Copied to clipboard
Try it Compare Capabilities Usage Install GitHub ↗

001 Overview UTC ··:··:··

Open source · MIT · Node ≥ 20

Generate QR codes in your terminal ci pipeline shell script container

A fast, minimal CLI. Unicode codes in any shell, PNG export with one flag, stdin piping. Offline, no tracking.

$ npx github:asharahmed/qr-cli "https://example.com"

Try it live ↓ Source ↗

zsh · qr-cli

$ qr "https://github.com/asharahmed/qr-cli"


              
$

            

          

          
Fig. 01 · Real output · scan it with your phone

        

      

    

  


  
  

    
002 Live encoder

    

      

        
Try it live

        
The same encoding the CLI runs, in your browser. Nothing leaves this page.


        
        
        
Ready · error correction M


        

          
          
          
        


        

          

            
            
              
            
          

          

            
            
          

        


        

          $ qr "https://qr-cli.dev"
          
        


        

          
          
          
          
        

      


      

        

          

            

              
              
              
              stdout
            

            

              

              
              

            

          

          
Fig. 02 · Live encoder output · every code is real and scannable

        

      

    

  


  
  

    
003 Comparison

    

      

        
Skip the browser

        
Web generators want a tab, a network connection, and your data. qr-cli wants an argument.

      

      

        
          

            Capability
            QR·CLI
            Web tools
          

        
        
          

            Works offline
            Yes
            No
          

          

            No browser needed
            Yes
            No
          

          

            Scriptable · automatable
            Yes
            No
          

          

            Pipes from stdin
            Yes
            No
          

          

            No ads or tracking
            Yes
            No
          

          

            Open source
            Yes
            No
          

        
      

    

  


  
  

    
004 Capabilities

    
Everything you need, nothing you don’t

    
    
      
  1. 
        No. 01
        
    
          
    Terminal native
    
          
    Crisp Unicode half-block rendering in any shell, local or over SSH.
    
        
    
        STDOUT
      
    2. 
      
  2. 
        No. 02
        
    
          
    PNG export
    
          
    One flag writes a print-ready PNG at any cell size.
    
        
    
        -o · PNG
      
    3. 
      
  3. 
        No. 03
        
    
          
    Theme aware
    
          
    Inverts modules for light terminals, so the code stays scannable.
    
        
    
        -i · INVERT
      
    4. 
      
  4. 
        No. 04
        
    
          
    Stdin piping
    
          
    Reads from pipes and heredocs; drops into any script or cron job.
    
        
    
        STDIN
      
    5. 
      
  5. 
        No. 05
        
    
          
    Fast
    
          
    Two dependencies. Codes render in well under a second, even for long URLs.
    
        
    
        2 DEPS
      
    6. 
      
  6. 
        No. 06
        
    
          
    Display modes
    
          
    Compact half-blocks by default; a large mode doubles up for easier scanning.
    
        
    
        -l · LARGE
      
    7. 
    

  


  
  

    
005 Usage

    

      

        
Small commands, honest output

        
Pass text, get a code. Everything else is a flag.

        

          

            <1s
            Generation
          

          

            2
            Dependencies
          

          

            MIT
            License
          

        

      

      

        

          

            Basic
            
          

          
$ qr "https://example.com"

        

        

          

            Light terminal
            
          

          
$ qr "Hello World" -i

        

        

          

            Large display
            
          

          
$ qr "Hello World" -l

        

        

          

            Save as PNG
            
          

          
$ qr "https://example.com" -o qrcode.png

        

        

          

            Piped input
            
          

          
$ echo "secret message" | qr

        

      

    

  


  
  

    
006 Install

    

      

        
Install nothing

        
npx runs it straight from GitHub. Prefer a real binary? Every release ships one for each target.

        

          $ npx github:asharahmed/qr-cli "https://example.com"
          
        

        
Or keep it around: npm i -g github:asharahmed/qr-cli