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How to Generate a QR Code in Python

Generate a QR code image from a URL string using the qrcode library and save it as a PNG file.

Easy Python 3.9+ Jun 27, 2026 Automation & scripting 1 views 0 copies

qrcode automation image-generation pillow
Requires third-party packages — install first
pip install qrcode Pillow

Python code

23 lines
Python 3.9+ 
import qrcode

# Data to encode
data = "https://www.example.com"

# Create QR code instance
qr = qrcode.QRCode(
    version=1,
    error_correction=qrcode.constants.ERROR_CORRECT_L,
    box_size=10,
    border=4,
)

# Add data to QR code
qr.add_data(data)
qr.make(fit=True)

# Create an image from the QR code
img = qr.make_image(fill_color="black", back_color="white")

# Save the image
img.save("example_qr.png")
print("QR code generated and saved as example_qr.png")

Output

stdout 
QR code generated and saved as example_qr.png

How it works

The qrcode.QRCode object defines the QR code's settings like error correction level and size. add_data() specifies the content to encode, and make(fit=True) automatically adjusts the QR code's version to fit the data. The make_image() method generates a PIL Image object, which is then saved to disk as example_qr.png. The library handles all encoding and error correction patterns internally.

Common mistakes

  • Forgetting to install the Pillow dependency, which is required for image creation
  • Using too low a box_size or border value causing the QR code to be unreadable when scanned
  • Passing invalid or unsupported data (e.g., binary content) that exceeds QR code capacity

Variations

  1. Generate an in-memory QR code as a bytes object using `io.BytesIO` instead of saving to file
  2. Customize colors or add a logo by overlaying an image after generation

Real-world use cases

  • Generating QR codes for event tickets or loyalty cards so users can present them on mobile
  • Creating shareable Wi-Fi login QR codes for guest networks
  • Producing batch QR codes for inventory labels from a spreadsheet of product URLs

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Run locally

This sample needs third-party packages, so it cannot run in the browser IDE. Copy the code above, install the packages shown at the top, then run it in your own Python environment.

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