laikait/barcode-generator

A lightweight PHP barcode generator library supporting multiple formats with SVG and PNG output.

v1.0.0 2026-03-09 19:02 UTC

Requires

• php: >=8.1

Requires (Dev)

• phpunit/phpunit: ^10.0

MIT

• Laika IT
• Showket Ahmed

• barcode
• qrcode
• png
• svg
• ean
• code39
• code128
• laika

README

A lightweight PHP 8.1+ barcode generator library supporting 1D and 2D barcode formats with SVG and PNG output, watermarks, and file saving — zero runtime dependencies.

Supported Formats

1D Barcodes — Laika\Barcode\Barcode

Key	Format	Input
code128	Code 128	Any printable ASCII
code39	Code 39	A–Z, 0–9, - . $ / + %
ean13	EAN-13	12 or 13 digits
ean8	EAN-8	7 or 8 digits
upca	UPC-A	11 or 12 digits

2D Barcodes — Laika\Barcode\QrCode

Format	Versions	EC Levels	Input
QR Code	1–10	L, M, Q, H	Any bytes/UTF-8

Requirements

• PHP 8.1+
• GD extension (only for PNG output)

Installation

composer require laika/barcode

1D Barcodes

SVG

use Laika\Barcode\Barcode;

$svg = Barcode::type('code128')->data('Hello, World!')->svg();

header('Content-Type: image/svg+xml');
echo $svg;

PNG (requires GD)

$png = Barcode::type('ean13')->data('590123412345')->png();

header('Content-Type: image/png');
echo $png;

Save to File

Format is inferred from the file extension (.svg or .png). Directories are created automatically.

// Returns the resolved absolute path
$path = Barcode::type('code128')->data('ABC-123')->save('/var/www/barcodes/label.svg');
$path = Barcode::type('ean13')->data('590123412345')->save('/var/www/barcodes/product.png');

Inline in HTML

$svg = Barcode::type('ean8')->data('9638507')->svg();
echo '<div>' . $svg . '</div>';

Options

All options can be passed to ->options([...]) (builder-level) or directly to ->svg([...]) / ->png([...]) / ->save($path, [...]).

SVG options:

Option	Type	Default	Description
height	int	80	Bar height in pixels
module_width	int	2	Width of one narrow module (px)
margin	int	10	Side/top/bottom margin (px)
color	string	#000000	Bar and label colour (hex)
bg	string	#ffffff	Background colour, '' = transparent
show_label	bool	true	Print data label below bars
font_size	int	12	Label font size in px
watermark_text	string	''	Diagonal overlay text (e.g. 'SAMPLE')
watermark_color	string	#000000	Watermark text colour
watermark_opacity	float	0.15	Opacity 0.0–1.0
watermark_rotate	int	-20	Rotation in degrees
watermark_position	string	'center'	'top' | 'center' | 'bottom'
watermark_font	int	0	Font size in px, 0 = auto

PNG options (same as SVG, with these differences):

Option	Type	Default	Description
color	string|int[]	[0, 0, 0]	Hex string or [r, g, b] array
bg	string|int[]	[255, 255, 255]	Hex string, [r, g, b] array, or null = transparent
font_size	int	3	GD built-in font (1–5)

1D Watermark

The watermark is a semi-transparent diagonal text drawn over the bars — decorative only. Keep watermark_opacity ≤ 0.20 to avoid interfering with scanning.

$svg = Barcode::type('code128')
    ->data('HF5H65AP')
    ->options([
        'watermark_text'     => 'SAMPLE',
        'watermark_color'    => '#cc0000',
        'watermark_opacity'  => 0.15,
        'watermark_rotate'   => -25,
        'watermark_position' => 'center',
    ])
    ->svg();

QR Code

EC Levels

Level	Recovery	Default	Best For
L	~7%		Clean print environments
M	~15%		General use
Q	~25%		Printed labels
H	~30%	✓	Watermarks / damaged environments

H is the default. It provides the most error recovery and is required when using a center watermark.

SVG

use Laika\Barcode\QrCode;

$svg = QrCode::data('https://example.com')->svg();

header('Content-Type: image/svg+xml');
echo $svg;

PNG (requires GD)

$png = QrCode::data('https://example.com')->png();

header('Content-Type: image/png');
echo $png;

Save to File

// SVG
$path = QrCode::data('https://example.com')->save('/var/www/qr/code.svg');

// PNG
$path = QrCode::data('https://example.com')->save('/var/www/qr/code.png');

Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
module_size	int	8	Pixels per module
margin	int	4	Quiet-zone modules (minimum 4 per QR spec)
color	string	#000000	Dark module colour (hex)
bg	string	#ffffff	Background colour, '' = transparent

$svg = QrCode::data('Hello, World!')
    ->ec('Q')
    ->options([
        'module_size' => 10,
        'color'       => '#1a1a2e',
        'bg'          => '#f0f4ff',
    ])
    ->svg();

Center Watermark

QR codes support a center watermark (text or image/logo) because error-correction redundancy compensates for the obscured modules. Always use EC=H (enforced automatically by the watermark helpers).

Keep watermark_size ≤ 0.22 to stay safely within the 30% recovery budget and avoid clipping the finder patterns.

Text watermark:

// SVG
$svg = QrCode::data('HG6GH5H33')
    ->watermarkText('LAIKA')
    ->svg();

// PNG
$png = QrCode::data('HG6GH5H33')
    ->watermarkText('LAIKA')
    ->png();

// Styled
$svg = QrCode::data('HG6GH5H33')
    ->watermarkText('★', [
        'watermark_size'   => 0.20,
        'watermark_bg'     => '#1a1a2e',
        'watermark_color'  => '#ffffff',
        'watermark_radius' => 50,
        'watermark_font'   => 28,
    ])
    ->svg();

Image/logo watermark:

// From file path
$svg = QrCode::data('HG6GH5H33')
    ->watermarkImage('/path/to/logo.png')
    ->svg();

// From base64 data URI
$svg = QrCode::data('HG6GH5H33')
    ->watermarkImage('data:image/png;base64,...')
    ->svg();

// PNG output with logo
$png = QrCode::data('HG6GH5H33')
    ->watermarkImage('/path/to/logo.png')
    ->png();

Watermark options:

Option	Type	Default	Description
watermark_text	string	''	Text to display in the center box
watermark_image	string	''	File path or data:image/...;base64,... URI
watermark_size	float	0.20	Fraction of QR canvas size (max 0.22 recommended)
watermark_bg	string	#ffffff	Background box colour
watermark_color	string	#000000	Text colour
watermark_font	int	0	Font size in px, 0 = auto-fit
watermark_radius	int	4	Corner radius of background box (SVG only)
watermark_padding	int	6	Padding inside background box in px

Raw Matrix

// Returns bool[][] — true = dark module, false = light
$matrix = QrCode::data('test')->matrix();

foreach ($matrix as $row => $cols) {
    foreach ($cols as $col => $dark) {
        // drive your own renderer
    }
}

Extending

Register a Custom 1D Encoder

use Laika\Barcode\Barcode;
use Laika\Barcode\Contracts\BarcodeInterface;

class MyEncoder implements BarcodeInterface
{
    public function encode(string $data): array { /* return bar array */ }
    public function validate(string $data): bool { /* ... */ }
    public function label(string $data): string { return $data; }
}

Barcode::register('myformat', MyEncoder::class);

$svg = Barcode::type('myformat')->data('test')->svg();

Custom 1D Renderer

use Laika\Barcode\Contracts\RendererInterface;

class HtmlRenderer implements RendererInterface
{
    public function render(array $bars, string $label, array $options = []): string
    {
        $html = '<div style="display:flex;">';
        foreach ($bars as $bar) {
            $color = $bar['bar'] ? '#000' : 'transparent';
            $html .= sprintf(
                '<div style="width:%dpx;height:80px;background:%s;"></div>',
                $bar['width'] * 2,
                $color
            );
        }
        return $html . '</div><p>' . htmlspecialchars($label) . '</p>';
    }
}

$html = Barcode::type('code39')
    ->data('HELLO')
    ->renderWith(new HtmlRenderer());

Running Tests

composer install
./vendor/bin/phpunit

License

MIT © Laika IT