QR Code Generator

What it does

A QR code is a grid that carries text — usually a link. Part of the grid is the message and part of it is redundancy: Reed-Solomon codes that let a scanner rebuild what a scratch, a thumb or a bad angle destroyed. That is why the same text fills a bigger square when you ask for more error correction. The three big squares in the corners tell the camera where the code is and which way up it sits, and the checkerboard lines between them keep it from losing count of the rows.

How to use it

1. Type or paste what the code should carry — a link, a phone number, any text.
2. Choose the error correction, the size and the colors. The code is redrawn as you type.
3. Download it as PNG for the screen, or SVG for print, where it stays sharp at any size.

Frequently asked questions

Which error correction should I choose?
M is the sensible default and is what most codes in the wild use. Go to Q or H when the code will be printed small, put on something that gets handled, or covered by a logo. The cost is size: the same link needs a bigger grid, because the redundancy has to fit somewhere.

Does the code expire, or count scans?
No. This is a static code: the text is inside the grid itself, so it works forever and there is nothing to track. Codes that expire or count scans point at a redirect owned by somebody else — convenient until that service closes and every code you printed stops working.

Can I put a logo in the middle?
Usually yes, if you use level H and keep the logo under roughly a fifth of the width. The error correction is what covers for the modules you hid. Test the result with a real phone before printing a thousand of them, because nothing in the standard promises it.

Why is there a blank border around it?
That border is part of the code. The standard calls it the quiet zone and asks for four modules; it is what lets the scanner tell where the grid ends and the page begins. Codes that fail to scan on a patterned background are usually missing it.

Wikipedia — QR code
Wikipedia — Reed–Solomon error correction
Wikipedia — Barcode