qr-cli

Generate QR codes from the terminal. Fast, minimal, and easy to script.

Features

• Single binary, no runtime dependencies
• PNG, SVG, or terminal output
• WiFi and vCard helpers
• Batch generation
• Logo overlays (PNG/SVG)
• Decode QR codes from images
• Clipboard copy + open in viewer
• Config file and QR_* env support

Installation

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew install eliaseffects/tap/qr-cli

Go Install

go install github.com/eliaseffects/qr-cli@latest

Curl Installer

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/eliaseffects/qr-cli/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

Download Binary

Download from GitHub Releases.

Quick Start

qr "https://example.com"
qr "Hello world" -o hello.png
qr "https://example.com" --terminal

Usage

Basic

# Generate QR code
qr "https://example.com"

# Save to file
qr "Hello world" -o hello.png

# Read from stdin
echo "secret message" | qr -o secret.png

# Render in terminal
qr "https://example.com" --terminal

# Open in viewer
qr "https://example.com" --open

# Colored terminal output
qr "https://example.com" --terminal --terminal-color

# Invert terminal output
qr "https://example.com" --terminal --invert

WiFi Network

qr wifi --ssid "MyNetwork" --pass "secret123"

Contact Card

qr vcard --name "John Doe" --phone "+1234567890" --email "john@example.com"

Customization

# Custom size
qr "https://example.com" -s 512

# Custom colors
qr "https://example.com" --fg "#1a1a1a" --bg "#f0f0f0"

# High error correction
qr "https://example.com" --level H

# Add logo overlay
qr "https://example.com" --logo ./logo.png

Batch Processing

qr batch -f urls.txt -d ./output/

Decode

qr decode ./code.png

Commands

• qr [data] Generate a QR code from a string or stdin
• qr wifi Generate a WiFi QR
• qr vcard Generate a vCard QR
• qr batch Generate multiple QR codes from a file
• qr decode Decode QR codes from an image
• qr version Print version info

Common Flags

• -o, --output Output file path (default: qr.png/qr.svg)
• -s, --size Image size in pixels (default: 256)
• -f, --format png, svg, or terminal (default: png)
• -l, --level Error correction L|M|Q|H (default: M)
• --fg, --bg Hex colors (default: #000000, #ffffff)
• --border Border size in modules (default: 4)
• --logo Logo file path (PNG/JPEG/GIF)
• --logo-scale Logo fraction of QR (default: 0.2)
• -t, --terminal Render in terminal
• --terminal-color Use ANSI colors in terminal output
• --invert Invert terminal output
• --copy Copy output to clipboard (PNG/SVG only)
• --open Open output in default viewer
• --config Path to config file

Config File + Env

Config file is optional. By default qr-cli looks for qr-cli.{yaml|yml|json|toml} in:

• Current directory
• ~/.config/qr-cli/
• ~ (home directory)

You can also pass an explicit path with --config /path/to/config.yaml.

Example ~/.config/qr-cli/qr-cli.yaml:

size: 512
format: png
fg: "#111111"
bg: "#ffffff"
border: 4
logo: "/absolute/path/to/logo.png"
logo-scale: 0.22

wifi:
  ssid: "MyNetwork"
  security: "WPA"

vcard:
  name: "John Doe"
  email: "john@example.com"

Environment variables use the QR_ prefix (dots and dashes become underscores):

export QR_SIZE=512
export QR_WIFI_SSID="MyNetwork"

Shell Completions

Completion scripts are in scripts/completions/.

Development

• Requires Go 1.24+
• Run tests: go test ./...
• Format: gofmt -w ./...

Release

See docs/RELEASE.md for the Homebrew tap setup and release smoke checklist.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT