@ashaffah/barcodes

A universal bar/QR code generation library for TypeScript & JavaScript. Zero runtime dependencies, works in the browser, Node and Deno. A faithful port of the Rust barcodes crate — every symbology is verified against real decoders (ZXing, zbar, dmtxread) or, for the 4-state postal codes, bit-for-bit against zint.

Features

• 17 symbologies: linear, 2D and postal
• Zero runtime dependencies
• SVG output built in (toSVG()); raw module data for custom rendering
• ESM + CJS, fully typed
• Universal: browser, Node, Deno

Install

npm install @ashaffah/barcodes

Usage

Every encoder exposes a static encode() that returns a Barcode:

import { Ean13, QrCode, toSVG } from "@ashaffah/barcodes";

// Linear
const ean = Ean13.encode("5901234123457");
const svg = ean.toSVG(); // -> "<svg ...>...</svg>"
console.log(ean.data.kind); // "linear"

// QR (auto numeric/alphanumeric/byte selection)
const qr = QrCode.encode("https://example.com");
console.log(qr.data.kind); // "matrix"

Raw modules

Barcode.data is a discriminated union you can render however you like:

const qr = QrCode.encode("HELLO");
if (qr.data.kind === "matrix") {
  const { modules, width, height } = qr.data; // modules[y][x] === true → dark
}

const bc = Ean13.encode("5901234123457");
if (bc.data.kind === "linear") {
  const { bars, height } = bc.data; // bars[i] === true → dark bar
}

SVG options

ean.toSVG({ moduleSize: 6, foreground: "#111", background: "#fff", linearQuiet: 20 });

QR options

QrCode.encode() uses sensible defaults (ECC Medium, automatic version and mask). For control, pass options or use the native API:

import { QrCode, Ecc } from "@ashaffah/barcodes";

QrCode.encode("payload", { ecl: Ecc.HIGH, minVersion: 5, mask: 3 });

// Native API with getModule():
const q = QrCode.encodeText("payload", { ecl: Ecc.QUARTILE });
q.getModule(0, 0); // boolean
q.version; // 1..40

Supported symbologies

| Symbology | Class | Verified with | | --------------------------- | ------------ | ------------------ | | EAN-13 | Ean13 | ZXing + zbar | | EAN-8 | Ean8 | ZXing + zbar | | UPC-A | UpcA | ZXing + zbar | | UPC-E | UpcE | ZXing + zbar | | Code 128 (A/B/C) | Code128 | ZXing + zbar | | Code 39 | Code39 | ZXing + zbar | | Code 93 | Code93 | ZXing + zbar | | Codabar | Codabar | ZXing + zbar | | ITF (Interleaved 2 of 5) | Itf | ZXing + zbar | | GS1-128 | Gs1_128 | ZXing + zbar | | GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional | DataBar | ZXing + zbar | | QR Code (Model 2) | QrCode | ZXing + zbar | | Data Matrix (ECC 200) | DataMatrix | ZXing + dmtxread | | PDF417 | Pdf417 | ZXing | | Aztec Code | Aztec | ZXing | | USPS Intelligent Mail (IMb) | Imb | zint + USPS vector | | Royal Mail RM4SCC | Rm4scc | zint |

Input notes

• EAN/UPC: pass with or without the trailing check digit — it is computed and validated automatically.
• Codabar: A/B start/stop guards are added automatically; pass bare data.
• GS1-128: parenthesized AI format, e.g. Gs1_128.encode("(01)0123...").
• DataBar: 13- or 14-digit GTIN.
• IMb: Imb.encode("01234567094987654321-01234567891") (20-digit tracker, optional - + 0/5/9/11-digit routing code). Postal 4-state codes render as a 3-row matrix (ascender / tracker / descender).

Errors

Encoders throw EncodeError (with a .kind of "InvalidInput", "InvalidCharacter" or "DataTooLong") on invalid input.

License

MIT