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:

Terminal

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

With an API key:

Terminal

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):

config.json

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

Drop the headers block for anonymous use.

Local server (this package)

Terminal

npm install -g labelixa-mcp

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

config.json

{
  "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.

Requests never follow redirects, so a server cannot forward your key to another host. Numeric inputs are checked before a request is made: dpmm is 6, 8, 12 or 24, label sides are finite, above 0 and at most 15 inches, and DPI values are 152, 203, 300 or 600.

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. Optional `locale` (`en` default, `tr`, `de`) translates the name and descriptions only; command codes, syntax strings, examples and parameter names are protocol and never change.
`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.