Barcode Scanner

How to scan a barcode

With the camera

1. Press Scan with camera and allow camera access when your browser asks. On a phone, the rear camera is used by default; after the first start you can pick another one in the Camera list.
2. Point the camera at the barcode. Fill a good part of the picture with the code, hold it steady and avoid glare. A green outline shows where the code was found.
3. The value appears under Scanned codes and the camera stops. Tick Keep scanning after a code is found to scan a series of items (an inventory, a pile of books): each new code is added at the top of the list, and a code that is already there simply moves back to the top. Press Stop camera when you are done.

From a photo or screenshot

1. Click Choose or drop photos of barcodes, or drag image files onto the box. You can select several files at once.
2. The image is shown with every detected code outlined, and the values are added to Scanned codes. A single image can contain several barcodes.

Use Copy to copy one value, Copy all to copy every value (one per line), Download CSV to save the list with the barcode type and the time of each scan, and Clear to empty it.

Supported barcode types

The reader is ZXing-C++, a widely used open-source decoding library, compiled to WebAssembly so it runs entirely in your browser. It reads the common 1D barcodes (EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 128, Code 39, Code 93, Codabar, ITF, GS1 DataBar) and 2D codes (QR Code, Micro QR, Data Matrix, PDF417, Aztec, MaxiCode).

Leave Barcode types on All types unless you have a reason to narrow it. Choosing Products (EAN, UPC), All 1D barcodes or 2D codes (QR, Data Matrix, PDF417, Aztec) makes camera scanning slightly faster and avoids reading the wrong code when several are in view, for example the QR code printed next to the barcode on a parcel.

What the result tells you

For product codes (EAN-13 and UPC-A), the tool checks the check digit and shows the GS1 prefix: the first three digits identify the GS1 member organization that issued the company number, for example 300–379 for France, 754–755 for Canada and 000–139 for the United States and Canada. This is not the country where the product was made: a company registered with GS1 France can manufacture anywhere. Prefixes 978 and 979 mean a book (the ISBN-10 is shown when it exists), 977 a periodical (ISSN), and 200–299 codes that stores assign themselves, such as items sold by weight.

If a code contains a web address, it is displayed as plain text and never opened automatically. Scammers stick fake codes on parking meters or send them by mail, so read the domain before you paste the address into your browser.

Privacy

Camera frames and images are analysed on your device. Nothing is uploaded, and the camera turns off when you press Stop camera, when a code is found (unless you keep scanning) or when you leave the page. The list of scanned codes is not saved.