What is the best Python QR code library?

segno (BSD-3-Clause) if you want no dependencies and Micro QR support; qrcode (BSD) if you are already using Pillow and prefer the more familiar API.

Can I use these libraries in a commercial product?

Yes. MIT, BSD and Apache-2.0 all permit commercial and closed-source use provided you keep the notices. The one to check is libqrencode, which is LGPL-2.1 and treats static linking differently from dynamic linking.

Do QR codes generated by an open-source library have any licence restrictions?

No. The licence covers the software, not its output. A QR code is your own data encoded as a pattern, so use it commercially, forever, without attribution.

Can a library make a dynamic QR code?

No. A dynamic code points at a redirect service that you or a provider must keep running. A library only encodes whatever URL you hand it, so the dynamic part is the service, not the encoding.

Why do some QR codes scan in one app but not another?

Decoder implementations differ in how much distortion, styling and low resolution they tolerate. Test against more than one decoder and design for the strictest, because you cannot control which reader your audience uses.

Is there an open-source library that reads QR codes from a webcam?

jsqr (Apache-2.0) is the common choice in the browser: feed it image data from a canvas. @zxing/library (Apache-2.0) is the heavier option and supports other barcode types too.

Open source

Open-source QR code libraries

By Sam Moreton · updated 13 August 2026

If you are building QR generation into software, you want a library, not a website. This is a survey of the open-source options that are actually maintained and widely deployed, grouped by what you are trying to do. Every licence and version below was checked against the package registries on 13 August 2026, because licence is the detail people skip and then discover during a compliance review.

10 min read · Updated 13 August 2026

Decide which problem you have first

Half the confusion in this space comes from treating one question as three. Sort yourself into a row before reading further:

You want to	You need	Skip to
Turn data into a QR image in code	An encoder	Generating
Read a QR code from a camera or image	A decoder	Reading
Produce a styled, branded code	An encoder plus a renderer	Styling
Change where a printed code points, later	A service, not a library	When a library is the wrong tool

Encoding is settled; rendering is where libraries differ

Every correct encoder produces the same module pattern for the same input, because ISO/IEC 18004 leaves no room for interpretation. So libraries do not really compete on the QR maths. They compete on output formats, styling, dependencies and licence. That is why the comparisons below say almost nothing about correctness.

Generating: JavaScript and TypeScript

Library	Licence	Version	Best for
`qrcode`	MIT	1.5.4	The default choice. Node and browser, PNG and SVG out, terminal output, tiny API.
`qr-code-styling`	MIT	1.9.2	Styled codes: gradients, dot and corner shapes, embedded logos. Browser-oriented.
`qrcode-generator`	MIT	2.0.4	A low-level encoder that hands you the module matrix and gets out of the way. Use when you are drawing the code yourself.

If you just need a PNG in a Node script, qrcode is the answer and you can stop reading this section. Reach past it only when you want control over how the code is drawn.

What this site is built on, since you can check it

OpenQR uses qrcode-generator for the module matrix and qr-code-styling for the rendering, both MIT. That split is the pattern worth copying: let a well-tested encoder decide which modules are dark, and keep the drawing in a layer you control, because styling is where your requirements will keep changing.

Generating: Python, Go, C and Java

Library	Language	Licence	Notes
`segno` 1.6.6	Python	BSD-3-Clause	No dependencies, and it covers Micro QR as well as standard QR. The more complete of the two Python options.
`qrcode` 8.2	Python	BSD	The familiar one. Renders through Pillow, so it brings an imaging dependency with it.
`go-qrcode`	Go	MIT	Straightforward encoder, PNG out, no cgo.
`libqrencode`	C	LGPL-2.1	Fast, tiny, and packaged in essentially every Linux distribution as the `qrencode` command. Read the licence note below.
`zxing`	Java	Apache-2.0	Generates and reads. The reference implementation on Android for many years.

For a command line rather than a codebase, qrencode is hard to beat: it is one apt install or brew install away, it writes PNG, EPS and ANSI, and it makes generating a few thousand codes from a shell loop a one-liner.

Reading: decoding a QR code

Library	Platform	Licence	Notes
`jsqr` 1.4.0	Browser, JS	Apache-2.0	Pure JavaScript, takes raw image data. Small and dependency-free, so it is the usual pick for a webcam scanner.
`@zxing/library` 0.23.0	Browser, JS	Apache-2.0	A TypeScript port of ZXing. Handles many barcode symbologies, not just QR.
`zxing`	Java, Android	Apache-2.0	The long-standing reference decoder.
OpenCV `QRCodeDetector`	C++, Python	Apache-2.0	Already present if you are doing other computer vision. Good at finding a code in a messy photograph.

Worth knowing before you pick: decoders disagree with each other, and they disagree most on exactly the codes people most want to make. Heavy styling, an oversized logo, inverted colours or a low print resolution can leave a code that one decoder reads instantly and another refuses. If you are validating codes programmatically, test against more than one decoder, and treat the strictest as the one that matters, because you do not get to choose which app your customer opens.

Licences: the part that causes trouble later

Most of these are MIT, BSD or Apache-2.0, which are permissive: use them in closed and commercial products, keep the notice, carry on. Two details are worth an extra minute.

libqrencode is LGPL-2.1, not MIT. Linking to it dynamically from a closed product is the intended and unproblematic case. Static linking, or vendoring it into a binary you ship, brings obligations that the permissive libraries do not have. If you are shipping an embedded or desktop binary, this is the one to raise before you ship, not after.
Apache-2.0 includes an explicit patent grant and a requirement to state changes you make. Some corporate policies prefer it over MIT for exactly the first reason. Neither is a problem; they are just different paperwork.

A separate question people conflate with this: the licence of the library never touches the codes it produces. A QR code is your data rendered as a pattern, so it is not something the library author can licence. Generate commercially with any of the above.

When a library is the wrong tool

Every library on this page produces static codes. The data is encoded in the pattern, which is why static codes never expire and work with no server. It is also why no library can give you these:

Changing the destination after printing. That requires the code to point at a redirect you control, which is a service somebody has to keep running. See static vs dynamic QR codes.
Scan analytics. A static code is not observable. Nothing phones home when it is scanned, by design, so there is nothing to count.
Short, readable links. Also a redirect service.

If you need any of those, you need a service behind the code, and then the build-or-buy question is about running a redirector with the uptime a printed code deserves. OpenQR's REST API and MCP server cover it if you would rather not, and are free to use. If you would rather run everything yourself, the self-hosting guide is honest about which half you can and cannot take with you.

And if you are not building software at all, a library is a lot of ceremony for one code. The generator on this site does it in a browser tab with no account, and it is open source too.

Frequently asked questions

Use qrcode (MIT) unless you need styling, in which case use qr-code-styling (MIT). Reach for qrcode-generator only if you want the raw module matrix so you can draw the code yourself.