@thermal-label/labelwriter-node

Node.js USB and TCP driver for Dymo LabelWriter printers.

Install

pnpm add @thermal-label/labelwriter-node

Requirements

• Node.js >= 24.0.0
• Linux: udev rule required for raw USB access without sudo — see below

LabelWriter 550 / 5XL: These models enforce an NFC label lock. Only genuine Dymo labels will print. This is a hardware restriction that cannot be bypassed in software.

Quick Start

import { openPrinter } from '@thermal-label/labelwriter-node';

const printer = await openPrinter();
try {
  await printer.printText('Hello LabelWriter');
} finally {
  await printer.close();
}

Discovery

import { listPrinters } from '@thermal-label/labelwriter-node';

const printers = listPrinters();
console.log(printers); // [{ device, serialNumber, path, transport }]

TCP / Network

import { openPrinterTcp } from '@thermal-label/labelwriter-node';

const printer = await openPrinterTcp('192.168.1.100');
await printer.printText('Hello via TCP');
await printer.close();

Image Printing

Requires optional dependency @napi-rs/canvas:

pnpm add @napi-rs/canvas

await printer.printImage('/path/to/logo.png', { threshold: 128 });
await printer.printImage('./label.png', { dither: true, rotate: 90 });

Error Recovery

If the printer is in an unknown state (e.g. after a failed print job):

await printer.recover();

Linux udev Rule

Without a udev rule, USB access requires sudo. Create /etc/udev/rules.d/99-dymo-labelwriter.rules:

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTR{idVendor}=="0922", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"

Then reload:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger

Links

• Documentation
• GitHub

License

MIT — Copyright (c) 2026 Mannes Brak