CURL error
      echo "Error: " . curl_error($curl);
  }

  // Cleanup
  curl_close($curl);

?>

On Github#

Footnotes

1

Supports publicly accessible links from any source, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and PDF.co Built-In Files Storage. To upload files via the API, check out the File Upload section. Note: If you experience intermittent Access Denied or Too Many Requests errors, please try adding cache: to enable built-in URL caching (e.g., cache:https://example.com/file1.pdf). For data security, you have the option to encrypt output files and decrypt input files. Learn more about user-controlled data encryption.

2(1,2,3)

Main response codes as follows:

Code

Description

200

Success

400

Bad request. Typically happens because of bad input parameters, or because the input URLs can’t be reached, possibly due to access restrictions like needing a login or password.

401

Unauthorized

402

Not enough credits

445

Timeout error. To process large documents or files please use asynchronous mode (set the async parameter to true) and then check status using the /job/check endpoint. If a file contains many pages then specify a page range using the pages parameter. The number of pages of the document can be obtained using the /pdf/info endpoint.

Note

For more see the complete list of available response codes.

3(1,2,3)

PDF.co Request size: API requests do not support request sizes of more than 4 megabytes in size. Please ensure that request sizes do not exceed this limit.