Quick response (QR) codes have surged in popularity over the last few years. They are an efficient way to share websites, wireless logins, app downloads, or even rewards programs at restaurants, and other things. You may have a use for them on a Linux system if you want to generate your own QR code as a quick way to share one of the previous examples or some other kind of information. To make your own QR code, you will need to download a QR code generator. In this tutorial, we have compiled a list of our favorite QR code generators for Linux. Check out our picks below to find one that suits you best.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- List of QR code generators for Linux
| Category | Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used |
|---|---|
| System | Any Linux distro |
| Software | qrencode, QtQr, QR Code Generator, Decoder, Zint |
| Other | Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command. |
| Conventions |
# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user |
List of QR code generators on Linux
Here are some of our top picks for QR code generators on Linux. Determining the right QR code generator for you will mostly depend on personal preference, if you want to use command line or GUI, and which features you need for your code. You may also find it worthwhile to experiment with a few different QR code generators on this list, as they are all free and relatively easy to install.
qrencode
qrenode is a command line QR code generator. It is available for installation in almost every distro’s default software repositories, making it easy to install and get started with it. It offers many different options to output the exact type of QR code you are looking for.
Installation of qrencode:
Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint: $ sudo apt install qrencode Red Hat, Fedora, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS: $ sudo dnf install qrencode Arch Linux and Manjro: $ sudo pacman -S qrencode
QtQr
QtQr is a graphical application for QR code generation. It is built in Qt as the name implies. It makes it super easy to create a QR code for a URL, bookmark, email, phone number, SMS, WiFi network, and more. You can also control the pixel size and other cosmetic settings with the click of a button – very easy to use!
Installation of QtQr:
Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint: $ sudo apt install qtqr Red Hat, Fedora, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS: $ sudo dnf install python-qrtools $ wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rpmsphere/noarch/master/q/qtqr-1.2-2.1.noarch.rpm $ sudo rpm -ivh qtqr*.rpm Arch Linux and Manjro: $ sudo pacman -S qtqr
QR Code Generator
QR Code Generator is a straightforward GUI application. It is available on a wide variety of Linux distributions because it can installed as a Snap package. If you are looking for a dead simple application to quickly pump out some QR codes, this is a good choice.
Installation of QR Code Generator (Snap on any distro):
$ sudo snap install qr-code-generator-desktop
Decoder
Decoder is another QR code generator that has a graphical interface. It is available for installation as a Flatpak package and is therefore compatible with the majority of Linux distributions. It is a very simplified QR code generator and will only work with generating text or WiFi network login information.
Installation of Decoder (Flatpak on any distro):
$ flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo $ flatpak install flathub com.belmoussaoui.Decoder
Zint
Zint is the only tool on our list that doubles as both a command line and GUI QR code generator. Its most appealing feature is that it offers an incredible and staggering amount of options. If you are trying to generate QR codes for niche uses and do not find what you need in the typical go-to generators, then Zint will surely have what you need. It also works with bar codes and a variety of other types.
Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint: $ sudo apt install zint zint-qt Red Hat, Fedora, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS: $ sudo dnf install zint zint-qt Arch Linux and Manjro: $ sudo pacman -S zint zint-qt
Closing Thoughts
In this tutorial, we counted down our top picks of the best QR code generators available on a Linux system. We also learned how to install each one on all major Linux distros. The QR code generator you should use will depend on your workflow, sylistic preferences, and the interface you feel most comfortable in. All of these QR code generators function a little differently, and come with a different set of features. It is worth trying out a few before settling on one.
