DevClamp

QR Code Generator

Generate QR codes in your browser with a choice of error correction levels, and download them as PNG or resolution-independent SVG — the content is never uploaded or saved. Free, no sign-up — runs locally in your browser.

Generated entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded, and (unlike most tools here) nothing is saved, because QR codes often carry passwords.

What is a QR code generator?

A QR code packs text — a URL, a Wi-Fi login, a contact card, a payment address — into a square of black and white modules that any phone camera can read in a fraction of a second. A generator does the encoding: it converts your text into the code's data, adds error-correction information, and draws the module pattern with its finder squares and quiet zone in the right places. Get any of those steps wrong and the result is a pretty square that no scanner will ever read, which is why this tool uses the standard, battle-tested encoding library rather than a home-grown pattern maker.

Everything happens on this page. The text you type is encoded by your browser and never transmitted — a property worth insisting on for a tool whose whole job is often to encode a password. For the same reason, this is the one tool on the site that does not restore your work after a refresh: there is no draft, by design.

How to use this tool

  1. Type or paste the text or URL into the box above. The preview updates as you type (or press Generate), and the message line confirms the code's version and density.
  2. Pick an error correction level: M for screens and clean print, H for small, rough or logo-carrying codes, L for the simplest possible code. The trade-off is explained in the section below.
  3. Pick a PNG size comfortably larger than the size it will be shown at — resizing a PNG down is harmless, stretching it up is not.
  4. Download PNG for screens and documents, or Download SVG for print and design work — the SVG is resolution-independent and always matches the preview.
  5. Before printing a batch, scan the preview with your own phone. Ten seconds of checking beats a thousand unusable leaflets.

Error correction: the one real choice

A QR code carries more data than your text: a Reed–Solomon error-correction layer that lets scanners reconstruct the message when part of the code is damaged, dirty or covered. The four standard levels recover roughly 7% (L), 15% (M), 25% (Q) and 30% (H) of the code. That resilience is not free: the correction data takes room, so the same text at H produces a larger, denser code than at L — and the maximum content shrinks, from roughly 2,953 bytes at L to roughly 1,273 bytes at H. The practical rule: the harsher the code's life — outdoor print, tiny size, a logo stamped in the middle — the higher the level worth paying for; a code that lives on a screen never needs more than M.

Sizing and printing, briefly

Scanners need contrast and a quiet zone: the plain margin around the code is part of the specification, and both downloads include it — do not crop it away. As a rule of thumb, a code should print at least 2 cm (about 0.8 in) square for phone scanning at arm's length, and grow with viewing distance. The PNG sizes top out at 2048 px — far beyond any print need at that physical size — and the SVG removes the question entirely by scaling without limit. Dark modules on a light background is the combination every scanner expects; inverted codes read unreliably on older devices.

Examples

A short URL like https://example.com at level M produces a compact version-2 code — 25 modules per side, readable at almost any size. A full vCard contact record, a few hundred characters, lands somewhere in the middle versions. A thousand characters of plain text pushes towards the dense end: still one code, but one that wants level L or M, a generous print size, and a good scanner. If your content approaches the limits the tool reports, that is the format telling you the message belongs behind a short link instead.

Frequently asked questions

Is the content of my QR code uploaded anywhere?

No. The code is generated in your browser, on this page, from exactly what you type — nothing is sent to a server, and there is no analytics call carrying your text. You can disconnect from the network and the tool keeps working. That matters for QR codes in particular: they routinely carry Wi-Fi passwords, payment links and contact details.

Why doesn't this tool auto-save my text like the others on this site?

Deliberately. Most tools here restore your last draft after a refresh, but QR codes so often encode credentials — a Wi-Fi password is the classic example — that this page keeps nothing: close or refresh it and the text is gone. No draft, no history, nothing stored. It is a small inconvenience bought on purpose.

Which error correction level should I pick?

Error correction is the share of the code that can be damaged, dirty or covered — by a logo, say — and still scan. L recovers about 7%, M about 15%, Q about 25% and H about 30%. More correction means a denser code (more modules, more content capacity used up), so there is a trade-off: M is the right default for screens and clean print; pick H if the code will be printed small, handled roughly, or carry a logo in the middle; pick L only for short content you want as simple as possible.

PNG or SVG — which download do I want?

PNG for screens, documents and anything that asks for an image file: choose a size comfortably larger than the display size (print at 300 dpi wants roughly 4 pixels per millimetre of final size). SVG for print, signage and design tools: it is the same code as resolution-independent vector paths, so it scales to a billboard without softening. Both are generated from the same plan, so they always match the preview.

My content doesn't fit — what can I do?

A QR code has a hard ceiling (version 40). At the highest correction level the limit is roughly 1,273 bytes of UTF-8 text; at L it is roughly 2,953. Shorten the content — a URL shortener's worth of trimming usually does it — or step the correction level down; the tool tells you which limit you hit rather than failing silently. Very long text is usually better served by linking to it than by encoding it.

Will every scanner read these codes?

Yes. The generator produces standard QR codes (the same library class used across the industry), with the specification's quiet zone around the code. Any phone camera or scanner app will read them. If a printed code ever struggles, the cause is almost always physical — too small, low contrast, or a damaged quiet zone — not the data.

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