---
name: "qrencode"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "qrencode"
version: "4.1.1-4"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/qrencode"
---

# qrencode(1)

Encode input data in a QR Code and save as a PNG or EPS image.

## NAME

qrencode - Encode input data in a QR Code and save as a PNG or EPS image.

## SYNOPSIS

**qrencode** \[-o FILENAME\] \[OPTION\]... \[STRING\]

## DESCRIPTION

Libqrencode is a library for encoding data in a QR Code symbol, a kind of 2D symbology that can be scanned by handy terminals such as a mobile phone with CCD. The capacity of QR Code is up to 7000 digits or 4000 characters, and has high robustness.

Qrencode is a utility software using libqrencode to encode string data in a QR Code and save as a PNG or EPS image.

## OPTIONS

- **-h, --help**

  display help message.

- **-o FILENAME, --output=FILENAME**

  write image to FILENAME. If '-' is specified, the result will be output to standard output. If -S is given, structured symbols are written to FILENAME-01.png, FILENAME-02.png, ... (suffix is removed from FILENAME, if specified)

- **-r FILENAME, --read-from=FILENAME**

  read input data from FILENAME.

- **-s NUMBER, --size=NUMBER**

  specify the size of dot (pixel). (default=3)

- **-l {LMQH}, --level={LMQH}**

  specify error correction level from L (lowest) to H (highest). (default=L)

- **-v NUMBER, --symversion=NUMBER**

  specify the minimum version of the symbol. See SYMBOL VERSIONS for more information. (default=auto)

- **-m NUMBER, --margin=NUMBER**

  specify the width of margin. (default=4)

- **-d NUMBER, --dpi=NUMBER**

  specify the DPI of the generated PNG. (default=72)

- **-t {PNG,PNG32,EPS,SVG,XPM,ANSI,ANSI256,ASCII,ASCIIi,UTF8,UTF8i,ANSIUTF8,ANSIUTF8i,ANSI256UTF8}**

  - **--type={PNG,PNG32,EPS,SVG,XPM,ANSI,ANSI256,ASCII,ASCIIi,UTF8,UTF8i,ANSIUTF8,ANSIUTF8i,ANSI256UTF8}**

  specify the type of the generated image. (default=PNG)

- **-S, --structured**

  make structured symbols. Version number must be specified with '-v'.

- **-k, --kanji**

  assume that the input text contains kanji (shift-jis).

- **-c, --casesensitive**

  encode lower-case alphabet characters in 8-bit mode. (default)

- **-i, --ignorecase**

  ignore case distinctions and use only upper-case characters.

- **-8, --8bit**

  encode entire data in 8-bit mode. -k, -c and -i will be ignored.

- **-M, --micro**

  encode in a Micro QR Code. See MICRO QR CODE for more information.

- **--rle**

  enable run-length encoding for SVG.

- **--svg-path**

  use single path to draw modules for SVG.

- **--inline**

  only useful for SVG output, generates an SVG without the XML tag.

- **--foreground=RRGGBB\[AA\]**

  - **--background=RRGGBB\[AA\]**

  specify foreground/background color in hexadecimal notation. 6-digit (RGB) or 8-digit (RGBA) form are supported. Color output support available only in PNG, EPS and SVG.

- **--strict-version**

  disable automatic version number adjustment. If the input data is too large for the specified version, the program exits with the code of 1.

- **-V, --version**

  display the version number and copyrights of the qrencode.

- **--verbose**

  display verbose information to stderr.

- **\[STRING\]**

  input data. If it is not specified, data will be taken from standard input.

## SYMBOL VERSIONS

The symbol versions of QR Code range from Version 1 to Version 40. Each version has a different module configuration or number of modules, ranging from Version 1 (21 x 21 modules) up to Version 40 (177 x 177 modules). Each higher version number comprises 4 additional modules per side by default. See http://www.qrcode.com/en/about/version.html for a detailed version list.

## MICRO QR CODE

With Micro QR Code, You can embed data in a smaller area than with QR Code, but the data capacity is strongly limited. The symbol versions range from Version 1 to 4.

## EXAMPLES

- **qrencode -l L -v 1 -o output.png 'Hello, world!'**

  encode into a symbol version 1, level L.

- **qrencode -iSv 1 --output=output.png**

  read standard input and encode it into a structured-appended symbols in case-insensitive mode.

- **qrencode -S -v 40 -l L -r bigfile.txt -o output.png**

  read input data from bigfile.txt and encode into a symbol version 40, level L.

## AUTHOR

Written by Kentaro Fukuchi.

## RESOURCES

- Main Web Site: https://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/

  - Source code repository: https://github.com/fukuchi/libqrencode/

  ## COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2006-2018 Kentaro Fukuchi.