QR code generator
Make a QR code from a URL or text, with the error correction, size and colours you need, as PNG and SVG.
Input
Result
The result will appear here.Printed menus, conference badges, a Wi-Fi password on the office wall, a link at the bottom of a slide. The code is generated in your browser by node-qrcode and encodes your text directly — there is no redirect service in between, so it never expires, never tracks scans and never stops working because a subscription lapsed. You get a PNG preview to download and the same code as SVG markup, which stays sharp at any print size.
How it works
- The encoder picks the smallest QR version (1–40) that fits the text at the chosen error-correction level, and switches between numeric, alphanumeric and byte mode automatically.
- Error correction L, M, Q and H let roughly 7, 15, 25 and 30 percent of the code be damaged or covered and still scan, at the cost of a denser pattern.
- Colours are checked before encoding: a light-on-dark code, or one with too little contrast, is refused because many phone scanners cannot read it.
Where your data goes
Nowhere. This tool runs entirely in your browser: the text you paste is processed by the page and is never transmitted to a server or written to a log.
This tool is free and needs no account. Its results exist only in your open page and are not saved anywhere.
What it costs
This tool is free, with no sign-in and no points.
Common questions
- Which error correction level should I choose?
- M suits screens and most print. Choose Q or H when the code will be printed small on a rough surface, or when you intend to put a logo over its centre — the logo destroys modules, and the higher level is what lets the code survive it. L gives the least dense code for long URLs shown on a screen.
- Does the QR code expire?
- No. The content is encoded in the pattern itself, so it works for as long as the URL or text in it is valid. Codes that expire come from services that encode a short link to their own server instead of your content.
- How much text fits in one QR code?
- Up to 2,953 bytes at level L and 1,273 at level H, and fewer characters of Chinese, which takes three bytes each in UTF-8. Long codes become too dense to scan comfortably from a printout; for a long URL, a shorter link is the practical fix.
- How do I encode a Wi-Fi network?
- Enter it in the format phones understand: WIFI:T:WPA;S:network-name;P:password;; — scanning it offers to join the network. Escape any semicolon, comma or colon inside the name or password with a backslash.
The open-source behind it
This tool runs on soldair/node-qrcode, released under MIT. If you need the same behaviour inside your own program, that is the library to reach for.
soldair/node-qrcodeAlso known as
- qr code generator
- create qr code
- url to qr code
- qr code svg
- free qr code generator no expiry
- custom color qr code