QR Code Generator
Create QR codes for text, links or Wi-Fi networks right in your browser. No data sent to a server.
Enter some content to generate the QR code.
How a QR code works
A QR code is a two-dimensional matrix of black and white modules encoding binary data. The three large squares in the corners ("finder patterns") let a scanner recognize the code and its orientation even if the image is rotated or tilted, while the blank margin around it (the "quiet zone") is what lets a reader tell the code apart from its background.
Beyond the actual data, the code carries redundant information computed with Reed-Solomon error correction: part of the symbol can be damaged, dirty, or covered (by a logo in the middle, for instance) and the code still scans correctly. The error correction level you choose sets how much redundancy gets added: L tolerates roughly 7% damage, M about 15%, Q about 25%, H about 30% — a higher level makes the code visually denser, and therefore larger, for the same content.
Text or a link get encoded exactly as typed. Wi-Fi mode instead builds the standard "WIFI:T:...;S:...;P:...;;" string that phones and tablets recognize automatically, offering to join the network. The characters that format uses as separators (semicolon, comma, colon, backslash) are escaped automatically if they appear in the network name or password, so a character like ";" in an SSID can't break the generated code.
The code is generated entirely in your browser and the content is embedded directly in the matrix — it isn't a shortened link pointing at an external server. Many "free" generators instead create a tracked redirect through their own servers, convenient for their own analytics, but the code stops working if that service shuts down or later decides to paywall codes already printed. A code generated here keeps working forever, because the content is already all there.
Before printing or publishing a code, it's worth scanning it with more than one phone: a higher error correction level and a larger size help most when the code will be printed small, read from a distance, or applied to a surface that isn't perfectly flat.
Frequently asked questions
- Do these QR codes expire or stop working?
- No. The content is embedded directly in the code's matrix, generated in your browser: it isn't a shortened link depending on an external server, so it keeps working forever.
- What does the error correction level mean?
- It sets how much redundancy the code carries, i.e. how much of it can be damaged or covered (by a logo, for example) and still scan correctly: from about 7% (L) to 30% (H). Higher levels make the code larger for the same content.
- How do I make a QR code to share Wi-Fi access?
- Switch to Wi-Fi mode and enter the network name and password: the tool builds the format phones and tablets recognize automatically, offering to join the network on scan.
- Is what I type sent to a server?
- No. Generation happens entirely in your browser. No text, URL, or Wi-Fi credential is ever transmitted or stored anywhere else.