Migrate from Labelary

You can render ZPL to PNG or PDF through api.labelary.com today. This service is a close replacement for those calls. For most integrations the change is two items: the base URL and an X-API-Key header.

Who this guide is for

This guide applies if your integration:

• Calls POST or GET /v1/printers/{dpmm}/labels/{width}x{height}/... for PNG or PDF output.
• Sends ZPL as application/x-www-form-urlencoded body or multipart/form-data.
• Uses X-Rotation or X-Quality to control the output.

Your integration needs more than the two changes if it uses one of these:

• Labelary's application/json label-data extraction, or the IPL/EPL/DPL/SBPL/PCL output formats. This service does not support them yet.
• The X-Page-* headers (page size, orientation, layout, and alignment) or X-Label-Border, to compose a multi-label PDF page. The API accepts and validates them as Labelary does, but does not apply them to the rendered PDF yet.
• No API key: Labelary's free tier needs none. This API requires X-API-Key on every request.

Read Behavioral differences before you change production traffic.

The five-minute version

1. Get an API key. Create one from your zpl.tools account. Every request requires a key; a Labelary key is optional.

2. Change the base URL.

   - https://api.labelary.com
   + https://api.zpl.tools/compatibility/labelary/

3. Add the API key header to every request:

     curl -X POST "https://api.zpl.tools/compatibility/labelary/v1/printers/8dpmm/labels/4x6/0" \
   +   -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here" \
       --data "^XA^FO50,50^FDHello World^FS^XZ"

The path shape, the Accept/X-Rotation/X-Quality headers, and the response format do not change.

Next steps

• Side-by-side examples — curl, Python, and Node for the three most common calls.
• Behavioral differences — auth model, error codes, rate limits, and the gaps.
• Migration checklist
• Full API reference

For help, contact us. For a higher-volume migration, ask about the founder-led concierge migration.