Lightburn API - simple text marking

[Vass (Matt)]

Is there a way to use lightburn as a headless controller?

I’d like to setup a console to have a text input section, which would then send text to lightburn which would then burn the text in the required font. So text & font type - start.

Basically so I can run lightburn from another application.

[gilaraujo (Gil Araújo)]

Not necessarily an API but you might want to read and search on the forum for Lightburn UDP

Launch LightBurn and Load Files into LightBurn using Command Line Interface

LightBurn has a fairly minimal command line interface through UDP commands to do things like launch the program and launch the program + load a file. The attached file is Python, not text. LightBurnLoad.txt (674 Bytes) All commands will send back “OK” if they received and handled. You can also send “PING” just to see if LightBurn is running. If it’s not, you won’t get an “OK”.

There have been other discussions about modifying the LBRN file programmatically.

Help with .lbrn file format needed

My goal is to automatically create .lbrn files to batch process laser engraving orders. My original .lbrn file saved with LightBurn contains 1 image and 2 text objects, each located in their own layer. I need to replace the image by another one (replace the image path), the strings of the 2 text objects as well as their font, and I need to adjust the laser power and travel speed of the 3 layers depending on the material to be engraved. This is quite simple to do in the XML files but I have a …

Which might be a possible use case for your workflow, combining UDP + LBRN handling

Others might add more ideas to the pot

[berainlb (PY)]

Alternatively, combining the concept of Variable Text ( Variable Text in LightBurn) with the aforementioned UDP would likely get you enough flexibility to achieve the stated outcome.

Create a different .lbrn file for each discrete font required along with the variable text object. Then update the CSV file with the required text and send to LightBurn via SendUDP utility.

[Vass (Matt)]

Wow… Great replies…

Hopefully I can get something running…

[bille (Anders)]

I am looking at much the same setup and am currently looking for a solution to control/load via a browser.

Imagine having the following in the browser:

1. Link to Download CSV containing variable text
2. Link to controll LightBurn:
   1. Launch LightBurn
   2. Open project file template_a.lbrn file
   3. Change the “Variable Text CSV file” for the project

If there is no UDP command for specifying the csv file (anyone know if this is the case?) then it is possible to always use the same csv file name and configure the browser to override any existing file when downloading.

I look forward to hearing other possible solutions

[PhiLho (Philippe Lhoste)]

A possible way is to use an external automation program.
On Windows, for example, you have AutoHotkey and AutoIt and some others.