Barcode & QR Code Reader + Generator (Bulk, 14 Formats)

Two tools in one, powered by the open-source zxing-cpp engine running inside the Actor (no third-party API, no key):

Read mode: give it image URLs and get every code in each image: QR, Micro QR, rMQR, Data Matrix, Aztec, PDF417, MaxiCode, EAN-13/8, UPC-A/E, Code 128/39/93, ITF, Codabar, DataBar and more. You get the text, format, content type, orientation and corner positions. Rotated, inverted and small codes are handled.

Generate mode: give it a list of texts and get a PNG or SVG per code (QR, Micro QR, Data Matrix, Aztec, PDF417, Code 128, Code 39, Code 93, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, ITF, Codabar), stored in the run's key-value store with a download link in each row.

Use cases

• Retail & inventory: batch-generate EAN/UPC or Code 128 labels for a product catalog; decode barcodes from supplier photos
• Marketing: create hundreds of QR codes for campaigns, menus, flyers (SVG for print)
• Document processing: read QR/Data Matrix/PDF417 from scanned forms, tickets and shipping labels
• Automation: plug into Make, Zapier or n8n through the Apify API

Input

Field	Default	Notes
mode	read	read or generate
imageUrls	—	Read mode: public image links (PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF, BMP, TIFF; 20 MB max)
codes	—	Generate mode: one text per code
format	QRCode	Generate mode symbology
outputFormat	png	png or svg
scale	8	Pixels per module/bar
errorCorrection	M	QR/Aztec/PDF417: L, M, Q, H
humanReadableText	true	Digits under 1D barcodes

Output examples

Read:

{"mode": "read", "imageUrl": "https://example.com/label.png", "codesFound": 1,
 "codes": [{"text": "https://apify.com", "format": "QRCode", "contentType": "Text", "orientation": 0,
            "position": [[32,32],[264,32],[264,264],[32,264]]}], "error": null}

Generate:

{"mode": "generate", "text": "5901234123457", "format": "EAN13", "fileKey": "EAN13-5901234123457-1a2b3c4d.png",
 "fileUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/<storeId>/records/EAN13-5901234123457-1a2b3c4d.png", "error": null}

Pricing (pay per event)

• $0.50 per 1,000 (code-processed, $0.0005): one per image in which at least one code was found, or one per generated code. Plus the standard $0.00005 actor start.
• Free: images with no code, failed downloads, invalid texts (for example letters in an EAN-13).
• Respects your run's maximum cost.

Notes

• Images are decoded in memory and not kept. Generated files live in your run's storage under your Apify data-retention settings.
• Links must be public; private network and cloud metadata addresses are blocked.

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Actively maintained. Issues answered within 24 hours on the Issues tab.