# Barcode field

> The barcode field is the box on a Shopify variant that holds the number printed under the bars on the product.

- Source: https://storestandards.com/glossary/barcode-field/
- Updated: 2026-08-14
- Author: Tom Beckwith, Engineer, Store Standards

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One box, one job. It sits next to the [SKU](https://storestandards.com/glossary/sku/) on every
[variant](https://storestandards.com/glossary/variant/), and the two are not interchangeable.

## What to type in it

The digits printed on the product, exactly as printed. Usually that is an
[EAN](https://storestandards.com/glossary/ean/) or a UPC, which means the field is holding a
[GTIN](https://storestandards.com/glossary/gtin/).

No spaces, no hyphens, and keep the leading zero. Scan the barcode into the
field rather than reading it out to somebody at a keyboard.

## What it feeds

- Every scanner, in the shop and in the stockroom
- Google Merchant Center, which asks for a GTIN
- Marketplace listings
- Any app that finds a product by scanning

## Where it goes wrong

Your own code goes in. It scans fine in your own building, and then a
marketplace rejects the feed because no such barcode exists anywhere. Print
your own codes as [Code 128](https://storestandards.com/glossary/code-128/) against the SKU instead, and
leave this field for the supplier's number.

The other one is one barcode across several variants. A scanner then finds
three products and has to ask which, which is exactly the pause the scan was
meant to remove. One barcode, one variant, always.

## Related terms

- [GTIN](https://storestandards.com/glossary/gtin/): A GTIN is the number that identifies a product worldwide. The barcode on the box is just a way of printing it.
- [SKU](https://storestandards.com/glossary/sku/): A SKU is your own code for one exact thing you sell, down to the size and colour. You invent it, and only your shop uses it.
- [Variant](https://storestandards.com/glossary/variant/): A variant is one buyable version of a Shopify product, such as the blue medium. Stock, price and barcode all live on the variant.