Barcode generator for a PIM or an API

A PIM or any program gets barcode addresses by sending its values to the batch route. Each item comes back with the barcode type Beepable chose and the address of the picture, or with an error code and the sentence the form would show. The batch does not draw pictures, so even 10,000 items return quickly. Your shop, sheet, or label tool shows the pictures later from those addresses.

How do I resolve a batch?

1. Sign in and create an All routes key on the Account page. Store it in your server's secrets.
2. Send the values as JSON to https://beepable.app/api/batch with the key in Authorization: Bearer.
3. Give each item a value. Add symbology only when an item needs a fixed type, such as code128 for a SKU.
4. Read the items in the response. They are in the same order as the request.
5. Store imageUrl for items where ok is true, and the error for the others.

curl -X POST "https://beepable.app/api/batch" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BEEPABLE_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"items":[{"value":"4006381333931"},{"value":"4006381333932"},{"value":"SKU 44","symbology":"code128"}]}'

The response has one result per item:

{"ok":true,"items":[
  {"ok":true,"symbology":"ean13","imageUrl":"https://beepable.app/b/ean13.png?v=4006381333931"},
  {"ok":false,"error":{"code":"bad_check_digit","message":"Check digit is invalid for this GTIN. Name code128 to encode it anyway."}},
  {"ok":true,"symbology":"code128","imageUrl":"https://beepable.app/b/code128.png?v=SKU%2044"}
]}

One bad item never fails the others. Send GTINs as strings: 036000291452 as a JSON number would lose its leading zero.

Which key opens which route?

Route	Key
POST /api/batch, POST /csv	All routes key, as Authorization: Bearer
GET /b/{symbology}.json, /excel, /sheets	All routes key
Picture addresses: /b/{symbology}.png and /i/{symbology}.png	Picture key in k, or any key as Bearer
Guides, /docs, /openapi.json, /sheets/barcode.gs	No key

The Keys section of the API reference lists every rule. In short: keep the All routes key on your server, and put only a picture key in an address that people or spreadsheets will see.

How do I show the pictures?

The image address is the picture. A spreadsheet or a web page cannot send a header, so add a picture key as k:

https://beepable.app/b/ean13.png?v=4006381333931&k=YOUR_PICTURE_KEY

Send pictureKey in the batch body to get every imageUrl with the key already added, plus a ready IMAGE formula per item. A picture with k in its address is saved for a year, so showing the same barcode again is free. Your own server can also fetch a picture with Bearer instead of k. That response is private and not saved by any shared cache.

What does a failed item look like?

Code	When
bad_check_digit	The last digit of a GTIN does not match. Beepable never repairs it.
wrong_length	Digits, but not 8, 12, 13, or 14 of them.
not_gtin_or_url	Text such as a SKU, with no symbology.
unsupported_characters	Code 128 text with characters outside basic Latin.
empty, too_long	An empty value, or more than 2,000 characters.

The whole request fails only when the body is not an items array, has more than 10,000 items, or is larger than 2 MB. Those return HTTP 400 or 413.

How should a PIM store the result?

Store the barcode type, the image address, and the error code beside each product. You do not need to store the PNG: the address always draws the same picture. Add the picture key when you publish the address, not in the product table, especially if that table is exported to partners.

For one value at a time, GET https://beepable.app/b/auto.json?v= returns the same decision as one batch item. The API reference lists every route, and you can try them there with your key.

Frequently asked questions