qrcgen

A small CLI for generating QR codes as PNG files, with optional console preview.

Install the latest release:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/orashus/qrcgen/main/install.sh | bash

Install a specific version:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/orashus/qrcgen/main/install.sh | bash -s -- v1.0.0

Install to a custom directory:

INSTALL_DIR="$HOME/.local/bin" curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/orashus/qrcgen/main/install.sh | bash

Supported platforms: Linux and macOS on amd64 and arm64.

go install github.com/orashus/qrcgen@latest

Requires Go, and $GOPATH/bin (or $HOME/go/bin) on your PATH.

git clone https://github.com/orashus/qrcgen.git
cd qrcgen
go build -o qrcgen .

Build with an explicit version:

go build -ldflags "-s -w -X main.version=v1.0.0" -o qrcgen .

qrcgen <text> [output file] [flags]

Examples:

# Generate qrcode.png from a URL
qrcgen https://example.com

# Write to a custom filename
qrcgen https://example.com my-qr

# Print the QR code to the terminal as well
qrcgen -p https://example.com my-qr
qrcgen https://example.com my-qr -p

# Check the installed version
qrcgen --version

Flags:

• -p, --print — print the QR code to the console
• -v, --version — print the installed version

If no output file is provided, the PNG is written to qrcode.png. Output names without a .png suffix get one added automatically.

Releases are published automatically when a version tag is pushed:

git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0

Each release includes binaries for:

• qrcgen-linux-amd64
• qrcgen-linux-arm64
• qrcgen-darwin-amd64
• qrcgen-darwin-arm64
• qrcgen-windows-amd64.exe

Release builds inject the git tag into the binary, so qrcgen --version reports the tag that was built (for example, v1.0.0). Local builds from source report dev unless a version is passed via -ldflags.