GS1 Digital Link generator
Pick a key, fill in the values, get a finished URI and QR code — checked against GS1 Digital Link syntax 1.7.0. Free, no sign-up, and everything runs in your browser.
How a GS1 Digital Link is put together
A Digital Link is an ordinary web address with GS1 data built into it. Four parts, always in this order:
https://brand.example/01/09520123456788/10/ABC123?17=261231
- Resolver address
- Where the code leads when someone scans it with a phone — usually the manufacturer's domain, hosting the product page, patient leaflet or instructions. Without your own domain, use id.gs1.org. It has no bearing on what the data means.
- Key
- Says what is identified: a product (GTIN, AI 01), a pallet (SSCC, AI 00), a place (GLN, AI 414). Exactly one key per code — without it, it is not a Digital Link.
- Qualifier
- Makes the key more precise: which batch (AI 10), which individual item (AI 21). It belongs to the key and therefore sits in the path — and only in the order the standard allows.
- Data attribute
- Describes the item without identifying it: expiry date (AI 17), weight (AI 3103), production date (AI 11). It goes after the question mark and is always optional.
Rule of thumb: whatever identifies the item goes in the path. Whatever merely describes it goes after the question mark.
Leave empty for the neutral GS1 address id.gs1.org.
Mandatory, exactly one. It says what this is about: a product, a pallet, a place.
The number itself, e.g. the GTIN printed on the pack.
What a GS1 Digital Link is
A GS1 Digital Link is a web address that carries a GS1 identification. Instead of a bare number, the QR code holds a URL whose path contains the key and its qualifiers — for example /01/09520123456788/10/ABC123 for GTIN and batch. The same code then scans at the till and takes consumers to product information.
Canonical form and your own domain
The canonical form uses https://id.gs1.org, HTTPS, purely numeric AIs in the path and query parameters sorted lexically. In practice most codes point at the brand owner's domain — the standard explicitly allows that, and the structure after the domain stays the same. Just enter your own domain above.
Common mistakes when generating
- GTIN not 14 digits: since syntax 1.4.0, GTIN-8, -12 and -13 must be padded with leading zeros to 14 digits.
- Legacy short names: /gtin/ instead of /01/ was removed in version 1.3.0.
- Wrong qualifier order: after the GTIN it is CPV, then batch, then serial — not the other way round.
- Qualifiers in the query string: serial and batch belong in the path, not behind the question mark.
Sunrise 2027 and the digital product passport
By the end of 2027, point-of-sale systems worldwide are to be able to read 2D barcodes carrying GS1 data. In parallel, the digital product passport — starting with the battery passport in February 2027 — is addressed through GS1 Digital Link. If you are generating codes now, check them before they go to print: check a Digital Link.
And on the device?
The barValid app reads printed Digital Link codes, decodes them into their AIs offline, checks them against the same rules as this tool, and documents the result as a PDF inspection report if you want one.