gs1

The inverse of parse_gs1_element_string: turn AI/value pairs into the string a barcode actually carries. THREE FORMS come back and only one of them is the data: `hri` is the human-readable form with brackets — never encode those; `data` is the real payload where FNC1 is the ASCII group separator (U+001D); `visible` is the same payload with FNC1 shown as <GS> so it survives being pasted into a chat or a ticket. Separator rule, both halves: a variable-length element is closed by FNC1 UNLESS it is the last element — omitting it runs two fields together, and adding a trailing one makes the symbol non-conformant. Predefined-length AIs never take a separator. By default predefined-length AIs are moved to the front, which removes separators from the middle; pass keepOrder to encode exactly as given. The data is identical either way. Values are validated before anything is produced (unknown AI, duplicate AI, wrong length, bad character set, invalid YYMMDD date, wrong GTIN/SSCC check digit, over 48 data characters) and NO string is returned when a check fails: a barcode that scans into the wrong thing is worse than none. Every output is parsed back with the same engine and compared element by element — see `roundTrip`. Input accepts structured elements, or use the `text` field for a free-form paste: "(01)…(10)…", one "AI value" per line, or a raw scanned string with real GS characters. Returns { hri, data, visible, segments[{ai, value, title, fixed, separatorAfter}], dataLength, reordered, roundTrip{ok, detail}, findings[], ok }.

The inverse of decode_variable_measure_code: from a national scheme, an item reference and a price or weight, produce the complete 13-digit number (and the 12-digit UPC-A form for prefix 02) with BOTH check digits computed — the price/measure verifier from GS1 General Specifications §7.9.3 (four-digit field: factors 2−,2−,3,5−, sum × 3, units digit) or §7.9.4 (five-digit field: factors 5+,2−,5−,5+,2−, complement to ten, reverse lookup in the 5− table), then the ordinary mod-10 check digit over the twelve. The standard's own worked examples (2875 → 9, 14685 → 6) are regression tests for this tool. Every weighted product is returned as a step so the calculation can be shown or audited, and the built number is what a scale or label printer should be configured to emit. Schemes: us = GS1 US (North America) (prefix 02); uk-branded = GS1 UK — branded variable measure (prefix 20/28); uk-instore = GS1 UK — in-store (prefix 02); au = GS1 Australia (VMN-13) (prefix 22/24/28/29); de = GS1 Germany (Spezialcode) (prefix 22/23/25/26/28/29); se = GS1 Sweden (Restricted Circulation Number) (prefix 20/21/22/23/24/25); gr = GS1 Greece (variable measure prefix) (prefix 25/26/27/28/29). Where a scheme's prefix decides the meaning of the field (Sweden 20–22 price / 23–25 weight; Germany 22/23 price, 25/26 count, 28/29 weight) `prefix` is required and the tool refuses to guess. Refuses (no number returned) when the item reference has the wrong length for the layout, when the value has more decimals than the scheme's implied decimal point, or when it does not fit the field — a label that scans into the wrong price is worse than no label. Returns { scheme, schemeName, prefix, layout, code, upcA?, segments[], value{digits, display}, verifier?{digits, algorithm, steps[{position, digit, factor, product}], sum, intermediate, checkDigit, finalStep}, checkDigit{payload, digit}, findings[], ok }.

Judge the PRINT SPECIFICATION of an ITF-14 carton barcode against the GS1 General Specifications (Release 26.0), and compute how big it will actually be. This is the layer the barcode generators skip: they draw the symbol, but a case code is rejected at goods-in for its dimensions far more often than for its number. THE BEARER BAR RULE DEPENDS ON THE PRESS, and getting this backwards is the main way a compliant label gets called non-conformant: a plate-based process needs a constant 4.83 mm bearer bar completely surrounding the symbol including its quiet zones (it equalises plate pressure); a plateless process (thermal, laser, offset label) needs only twice the narrow bar, top and bottom. Checks the GTIN-14 check digit, X-dimension against 0.495–1.016 mm, the 31.75 mm minimum bar height (which does NOT shrink with the symbol), 10X quiet zones each side, the 2.25:1–3.0:1 wide-to-narrow ratio, and warns when an X-dimension under 0.635 mm would be printed straight onto corrugate with a plate process. The width is computed from the standard’s own formula W = (P(4N+6)+N+6)X + 2Q, quiet zones included — the specification’s worked example (7 pairs, 2.5:1, X 1.016, Q 10.16 → 142.75 mm) is a regression test, so the number is the standard’s, not an estimate. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO: it does not grade print quality. The 1.5/10/660 in the specification is an ISO/IEC 15416 grade measured on a verifier at a stated aperture and wavelength; nothing computed from typed numbers can stand in for that, and this tool only states the requirement. It judges an intended specification, not artwork or a photograph. Where the standard allows a bearer bar to be omitted when "not technically feasible", that feasibility is the caller’s judgement — the omission is flagged, not excused. Returns { footprint{width{mm,inch},height{mm,inch}}, quietZone{mm,inch}, resolved{xDimension,ratio,barHeight,quietZone}, findings[{ruleId,severity,message,fix,sourceUrl}], conforms, qualitySpecification }.

Decode an RCN-12 / RCN-13 — the 02 or 20–29 number a scale prints on a deli, produce or butcher label — into item reference, embedded price or weight, and the two check digits it carries. WHY THIS IS NOT A GTIN VALIDATOR: prefixes 02 and 20–29 are Restricted Circulation Numbers whose layout is set by each GS1 member organisation, so the same 13 digits mean different things in different countries (22 is a five-digit AUD price with a verifier in Australia and an integer SEK price without one in Sweden). The tool decodes under every documented scheme whose prefix matches and lists them side by side; pass `scheme` to pin one. Documented schemes: us = GS1 US (North America) (prefix 02); uk-branded = GS1 UK — branded variable measure (prefix 20/28); uk-instore = GS1 UK — in-store (prefix 02); au = GS1 Australia (VMN-13) (prefix 22/24/28/29); de = GS1 Germany (Spezialcode) (prefix 22/23/25/26/28/29); se = GS1 Sweden (Restricted Circulation Number) (prefix 20/21/22/23/24/25); gr = GS1 Greece (variable measure prefix) (prefix 25/26/27/28/29). THE VERIFIER DIGIT IS THE KEY: North America, the UK, Australia and Germany put a price check digit between the item reference and the price, computed with the GS1 weighting factors 2−, 3, 5+ and 5− (General Specifications §7.9.3/7.9.4 — not the mod-10 of the last digit). Readings whose verifier matches come first and `consistent` lists them; a scheme without a verifier (Sweden, Greece) can never be ruled out by the digits alone, which the result says rather than hides. Also returns the four GS1-recommended generic layouts (Table 2-29) for countries not on the list, the UPC-A ↔ 13-digit normalisation, and always the reminder that an RCN cannot be listed as a product GTIN on a marketplace. Decimal positions are those stated by each member organisation; the North American two-decimal reading is marked as an assumption; German weight/count fields come back as raw digits because the guide gives no unit. Pass `values` (up to 1000) for a batch — one label per element — and get rows with line numbers plus a summary (verifier ok / failed, invalid, per-rule counts). Returns { input, normalized, format, prefix, checkDigit{valid, expected}, readings[{scheme, schemeName, territory, layout, segments[{role, digits, label}], itemReference, verifier?{digit, expected, valid}, value{digits, kind, unit, decimals, amount, display, decimalsBasis}, sourceUrl}], layouts[], consistent[], findings[], valid } or { rows, summary } for a batch.

Build a GS1 DataMatrix symbol and return it as SVG plus the module matrix. WHAT MAKES IT A *GS1* DataMatrix: FNC1 in the first position (codeword 232). Without it the symbol is a plain DataMatrix carrying digits and no scanner has any reason to read 0104006381333931 as a GTIN; with it the scanner emits the ]d2 symbology identifier and downstream systems split the data into AIs. This tool always sets it. The element string is validated BEFORE anything is drawn (unknown AI, wrong length, bad check digit, invalid date, character set) and no symbol is returned when a check fails — a symbol that scans into a wrong GTIN is worse than a blank label. Sizing is the decision that matters: the result carries `size` in modules and, for the X-dimension you pass, the printed side in millimetres. GS1 gives 0.396–0.990 mm for general distribution. The quiet zone for DataMatrix is ONE module on each side (not the 10X a linear symbol needs) and it is included in the SVG. Encoder limits, stated rather than hidden: ASCII encodation only, so mixed letter/digit data may produce a symbol one size larger than a C40-capable encoder (the data is identical and any scanner reads it); square symbols up to 52×52, beyond which it refuses with the reason. The encoder is verified in CI against two independent implementations: bwip-js module-by-module, and zxing decoding a rasterised image back to the original string. Returns { svg, size, modules (boolean rows), spec{dataCodewords, ecCodewords}, printedSizeMm, hri, data, codewords{data, ec}, findings[], ok }.

Return the GS1 keys this server can validate, each with the application identifiers that carry it, what it identifies, and its syntax as written in the GS1 Barcode Syntax Dictionary (for example "N1,zero N13,csum [X..16]" for GRAI). Useful before validating: it tells you which key a given AI belongs to, which keys carry a check digit, and which two (GIAI, GINC) carry none at all. Returns { keys[{key, ais, name, identifies, syntax, hasCheckDigit, hasCheckPair, numericLength?, maxLength?}] }.

Validate the eight GS1 keys beyond SSCC and GLN (those two live in validate_gs1_key). The key type must be given: several of these share a length, so guessing would be wrong more often than right. Formats come from the GS1 Barcode Syntax Dictionary, GS1's own machine-readable source: GRAI = a literal 0 plus 13 digits with a check digit plus an optional 16-character serial; GIAI = up to 30 characters, NO check digit; GSRN (8017 provider / 8018 recipient) = 18 digits with a check digit; GDTI = 13 digits with a check digit plus an optional 17-character serial; GINC = up to 30 characters, NO check digit; GSIN = 17 digits with a check digit; GCN = 13 digits with a check digit plus an optional 12-digit serial; GMN = up to 25 characters ending in a CHECK CHARACTER PAIR. Two things agents get wrong here. (1) GIAI and GINC have no check digit at all — a typo in them is undetectable from the value, and this tool says so rather than implying validity means correctness. (2) A GMN does not end in a check DIGIT: it ends in two check CHARACTERS computed with prime weights modulo 1021 and drawn from GS1 character set 32 (no I, O, 0 or 1). The GMN is also the Basic UDI-DI for EU medical devices, so getting it wrong is a regulatory problem, not a cosmetic one. Whitespace inside a value is reported as an invalid character rather than silently removed — stripping it would turn an invalid identifier into a valid-looking one while the value in the user's system stays broken. Returns { input, normalized, key, valid, base?, serial?, definition{name, ais, identifies, syntax}, findings[] }.