User Guide
Learn about the features and customizations available in QR Maker to design, share, and export unique QR codes.
QR Maker is a simple, visual creator that builds custom-styled QR codes right inside your web browser. There are no accounts to set up, no subscription fees, and built with a privacy-first mindset. All QR generation and customizations are performed locally on your device, ensuring your inputs remain private to you.
Screenshot illustrating the left-hand styling inspector panel alongside the right-hand canvas preview.
Check out the API Docs for comprehensive documentation on the developer API, including the fully-interactive playground, collection downloads, and code samples for easy integration into your own projects.
Content Options
QR Maker lets you bundle many different types of information inside a QR code. Select from the following input tabs to enter your details:
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Link (URL): Share a website address, document link, or online profile. Ideal for print flyers, menu signs, and portfolios.
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Plain Text: Write simple notes, instructions, reference codes, or messages.
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WiFi Network: Provide network credentials (SSID name, password, and security type) to allow instant connections.
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Contact Card: Generate a virtual contact file (vCard) including first name, last name, company, email, and phone number.
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Email: Pre-fill a recipient address and initial subject line. Scanning will open a default email app ready to send.
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Phone Number: Set a phone number to trigger direct dialing.
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Map Location: Share map coordinates (latitude & longitude) with a built-in auto-detect button to get your current position.
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SMS: Pre-fill a recipient phone number and initial message. Scanning will open a default messaging app ready to send.
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Calendar Event: Set a title, start/end dates, location, and description to easily add to a calendar.
An animation demonstrating selecting the WiFi tab, typing network details, and watching the QR code update.
Style & Color
An animation demonstrating picking foreground & background colors and corner styles for a QR code.
Go beyond traditional black-and-white grids by styling every part of your QR code to match your theme:
- Pixel Shapes: Swap out classic square blocks for softer rounded points, pills, capsules, dots, or connected lines.
- Corner Markers: Style the outer corners of the QR code with Rounded, Circle, Square, Leaf, or Beveled.
- Frame Spacing: Use the margin slider to give more space around the QR code or round the outer frame.
- Solid & Transparent Backdrops: Set solid background colors or go fully transparent.
- Palettes & Custom Hex Codes: Select from preset or custom colors for the pixels and background.
- Contrast Guard: A contrast check warns if low contrast could prevent sucessful scanning.
- Randomize: Click the Random button to instantly generate a random color palette for the QR code.
Logos, Emojis & Icons
Make your QR code instantly recognizable by placing a brand image or custom graphic right in the middle.
Alternately, choose an icon or emoji to help communicate the purpose of the QR code.
- Icon Library: Choose from popular utility and social icons like Link, Globe, Wifi, GitHub, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
- System Emojis: Paste or type any system emoji directly into the icon inspector to place it in the center.
- Custom Image Uploads: Drag and drop your own PNG or JPG logo file directly onto the canvas.
Future Visual: Close-up screenshot of a styled QR code with a circular logo in the center, demonstrating how the card backing clears overlapping QR code modules.
Placing an image, icon, or emoji in the center blocks a portion of the QR code grid. QR Maker automatically adjusts the built-in error correction level in the background. This ensures your code can be read easily, without having to worry about the technical details.
Exporting & Sharing
Once your custom design is complete, you can download it or share the editable template with others:
- Vector SVG: Save your QR code as a scalable vector SVG file, perfect for graphic designers, print media, high-resolution signs, and packaging since it scales infinitely without losing detail.
- PNG Images (Multi-Size): Export your QR code as a PNG image file, ideal for website embeds, emails, and presentations. Choose a size of 512px, 1024px (default), or 2048px.
- Share Links: Generate a unique shareable link that copies straight to your clipboard. This link encodes all your design coordinates, custom colors, text contents, and style presets, allowing other users to load and edit your exact design instantly.
QR maker is shown with a customized QR code and the user has opened the export size selector menu on the Export PNG button.
Integrations & Offline Use
QR Maker integrates with your devices to speed up your daily workflows:
Native Apple Shortcut
Convert highlighted text, links, or contact details directly into a custom QR code from anywhere on your Mac or iOS device.
- macOS: Highlight text, a link, or contact details, right-click, and select the shortcut from the Quick Actions menu.
- iOS & iPadOS: Highlight content or view a webpage, tap the standard Share button, and select the shortcut from the Share Sheet.
- Get the shortcut: Download QR Maker Apple Shortcut.
Demo video showing how to use QR Maker with Apple Shortcuts from a browser selection.
Offline PWA App Installation
QR Maker can be installed on your device, allowing you to design and download custom QR codes completely offline.
- macOS (Safari): Select File in the top menu bar, then choose Add to Dock....
- iOS & iPadOS (Safari): Tap the standard Share button, then select Add to Home Screen.
- Chrome & Edge: Click the installation icon (app drawer indicator) on the right end of the address URL bar to add QR Maker to your system desktop or device app folder.
Add QR Maker to your home screen to use it as a standalone app with quick access and offline support.
Developer API
Integrate QR Maker directly into your own applications, developer workflows, and automated tasks. The API enables you to programmatically generate custom QR codes, making it easy to connect with API development tools, custom internal applications, and AI agent platforms.
To get started with generating QR codes via HTTP requests, read the detailed endpoint documentation, view code examples, and test requests in the Developer API Reference.