Skip to main content
Speed up Barcode Capture integration with Agent Skills

Install the Scandit plugin and use the /barcode-capture-kmp skill so that your AI coding agent can integrate, debug, and customize Barcode Capture on Kotlin Multiplatform following Scandit's recommended patterns. More info →

Run the following command in your project directory. It detects the supported coding agents you have installed and adds the Scandit plugin to each. Re-run it to update.

npx plugins add scandit/skills

Prefer to set it up yourself? Manual installation steps for each agent →

Configure Barcode Symbologies

The Scandit Data Capture SDK is capable of reading a large number of 1D and 2D barcode symbologies. Not all symbologies are enabled by default, as scanning performance can be negatively affected by enabling many symbologies at once. Only enable the symbologies your application actually needs.

Enable the Symbologies You Want to Read​

BarcodeCaptureSettings exposes both a single-symbology and a batch method to enable the symbologies you want to read:

import com.kmp.datacapture.barcode.capture.BarcodeCaptureSettings
import com.kmp.datacapture.barcode.data.Symbology

val settings = BarcodeCaptureSettings.barcodeCaptureSettings()
settings.enableSymbology(Symbology.CODE128, true)

Or enable several symbologies at once:

settings.enableSymbologies(
    setOf(
        Symbology.EAN13_UPCA,
        Symbology.CODE128,
        Symbology.CODE39,
        Symbology.QR,
    ),
)

Use a Capture Preset​

Instead of enabling symbologies individually, you can create settings pre-tuned for a vertical with BarcodeCaptureSettings.barcodeCaptureSettings(capturePresets):

import com.kmp.datacapture.barcode.data.CapturePreset

val settings = BarcodeCaptureSettings.barcodeCaptureSettings(setOf(CapturePreset.RETAIL))

Available presets are CapturePreset.TRANSPORT, CapturePreset.LOGISTICS, CapturePreset.RETAIL, CapturePreset.HEALTHCARE, and CapturePreset.MANUFACTURING.

Configure the Active Symbol Count​

Barcode symbologies (such as Code 128, Code 39, or Interleaved Two of Five) can store variable-length data. For performance reasons, the Scandit Data Capture SDK limits the possible symbol range for variable-length symbologies. Use BarcodeCaptureSettings.getSymbologySettings() to look up the per-symbology SymbologySettings and adjust activeSymbolCounts to the code lengths your application uses:

val symbologySettings = settings.getSymbologySettings(Symbology.CODE128)
symbologySettings.activeSymbolCounts = setOf<Short>(6, 7, 8)

Read Bright-on-Dark Barcodes​

Most barcodes are printed using dark ink on a bright background. Some symbologies allow the colors to be inverted and can also be printed using bright ink on a dark background. When you enable a symbology, only dark-on-bright codes are enabled by default—set SymbologySettings.isColorInvertedEnabled to also read bright-on-dark codes:

val symbologySettings = settings.getSymbologySettings(Symbology.CODE128)
symbologySettings.isColorInvertedEnabled = true

Enforce Checksums​

Some symbologies have a mandatory checksum that is always enforced, while others only have optional checksums. Enforcing an optional checksum reduces false positives. Set SymbologySettings.checksums to the Checksum values you want to require—make sure the data of your codes actually contains the calculated checksum, otherwise the codes are discarded:

import com.kmp.datacapture.barcode.data.Checksum

val symbologySettings = settings.getSymbologySettings(Symbology.CODE39)
symbologySettings.checksums = setOf(Checksum.MOD_43)

Enable Symbology-Specific Extensions​

Some symbologies allow further configuration through extensions that can be enabled or disabled individually. Some extensions affect how the data in the code is formatted; others allow for more relaxed recognition modes that are disabled by default to eliminate false reads. Use SymbologySettings.setExtensionEnabled():

val symbologySettings = settings.getSymbologySettings(Symbology.CODE39)
symbologySettings.setExtensionEnabled("full_ascii", true)

This extension allows Code 39 to encode all 128 ASCII characters instead of only the 43 characters defined in the standard. It is disabled by default as it can lead to false reads when enabled.

Once configured, apply the settings to an existing BarcodeCapture mode with BarcodeCapture.applySettings(), or pass them to BarcodeCapture.forContext() when creating the mode—see Get Started.