Barcodes made things scannable. zzThis makes things readable-writable - and smart.

Write a code on a thing; find its record by camera, typing, or voice.

zzThis is a human-readable, human-writable code for the physical world. Write a zz-code on tape, a crate, a parcel, an envelope, or a sign, or embed it in text or program code. Link it to a digital record or its information hub, then find it by camera, typing, or voice.

Look up a code

Demo · demo data

Olive crate with blue tape reading zz-copper-lantern-sky-zz beside an obscured barcode. — Concept illustrationWord code on blue tape beside an obscured barcode.

The shortest, smartest distance between a physical thing, its digital record, and the work that comes next.

A zz code gives people a way to create the mark themselves, wherever the work happens. AI can help identify what a camera sees, count what remains, suggest how an item should be handled, and prepare the next task. The same visible code connects the item, its history, and the people responsible for it. It bridges physical things and their digital control: the easiest, smartest way to identify, manage, and act on them. zzThis is designed AI-first, on the principle that AI is the new UI, and the great connector and leveler across big tech stacks.

zz-copper-lantern-sky-zz

opening markerwordwordword or check wordclosing marker

Word code: zz-copper-lantern-sky-zz
Field code: zz-b2-smith-1-zz
Handle: zz-@agentsmith-zz
Circled marker: (zz) camp bravo four two (zz)

Why the zz markers matter

The zz markers are to zzThis what the start and stop bars are to a barcode, or the three corner squares to a QR code: a fixed frame that tells people and machines exactly where a code begins and ends. Two “zz” letters or “marks”, recognizable almost anywhere, in any handwriting.

zz- In - any - language -zz

Korean zz-구리-등불-하늘-zz
Japanese zz-さくら-ねこ-そら-zz (cherry blossom, cat, sky)
German zz-kupfer-laterne-himmel-zz
French zz-cuivre-lanterne-ciel-zz
Aramaic zz-נהורא-שמיא-zz (light, sky)

How zzThis compares

Barcode
Create the mark
Print
Read the mark
Scanner
What it connects
Item to data
Easy to say and remember
No
QR code
Create the mark
Print or display
Read the mark
Camera
What it connects
Surface to digital content
Easy to say and remember
No
Alphanumeric code
Create the mark
Print or handwrite
Read the mark
Person, scanner, or typing
What it connects
Shipment or item to its tracking status
Easy to say and remember
Hard (8 to 22 random characters)
zzThis
Create the mark
Write, draw, print, or display: words, numbers, or symbols
Read the mark
Person, camera, voice, typing, or within text
What it connects
Thing to its record, next action, and authorized macros
Easy to say and remember
Yes (2 to 4 words, or short words and numbers)

How zzThis compares
	Barcode	QR code	Alphanumeric code	zzThis
Create the mark	Print	Print or display	Print or handwrite	Write, draw, print, or display: words, numbers, or symbols
Read the mark	Scanner	Camera	Person, scanner, or typing	Person, camera, voice, typing, or within text
What it connects	Item to data	Surface to digital content	Shipment or item to its tracking status	Thing to its record, next action, and authorized macros
Easy to say and remember	No	No	Hard (8 to 22 random characters)	Yes (2 to 4 words, or short words and numbers)

Alphanumeric example: an 8-character handwritten postage code (Deutsche Post) or a 14–22-character parcel tracking number. zz-codes can be words, numbers, or simple hand-drawn symbols such as a smiley or tally marks, and can be read even when written inside a sentence.

How it works

Core identity: MARK a lowercase zz code → READ it by camera or manual entry → LINK it to a record → REPORT the words by voice where useful.

Concept illustrations. These panels show intended use, not a deployed system.

01
Mark
Write the code on tape, a crate, or a pallet.
02
Read
Camera or manual entry.
03
Link
Connect to an existing record and photo.
04
Report
Say the code words if a voice handoff is useful.

Example code zz-copper-lantern-sky-zz

For a field code made with no device, link and reconcile later.

Try the scripted demo

When a reading is uncertain

The design resolves only above a confidence threshold. Otherwise it asks for confirmation, another view, or manual handling.

Manual
Rescan
Confirm
Resolve

Design intent. No threshold has been measured yet.

The code is public; the record is protected

The visible words are a public identifier, not a password or private key. Payment and authorization remain in signed backend records.

Top ways zzThis is used

01
Logistics
zz-copper-lantern-sky-zzzz-fastfreight-c4821-123-zz
Easier handling: mark crates, bags, and parts, then read, link, and hand them off with a phone camera or a few spoken words. For shipping, including across borders, the zz-code can be the shipment's shared identity and hub, where customs, carriers, and payment services find the same information, and its ID on the shared ledger used by every service that handles the goods.
02
Postal
zz-post-rock-river-sky-zz
A handwritten zz-code can serve as proof of postage and a trackable reference: write it in the stamp corner of a letter or parcel, and it links to postage, routing, and tracking.
03
Everyday use: zzThat
zz-kathy-lost-cat-zzzz-moving-box-kitchen-3-zz
Free for everyone. Write a code on a lost-pet flyer, a moving box, a garage-sale item, or a note, and anyone can scan it, like a QR code you can write by hand. Endless imaginative uses. The zzThat app is coming to Android, iOS, and the web at zzthat.com.
04
AI agents
zz-acme-support-agent-zzzz-@agentsmith-zz
AI agents need identities people can easily know and recognize by name, and enterprises need to name and brand their agents, on the everyday web as well as on blockchains. A zz-code gives an agent a short name people can write, say, and verify, linked to who runs it and what it is allowed to do.
05
Blockchain addresses
zz-btc-harbor-violet-nine-zzzz-harbor-violet-nine-zz
Wallet, account, smart-contract, and agent addresses on networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are long strings of random characters. A zz-code is a readable alias for any of them: easier to write, say, and check on screen before you send.
06
Macros
zz-fn-pay-agentsmith-zzzz-run-reorder-water-zz
A zz-code can also call a function: a short, human-writable command that asks a system to do something, such as reorder supplies, pay an agent, or open a work order. A macro runs only for an authenticated, authorized user who confirms it; the code itself carries no authority.

Field logistics

Hand-mark mixed items at the point of work; link the mark to a record.

Concept illustrations. These panels show intended use, not a deployed system.

No device, no network: mark first With only a marker, a Soldier names and marks each item with a self-made field code when no phone, scanner, or network is available, then reconciles it to the system later. Built for the extreme edge, and fault tolerant.
Batched pallet: many items, one code Loose items, with or without their own labels, are photographed and batched under one code or work order: here, a wrapped pallet with a circled zz marker.
Unreadable barcode? Mark it by hand When an existing barcode or QR code is damaged or cannot be read, a Soldier writes a zz-code next to it in seconds, and the item is logged into the system.

From photo to action

A second layer after the handwritten code: see an item, identify it, choose its next task.

Concept illustrations. These panels show intended use, not a deployed system.

01 Photograph
Loose or broken items; spoken note.
02 Guide
Confirmed item and handling choices.
03 Review
Prepared form and photos.

Day 1 and Day 4 shelf photos; water at about two days left with a reorder prompt. — **Inventory assistant** Same shelf across days; lower stock and proposed reorder.

Phone screen with a recognized item being dragged onto large action buttons. — **Touch first** Drag an identified item to an action; offer voice input.

AI-assisted work: PHOTOGRAPH one or more items → CONFIRM the proposed identification → choose a handling or inventory action by touch or voice → REVIEW the prepared record or form.

Proposed architecture

One central server owns codes, records, grants, and the audit log; every app is an API client. Revocation, single use, expiry, and rate limits are enforced on the server.

Proposal, not built.

API clients

Phone appon-device recognition

Web app

Partner systems

Edge layer

Fast readsresolve, cached signed records

Central server

Write and signing APIissue, revoke, version, grants

Portable SQLcodes, records, record_versions, grants, audit_events

Object storagephotos for retries and review

Cloud vision modelhard cases only

More applications

The same writable code works in other settings.

Concept illustration
Field logistics
Hand-mark bags, crates, pallets, and mixed goods; read or relay a code; connect it to existing identifiers. Then photograph loose items, prepare a turn-in, compare inventory, and use touch-first actions.
Concept illustration
Postal and parcel
Write a reference directly on a parcel; photograph loose items and receive packing guidance before choosing a parcel code.
Concept illustration
Everyday and community
A handwritten code on a lost-cat flyer or other public surface can lead to a useful page.
Concept illustration
Digital aliases
A short human-readable code can stand in for a long machine address used by software agents.