QR Code Scanner

A QR (Quick Response) code packs data — most often a URL, but just as easily plain text, a Wi-Fi network's SSID and password, a contact card, or a payment reference — into a square grid of black and white modules that a camera or scanner can read far faster and more reliably than the barcodes that came before it. The name comes from exactly that speed advantage: unlike a 1D barcode, which only encodes data along a single line and has to be aligned carefully to scan, a QR code stores information in two dimensions and includes built-in position markers (the three large squares in three of its four corners) that let a scanner find and orient it instantly, from almost any angle, even partially damaged.\n\nThis tool decodes QR codes two ways. Upload an image file that contains a QR code anywhere in the frame — a screenshot, a photo of a poster, a exported code from another tool — and the decoder scans the full image for the code's position markers, reads the module grid, and extracts the data. Or click "Use camera" to scan one live: your device's camera feed is read frame by frame in real time until a valid code is found, then decoding stops automatically the moment a result appears, so you're not left staring at a frozen video feed waiting for something to happen.\n\nUnderneath, decoding uses jsQR, a compact, dependency-free JavaScript QR decoder that implements the same core algorithm real-world QR readers use: locating the three finder patterns, computing the grid's size and rotation from their positions, sampling each module as black or white, and running Reed-Solomon error correction to recover the encoded bytes even if part of the code is scratched, faded, or partially obscured — QR codes are deliberately over-engineered with redundant data for exactly this reason, which is why a slightly damaged code printed on a worn poster still scans reliably.\n\nEverything happens locally. The image you upload, or the camera frames captured while scanning, are read directly into your browser's memory and processed with client-side JavaScript — nothing is uploaded to a server, and camera access is requested through your browser's own permission prompt and stops the instant you click "Stop camera" or navigate away. If the decoded content is a web link, an "Open link" button appears so you can follow it directly, but the tool never auto-navigates on your behalf — you always see the raw decoded text first and choose what to do with it, which matters because a QR code's destination isn't always what it visually claims to be.