How to Update Shopify Barcodes in Bulk and Print Labels

To add or change barcodes in bulk in Shopify, select your products in the admin, click Bulk edit, add the barcode column and enter each variant’s barcode before saving. For large catalogs, export your products to CSV, fill in the Barcodes column and import the file back.

Barcodes let you scan products at checkout, receive stock faster and match items to supplier invoices. Since September 2026, each variant can also hold up to 20 barcodes, which changes how you format bulk updates and how apps read barcode data.

How to Bulk Edit Barcodes in Shopify

The bulk editor is the quickest native way to add or fix barcodes for a group of existing products. Each variant appears as its own row, so every size or color can have its own code.

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Products.
2. Filter the list by vendor, tag or product type to find the products you need, then select them.
3. Click Bulk edit.
4. Click Columns and add the barcode field.
5. Enter or correct the barcode in each variant’s row.
6. Click Save and wait for the save to finish before leaving the page.

You can paste barcodes from a spreadsheet into the barcode column to save typing. Format that spreadsheet column as text first, because spreadsheet apps often drop the leading zeros that many UPC and EAN codes start with.

The bulk editor handles up to 50 products at a time, so work through large catalogs in batches. Filtering by vendor helps when you’re entering codes from one supplier’s price list.

Bulk Import Barcodes With a CSV

A product CSV is better for hundreds or thousands of variants, or when barcodes come from a supplier file. Follow these steps:

1. Export your products. Go to Products > Export and download the products you want to update.
2. Keep a backup. Save an untouched copy of the file before editing.
3. Open the file with text formatting. Import the CSV into your spreadsheet with the barcode column set to text so leading zeros stay intact.
4. Fill in the Barcodes column. Enter each variant’s barcode on its row.
5. Import the file. Go to Products > Import, select Overwrite products with matching handles and import.

Keep the URL handle, Title and option columns in the file so each barcode lands on the right variant. Test the import on a few products first, because blank cells in included columns can clear existing values.

If you manage product data across Shopify, WooCommerce or Wix, Bulkflow supports bulk import, export and updates to existing product records with field mapping. That can help when you need to add barcodes from a supplier file to many product records at once.

Format the Barcodes column

The current product CSV uses a column named Barcodes, which can hold up to 20 barcodes per variant. Older files use a singular Barcode column, which is renamed the next time you export, and a file containing both columns fails to import.

Separate multiple barcodes with a semicolon, and add the barcode type before a value with a colon if you want to label it. These examples show how values are written:

A barcode without a type is imported as a Custom barcode. If a value contains a backslash, semicolon or colon, write it as \\, \; or \: so Shopify doesn’t treat it as a separator.

The first barcode in the list becomes the variant’s primary barcode. Put the code you want on labels and channel feeds first.

Multiple Barcodes per Variant

Since September 8, 2026, each product variant can hold up to 20 barcodes, and any of them can identify the product. This helps when the same item arrives with a manufacturer UPC, a distributor code and your own internal label.

You can add, scan and remove barcodes on the variant details page or in the Shopify mobile app. Each barcode can have a type, such as UPC, EAN, ISBN, GTIN or ASIN, which Shopify checks against that standard’s format, and Custom covers internal codes that don’t follow a standard.

The first barcode on a variant is the primary barcode. Sales channels, labels and apps that expect a single barcode read this one, so existing setups keep working without any migration.

Shopify POS can find a variant using any of its barcodes, which makes checkout and receiving smoother when a product’s packaging carries a different code. This works in POS version 11.14 and later, after the extra barcodes are added in your admin.

What changes for apps and integrations

In the Admin API, the single barcode field on variants is deprecated in favor of a barcodes list, starting with API version 2026-10. The old field still works and returns the primary barcode, and Shopify hasn’t set a removal date yet.

Integrations that only read the old field may miss additional barcodes, so check apps that sync identifiers with an ERP, marketplace or supplier feed. When writing barcodes through the API, sending the barcodes list replaces the variant’s whole set, so include every code you want to keep.

Where to Get Barcodes for Your Products

If your products already carry manufacturer barcodes, use those codes rather than creating new ones. Copy them from supplier spreadsheets or scan them from the packaging.

For products you make or brand yourself, you have two main options. Standard UPC or EAN codes come from GS1, the organization that issues them, and they’re the codes retailers and many marketplaces expect for products sold through other channels.

For items you only sell in your own store, internal barcodes are often enough. Many merchants create Code 128 barcodes that encode the product’s SKU, so it helps to design a consistent SKU format before generating codes.

Print Barcode Labels in Bulk

After adding barcodes, you’ll usually want labels for shelves, packaging or stock. Barcode label apps can print labels for products you select in your admin, often through a bulk action on the Products page.

The Magestore Barcode Management app, for example, adds a Print barcodes action to the Products page bulk menu, then lets you choose a label template and print quantity. Other options in the Shopify App Store include Retail Barcode Labels and apps that generate QR codes linking to product pages.

Before printing a large batch, scan-test a few labels with your POS scanner. Thermal printers are common for barcode labels, and leaving blank space around each code helps scanners read it reliably.

Common Problems With Bulk Barcode Updates

Most barcode issues come from spreadsheet formatting or from the move to multiple barcodes. Watch for these:

• Barcodes lost their leading zeros. The spreadsheet treated them as numbers, so format the column as text and reimport.
• Barcodes show in scientific notation. Long codes were converted to numbers, which also corrupts the values.
• A CSV import failed. The file contains both a Barcode and a Barcodes column, so remove one.
• Multiple codes imported as one. They weren’t separated with semicolons.
• A typed barcode was rejected. The value doesn’t match the format of the type you chose, such as a UPC with the wrong number of digits.
• Labels or feeds show the wrong code. A different barcode is first in the list, so reorder the variant’s barcodes.
• An app only shows one barcode. It reads the primary barcode only and may need an update.

Conclusion

Managing Shopify barcodes in bulk makes scanning, receiving and selling across channels much faster than entering codes one variant at a time. Whether you use the bulk editor, a CSV or an app, keeping leading zeros intact and putting the right primary barcode first keeps your data reliable. We hope this guide helps you handle Shopify barcode bulk updates with confidence. To import and update product data in bulk, you can explore Bulkflow.