Barcode API for publishers

Documentation

Getting a key

Keys are issued by us. Tell us about your list and we send you a trial key first (br_test_…): it returns the PNG preview only, up to 100 previews a day, so you can wire up your system. A live key (br_live_…) returns print-ready PDFs.

Keep the key on your server. Send it in every request as Authorization: Bearer <key>. Never put it in a web page or an app: there is no browser (CORS) access on purpose. If a key leaks, tell us and we revoke it at once.

One barcode: POST /api/v1/barcode

curl https://barcoderocket.com/api/v1/barcode \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BARCODEROCKET_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"type": "isbnp", "code": "9780306406157", "price": "19.99"}' \
  -o barcode.pdf

The answer is the PDF (application/pdf), named like a download from the site, for example ISBN-9780306406157-51999-barcoderocket.pdf. The header X-Scans-As says what a scanner reads.

A list: POST /api/v1/batch

curl https://barcoderocket.com/api/v1/batch \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BARCODEROCKET_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"type": "isbnp", "rows": [
        {"code": "9780306406157", "price": "19.99"},
        {"code": "9781861972712"}
      ]}' \
  -o barcodes.zip

Up to 100 barcodes per call, each row with its own price. Or send a plain list of numbers in codes with one shared price. The answer is a ZIP with one PDF per barcode and errors.csv (line, code, reason) for lines that are not valid. The headers X-Made, X-New and X-Errors give the counts. The same number twice is one file. Live keys only.

A batch is all or nothing on your limits: if the new barcodes in it do not fit what is left this month or today, nothing is made and you get a 429 that says how many are left.

From AI assistants (MCP)

Barcode Rocket is also an MCP server for Claude and other AI assistants: https://barcoderocket.com/mcp. Anyone can check a number, explain a price code and see a preview there for free, and authors get the print-ready PDF on a free account. With your live key set as the connector's Authorization: Bearer header, create_barcode_pdf counts against your key's limits instead. How to connect.

Barcode types

A barcode designed for your house (your label, logo, fonts or layout) can be built for you after we agree on it. It is then enabled for your key only, under its own type name, for example tpl-yourhouse. Call it like any other type with the same fields as the barcode it is built on (code, and price where that type has one). It returns the print-ready PDF; there is no PNG preview for house templates.

Limits

• Live key: 1,000 new barcodes a month and 500 a day by default. We raise them for your volume.
• Every key: 120 calls an hour. A batch counts as one call.
• Every key: up to 2,000 files a day, repeats included.
• A batch holds up to 100 barcodes.
• Trial key: 100 previews a day, PNG only.
• Downloading a barcode your key already made does not count as new.

Errors

Every error is JSON: {"ok": false, "error": "…"}. The message is written for people, so you can show it in your system as it is.