labelixa-mcp

Labelixa is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server and API platform for thermal label development. It gives AI assistants and developer tools the ability to render, validate, debug, inspect and convert thermal printer labels — ZPL, EPL, TSPL and CPCL — through MCP.

There are two ways to connect:

	Remote server (recommended)	This npm package
Endpoint	https://api.labelixa.com/mcp	local process over stdio
Tool set	full set: rendering, validation, debugging, conversion, barcode analysis, printer compatibility, templates, bulk jobs	core subset (table below); each tool calls the Labelixa REST API
Install	nothing to install	npx -y labelixa-mcp or npm install -g labelixa-mcp
Authentication	optional lbx_ API key	optional lbx_ API key

The live tool list of the remote server is at labelixa.com/mcp.

Remote server (no install)

Transport: Streamable HTTP, stateless JSON-RPC over POST. Anonymous use is free and rate-limited per IP; an API key uses the account's own quota. Keys: labelixa.com.

Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http labelixa https://api.labelixa.com/mcp

With an API key:

claude mcp add --transport http labelixa https://api.labelixa.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer lbx_..."

Generic MCP client configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor and other clients that accept a url entry):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "labelixa": {
      "url": "https://api.labelixa.com/mcp",
      "headers": {"Authorization": "Bearer lbx_..."}
    }
  }
}

Drop the headers block for anonymous use.

Local server (this package)

npm install -g labelixa-mcp

Or skip installing and run it with npx straight from your MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "labelixa": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "labelixa-mcp"],
      "env": {"LABELIXA_API_KEY": "lbx_..."}
    }
  }
}

Environment variables:

• LABELIXA_API_KEY — optional lbx_ API key. Without it the anonymous quota applies.
• LABELIXA_BASE_URL — optional; defaults to https://api.labelixa.com.

Tools in this package

Tool	What it does
zpl_preview	Renders ZPL to a PNG image for inspection. Server-side render — not a guarantee of how a specific physical printer will output the label.
zpl_validate	Lints ZPL and returns the structured diagnostics report (unknown commands, parameter ranges, layout overflow) as JSON. Pass the real label size — checks depend on it.
barcode_generate	Generates a standalone barcode (SVG or PNG): code128, code39, ean13, upca, upce, itf14, msi, qrcode, datamatrix, pdf417.
language_detect	Detects the printer language of raw label code (ZPL/EPL/TSPL/CPCL). Heuristic — returns a confidence tier, not a probability.
epl_validate	Lints EPL/EPL2 code; positioned findings with severity, as JSON.
tspl_validate	Lints TSPL/TSPL2 code; positioned findings with severity, as JSON.
cpcl_validate	Lints CPCL code; positioned findings with severity, as JSON.
zpl_compatibility	Compatibility RISK analysis of ZPL against a printer model. Not an emulator — reports language posture with evidence level; never says "it works".
zpl_command_help	Looks up one ZPL command in the maintained catalog: name, syntax, parameters and whether the preview engine actually renders it — printer-side commands are marked as not rendered.
convert_zpl_dpi	Rescales ZPL coordinates between printer resolutions (203/300/600 dpi). Embedded ^GF/~DG bitmaps are NOT rescaled — a warnings block precedes the output when present.
explain_zpl	Full sectioned health report (syntax, size/DPI, orientation, barcodes, fonts, memory) with an honest score — sections it cannot assess say "not assessed" instead of counting.

EPL, TSPL and CPCL previews, label templates, bulk generation, image-to-ZPL conversion and barcode reading from photos are on the remote server only.

Directory listings

• Official MCP Registry: com.labelixa/zpl (remote server + this npm package).
• Smithery: labelixa/zpl. Smithery routes calls through its own gateway; the canonical endpoint is https://api.labelixa.com/mcp.

Honesty notes

• Errors carry the server's own message verbatim; quota exhaustion is reported with the server's Retry-After rather than a made-up delay.
• zpl_preview is a render, not a print: physical output depends on the printer, media and darkness settings.

Source of this package: github.com/Labelixa/labelixa-mcp. Docs: labelixa.com/docs/api. License: MIT.