Barcode Scanner

Barcode and QR are different symbologies, and support depends entirely on which decoder ends up running. The native BarcodeDetector supports a fixed list of formats on each platform; the WebAssembly ZXing build supports more. This page reports which decoder is active so the result is not a mystery.

For retail formats — EAN-13, UPC-A, Code 128 — the practical use is checking a product code, not inventory management. There is no product database lookup here, only the decoded number.

How to use it

1. Open the camera or upload an image of the barcode.
2. The format and the decoded value are shown together.
3. Copy the number if you need it.

Why some barcodes will not scan in some browsers

A 1D barcode needs more horizontal resolution than a QR code of the same size, because the information is encoded in the relative widths of bars. A webcam at 720p held at arm's length often does not have enough pixels per bar for EAN-13, while the same setup reads a QR code easily.

Formats like PDF417 and DataMatrix fall outside the native API entirely, so they only work when the WebAssembly decoder loads. If a format fails silently, that is the likely reason.

Reviewed 2026-10-21. This tool runs entirely in your browser — no server, no account, and nothing you generate is stored.