How to Install `barcode` in Python

v1.0.4 Data & Science MIT

Design and test NGS barcodes.

Install pip install barcode

What is barcode?

Design and test NGS barcodes.

Barcode: Design and validate NGS barcodes

Barcode is a program for the design and validation of sets of sequencing barcodes.

Please see ReadTheDocs_ for the latest documentation.

Documentation → PyPI page → Author: Jeroen F.J. Laros

Quick Start

Minimal example to get started with barcode:

import barcode

print(barcode.__version__)

Installation

pip (standard)

pip install barcode

Virtual environment (recommended)

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install barcode

pip3

pip3 install barcode

conda

conda install -c conda-forge barcode

Poetry

poetry add barcode

Verify the Installation

After installing, confirm the package is available:

python -c "import barcode; print(barcode.__version__)"

If this prints a version number, installation succeeded. If you see a ModuleNotFoundError, see the errors section below.

Installation Errors

Common errors when installing barcode with pip.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'barcode'

Cause: The package is not installed in the current Python environment.

Fix: Run pip install barcode. If using a virtual environment, ensure it is activated first.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'barcode' (installed but still failing)

Cause: pip installed the package into a different Python than the one running your script.

Fix: Use python -m pip install barcode to install into the interpreter you are running.

ImportError: cannot import name 'X' from 'barcode'

Cause: The function or class does not exist in the installed version.

Fix: Check the version with pip show barcode and upgrade with pip install --upgrade barcode.

pip: command not found

Cause: pip is not in PATH or Python was not added to PATH during installation.

Fix: Try python -m pip install barcode. On macOS/Linux try pip3.

PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied

Cause: No write access to the system Python package directory.

Fix: Use a virtual environment, or add --user: pip install --user barcode

SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED

Cause: pip cannot verify PyPI's SSL certificate — common behind corporate proxies.

Fix: Try: pip install --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org barcode

MemoryError when loading data

Cause: Dataset is too large to fit in RAM.

Fix: Read in chunks, filter columns on load, or consider Polars/Dask for out-of-core processing.

Recent Releases

Version	Released
`1.0.4` latest	2023-12-15
`1.0.3`	2023-08-20
`1.0.2`	2021-11-21
`1.0.1`	2020-04-10
`1.0.0`	2020-03-26

Full release history on PyPI →

Manage barcode

Upgrade to latest version

pip install --upgrade barcode

Install a specific version

pip install barcode==1.0.4

Uninstall

pip uninstall barcode

Check what is installed

pip show barcode

Last updated: 2026-04-11 • Data from PyPI

How to Install barcode in Python