How to add barcodes to Shopify products

Where barcodes live

Barcodes belong to variants, not products. A t-shirt in three sizes has three variants, and each size gets its own barcode, because a scanner at the counter needs to know which size it's holding.

Each variant has two fields that matter for labels, both in the Inventory section:

• Barcode. A standard product number such as a UPC, EAN or ISBN, or an internal code. Since September 2026 a variant can hold up to 20, and Shopify uses the first one wherever a single barcode is expected, including label apps.
• SKU. Your own stock code, like TEE-NVY-M. It can be printed as a barcode too.

Not sure which to use? SKU vs UPC vs EAN covers the difference.

One product at a time

1. In your Shopify admin, open Products and pick the product.
2. Open the variant you want to code. A product with no options keeps these fields on the product page itself.
3. In Inventory, enter the code in the barcode field and pick its type. Shopify checks typed codes against their standard, so a mistyped UPC is caught before you save.
4. Save, then repeat for the other variants.

Many products at once: the bulk editor

1. Open Products, tick the products you want, and press Bulk edit.
2. Press Columns and add Barcodes and SKU.
3. Type or paste codes into each variant's row. With a USB scanner you can click a cell and scan the code straight off the packaging.
4. Save.

This is the quickest way to code a delivery from a supplier: open the new products in the bulk editor and scan each item's existing barcode into its row.

Hundreds of products: CSV import

1. Export the products from Products › Export. Starting from an export keeps the column names and variant rows exactly as Shopify expects.
2. Fill the barcodes column and the SKU column in a spreadsheet. Keep codes as text so leading zeros survive; spreadsheets like to turn 012345678905 into 12345678905.
3. Import the file and choose to overwrite existing products.

Shopify's help center warns that when you overwrite, a blank cell in a non-required column replaces the existing value with a blank. Leave the export's other columns as they are, and test the import with a few products first (source).

When a product has no barcode yet

• It came from a supplier. The UPC or EAN is usually printed on the packaging already. Scan or type it into Shopify and your labels will match the box.
• You make it and only sell it yourself. Give it a SKU and print the SKU as a Code 128 barcode. Nothing to buy, and Shopify POS can find the variant by its SKU.
• A retailer or marketplace asks for a GTIN. Get codes from GS1 US or the GS1 office in your country, then enter them in Shopify. Codes resold by third parties are often rejected by channels that check the company prefix.

Shopify's free Retail Barcode Labels app can also generate codes, built from the last eight digits of each variant ID. Shopify's help center says those codes can overwrite barcodes you already have, can occasionally repeat, and aren't suitable for Google Shopping. See how it compares.

Printing the barcodes

Once the codes are in Shopify, a label app reads them and prints them. In Crisp Labels, set Barcode shows to the Barcode field or SKU, pick a label size and print. Valid 12- and 13-digit codes print as UPC-A or EAN-13, and anything else as Code 128. The app only reads your products, so it never changes the codes you entered.

Next: how to print barcode labels from Shopify.

Common questions

Where is the barcode field in Shopify?

Barcodes belong to variants. Open a product, open a variant, and look in the Inventory section for the barcode field next to SKU. A product with no options has one variant, so the fields sit on the product page itself.

Can a Shopify variant have more than one barcode?

Yes. Since September 2026 a variant can hold up to 20 barcodes, each typed as UPC, EAN, ISBN, GTIN, ASIN or Custom. Shopify uses the first one wherever a single barcode is expected, such as labels and channel feeds, and Shopify POS finds a variant by any of them.

Does Shopify create barcodes for my products?

Shopify's free Retail Barcode Labels app can generate 8-digit Code 128 codes from variant IDs. Shopify's own help center says these codes can overwrite existing barcodes, can occasionally repeat, and aren't suitable for Google Shopping. For codes that identify a product outside your store, get GTINs from GS1.

Do I need a UPC to sell on Shopify?

No. Shopify doesn't require a barcode on any product. Some sales channels and marketplaces ask for a GTIN such as a UPC or EAN, so check the requirements of each channel you sell on.

Can I use my SKU as a barcode?

Yes, for use inside your own business. Print the SKU as a Code 128 barcode and Shopify POS can find the variant by scanning it. A SKU only means something in your store, so it won't satisfy a channel that asks for a GTIN.