> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.scanova.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Link a child QR Code

> POST /qr/{parent_qrid}/children/link/

Adopts an existing standalone QR Code as a variant of a GS1 parent, instead of creating a fresh child.

```
POST   https://api.scanova.io/qr/{parent_qrid}/children/link/
Authorization: 401f7ac837da42b97f613d789819ff93537bee6a
```

<ParamField path="parent_qrid" type="string" required>
  The `qrid` of the GS1 parent QR Code.
</ParamField>

<ParamField body="qrid" type="string" required>
  The `qrid` of an existing standalone QR Code owned by this account.
</ParamField>

<RequestExample>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST "https://api.scanova.io/qr/Qz9y8x7w6v5u4t3s/children/link/" \
    -H "Authorization: 401f7ac837da42b97f613d789819ff93537bee6a" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
        "qrid": "Qb2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9"
    }'
  ```
</RequestExample>

A linked child reports `source: "linked"` in the child listing, distinguishing it from one created in place.

## Related

* [List and create child QR Codes](/api-reference/management-api/qr/child-list-create) — the collection this adds to.
* [Delete a child QR Code](/api-reference/management-api/qr/child-delete) — detach and permanently delete a variant.
* [QR Manager overview](/api-reference/management-api/qr/overview) — the quotas, role permissions, and Trash model shared by every endpoint in this module.
* [Management API overview](/api-reference/management-api/overview) — the auth scheme and quota rules that apply to this endpoint.


## OpenAPI

````yaml api-reference/openapi/management-api.json POST /qr/{parent_qrid}/children/link/
openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: Scanova Management API (v2)
  description: >-
    The complete Scanova Management API — every endpoint available at
    api.scanova.io (QR codes, folders, tags, leads, forms, analytics, plans,
    shared users & roles), plus the token-creation and usage-stats endpoints
    used to authenticate against it. Every path and request/response shape below
    was verified live against a real API key and the actual running backend
    (Phase 7, 2026-08-16) — not guessed from reading urls.py alone.
  version: 2.0.0
servers:
  - url: https://api.scanova.io
    description: Management API — QR/folder/tag/lead/form/analytics/plans endpoints
security:
  - apiKeyAuth: []
paths:
  /qr/{parent_qrid}/children/link/:
    post:
      summary: Link an existing QR code as a child variant
      description: >-
        Adopts an existing standalone QR code owned by the account as a variant
        of the parent, instead of creating a fresh child. The linked child
        reports `source: linked`.
      operationId: linkChildQrCode
      parameters:
        - name: parent_qrid
          in: path
          required: true
          schema:
            type: string
          description: The `qrid` of the GS1 parent QR code.
      requestBody:
        content:
          application/json:
            example:
              qrid: Qb2c3d4e5f6g7h8i9
      responses:
        '201':
          description: QR code linked as a child variant.
          content:
            application/json:
              example:
                qrid: Qc3d4e5f6g7h8i9j0
                name: 500ml bottle — LOT-2026-04
                is_active: true
                thumbnail: null
                source: linked
                variant_label: 500ml bottle
                qualifiers:
                  - id: '10'
                    value: LOT-2026-04
                data_attributes: []
                scan_count: 0
                created: '2026-09-09T09:00:00Z'
                modified: '2026-09-09T09:00:00Z'
        '400':
          description: >-
            The `qrid` is not owned by this account, or is not eligible to
            become a child.
        '404':
          description: No parent QR code with this `parent_qrid` owned by this account.
components:
  securitySchemes:
    apiKeyAuth:
      type: apiKey
      in: header
      name: Authorization
      description: >-
        Send your Management API key as the raw value of the Authorization
        header — no "Bearer " or "Token " prefix, and no other characters.
        Example: `Authorization: 401f7ac837da42b97f613d789819ff93537bee6a`. A
        header containing more than one space-separated part is rejected
        outright. Requests also require the request's Host header to be the
        management API host (e.g. api.scanova.io) — the same key sent to the
        regular API host will not authenticate.

````