Looking for a free public domain QR-Code geneator.

[BrianHG]

Hi Everyone,
     I was just putting together a small company brochure.  I wanted to include a QR-Code in the bottom corner with a set email address & prefilled subject.

What good free public-domain QR-Code generator should I use?
Does a free one exist, or will I have to shell out money?

[John B]

There's lots of them on linux, in the terminal or standalone programs. I think I even saw it somewhere integrated into the KDE desktop environment. There's a "generate QR code from selection" somewhere, I can't find it at the moment though.

Perhaps one of the developers also ports them to windows if that is what you need.

[BrianHG]

Yup, looking for a quick solution for windows...

[shapirus]

There's lots of them on linux, in the terminal or standalone programs.

They aren't public domain, mostly. Usually GPL or some other FOSS-compatible license.

However a program doesn't necessarily need to be public domain to permit commercial use.

[SiliconWizard]

There are quite a few free online QR-Code generators. Do you specifically want to avoid them, say for confidentiality reasons?
This one is based on zint (open source: https://github.com/zint/zint ), should be buildable for Windows, but there are no direct binaries, so the online tool is your easiest path: https://www.barcode-generator.org/
They say there's no restriction as to commercial use.

[tszaboo]

https://pypi.org/project/qrcode/
It's too easy.

[abeyer]

Also built into chrome now: Right click any page and there's a Create QR Code for this page option. But you can type or paste any content into the popup that shows the code instead of the current url if you want.

[colorburst]

There are quite a few free online QR-Code generators. Do you specifically want to avoid them, say for confidentiality reasons?
This one is based on zint (open source: https://github.com/zint/zint ), should be buildable for Windows, but there are no direct binaries

Seconded, zint is a fantastic tool. Windows builds can be downloaded from their sourceforge page: zint-2.13.0-win32.zip.

[Gribo]

If you can use a .NET library, There is Zxing. It can generate QR, Datamatrix and various linear barcodes.

[PeterH_1979]

https://new.express.adobe.com/tools/generate-qr-code

[BrianHG]

There are quite a few free online QR-Code generators. Do you specifically want to avoid them, say for confidentiality reasons?
This one is based on zint (open source: https://github.com/zint/zint ), should be buildable for Windows, but there are no direct binaries, so the online tool is your easiest path: https://www.barcode-generator.org/
They say there's no restriction as to commercial use.

Worked perfectly...

[mwb1100]

The free, GPL program qrencode is part of the libqrencode project.  For Windows users it has been ported to Windows (I don't know how well it works on Windows)

Since GPL came up as being distinct from public domain (which it indeed is), I think it should be noted that the GPL imposes *no* restrictions or obligations on users of GPLed software.  You can use it however you want, including commercially.

What the GPL does is restrict how you can distribute the software - if you distribute GPLed software (including if you incorporate GPLed code into your own program) then you must also provide a means for whoever you distribute the software to to also be able to get the source code for the software.

In summary - GPL restrictions only come into play when distributing GPLed software.

(note: there are uncommon exceptions when the output of a GPLed software contains text, images or audio that is embedded in the software itself)

[cosmicray]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the DDG search engine. Load a DDG basic window. Type in 'qr' followed by the URL you want a QR code for. It will respond with the desired qr code.