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qrcode-generator

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Generates ISO/IEC 18004 QR Code and Micro QR Code symbols and ISO/IEC 23941 rMQR symbols in pure Rust, then renders them as grayscale, PNG and SVG images.

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QR Code Generator
=================

[![CI](https://github.com/magiclen/qrcode-generator/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/magiclen/qrcode-generator/actions/workflows/ci.yml)

This crate generates ISO/IEC 18004 QR Code and Micro QR Code symbols and ISO/IEC 23941 rMQR symbols in pure Rust, then renders them as grayscale, PNG and SVG images.

You give it data and get back a ready-to-scan image. The text encoders automatically choose the shortest Numeric, Alphanumeric, Byte and optional Kanji segmentation for each candidate version, and the Model 2 and rMQR encoders also optimize ECI transitions.

## Quick start

Encode text and read the raw module grid:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Medium).encode_text("Hello, world!").unwrap();

// `true` is a dark module and `false` is a light module.
let matrix: Vec<Vec<bool>> = symbol.to_matrix();

println!("{} modules per side", symbol.size());
```

Or render straight to image files:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::{Renderer, qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection}};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Medium).encode_text("Hello, world!").unwrap();

Renderer::new(&symbol, 512).save_svg("hello.svg", None::<&str>).unwrap();
Renderer::new(&symbol, 512).save_png("hello.png").unwrap();
```

## Encode, then render

Every workflow has two steps. An `Encoder` (from the `qr`, `micro` or `rmqr` module) turns your data into a `Symbol`, the abstract grid of modules. A `Renderer` then turns that `Symbol` into a concrete output such as an SVG string, a PNG file or a grayscale buffer. The same `Symbol` can be rendered many times at different sizes.

## Key terms

A few QR Code words appear throughout this documentation:

- **Module** — the smallest square of a QR Code, the equivalent of one pixel. A dark module is `true` in the matrix.
- **Matrix** — the full grid of modules. `Symbol::to_matrix` returns it as `Vec<Vec<bool>>`, and `Symbol::modules` exposes it as one flat row-major slice without copying.
- **Symbol** — one complete QR Code, Micro QR Code or rMQR symbol.
- **Version** — the symbol size. QR Code versions run from 1 (21×21 modules) to 40 (177×177), Micro QR Code has versions M1 to M4 (11×11 to 17×17), and rMQR has 32 rectangular sizes.
- **Error correction level** — how much redundancy is added so a dirty or partly hidden symbol still scans. The Low, Medium, Quartile and High levels recover roughly 7%, 15%, 25% and 30% of the codewords, and a higher level is more robust but leaves less room for your own data. Micro QR Code version M1 instead uses a detection-only level that finds errors without correcting them.
- **Mask** — a regular pattern applied over the data to avoid layouts that confuse scanners. The best mask is chosen automatically, so you rarely set it yourself.
- **Quiet zone** — the plain margin around the symbol that scanners need. It defaults to 4 modules for QR Code and 2 for Micro QR Code and rMQR.
- **Mode / segment** — how characters are packed. Numeric is the most compact, then Alphanumeric, then Byte, plus optional Kanji, and the encoder mixes them automatically to save space.
- **ECI** — an Extended Channel Interpretation header that declares the character set, such as UTF-8, when it is not the default ISO-8859-1.

## Encoding

`encode_text` interprets the input as ISO-8859-1 when possible and adds a UTF-8 ECI header only when it is needed:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Medium).encode_text("café ☕").unwrap();
```

`encode_bytes` stores an exact binary payload and never guesses a character set:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Quartile).encode_bytes(b"raw\0bytes").unwrap();
```

The encoder is configured with a builder. You can restrict the versions it may use, or force a specific mask:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection, Version};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Low)
    .version_range(Version::new(1).unwrap()..=Version::new(10).unwrap())
    .encode_text("HELLO")
    .unwrap();
```

By default the encoder upgrades the error correction level for free when the chosen version has spare room. Call `boost_error_correction(false)` to keep the exact level you requested.

### Explicit segments

Automatic segmentation is optimal for most inputs, but you can also build `Segment` values yourself and keep their boundaries:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::{Segment, qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection}};

let segments = [
    Segment::numeric("1234567").unwrap(),
    Segment::alphanumeric("ABCDEFG").unwrap(),
];

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Low).encode_segments(&segments).unwrap();
```

### Custom text

`ToQRText` lets a structured value choose a shorter equivalent spelling before the optimizer runs:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::{ToQRText, qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection}};

struct ProductCode(&'static str);

impl ToQRText for ProductCode {
    fn to_qr_text(&self) -> String {
        self.0.to_ascii_uppercase()
    }
}

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Medium)
    .encode_to_qr_text(&ProductCode("item-123"))
    .unwrap();
```

The value must keep its meaning. With the optional `url` feature, `url::Url` implements `ToQRText` by normalizing case-insensitive URL parts and percent escapes:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection};
use url::Url;

let url = Url::parse("https://magiclen.org").unwrap();
let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Medium).encode_to_qr_text(&url).unwrap();
```

## Rendering

A `Renderer` draws a `Symbol` at exact pixel dimensions. `Renderer::new` keeps the square interface, while `Renderer::new_with_dimensions` accepts a separate width and height for rectangular symbols. In-memory grayscale and SVG output work with `no_std + alloc` and need no extra feature:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::{Renderer, qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection}};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Low).encode_text("Hello").unwrap();

let svg: String = Renderer::new(&symbol, 512).to_svg_string(None::<&str>).unwrap();
let pixels: Vec<u8> = Renderer::new(&symbol, 512).to_luma8().unwrap();
```

The renderer also implements `Display`, drawing the symbol as compact Unicode text that packs two module rows into every line through half block characters, including the quiet zone. The default form draws dark modules as visible blocks; the alternate form (`{:#}`) draws light modules instead, which keeps the standard contrast on dark terminal backgrounds. Text output works in module units, so the pixel size passed to the renderer does not affect it:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::{Renderer, qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection}};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Low).encode_text("Hello").unwrap();
let renderer = Renderer::new(&symbol, 0);

// For light terminal backgrounds.
print!("{renderer}");

// For dark terminal backgrounds.
print!("{renderer:#}");
```

PNG and `ImageBuffer` output need the default `image` feature:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::{Renderer, qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection}};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Low).encode_text("Hello").unwrap();

let png: Vec<u8> = Renderer::new(&symbol, 512).to_png_vec().unwrap();

Renderer::new(&symbol, 512).save_png("hello.png").unwrap();
```

The default `std` feature adds synchronous writer and file output. File output through `save_svg` and `save_png` is written atomically, so an existing file is left untouched if rendering fails. The requested size is exact: modules are scaled by the largest whole number that fits, and any pixels left over widen the quiet zone evenly. Use `quiet_zone` to change the margin, down to zero if you want.

## Async writing

The optional `tokio` feature adds `write_svg_async` and, with the `image` feature, `write_png_async`, which write and flush to any `tokio::io::AsyncWrite`, including a `tokio::fs::File`. Rendering stays synchronous; only writing and flushing are asynchronous:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::{RenderError, Renderer, qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection}};

async fn write<W: tokio::io::AsyncWrite + Unpin>(writer: W) -> Result<(), RenderError> {
    let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Low).encode_text("Hello").unwrap();

Renderer::new(&symbol, 512).write_svg_async(writer, None::<&str>).await
}
```

The feature also adds `save_svg_async` and `save_png_async`, which save to a path atomically like their synchronous counterparts by running the write on tokio's blocking pool.

## Micro QR Code

The optional `micro-qr` feature adds an independent encoder for the four Micro QR Code versions, which are smaller than QR Code and suit short payloads:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::micro::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection, Version};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Low)
    .version(Version::M2)
    .encode_text("12345")
    .unwrap();
```

Version M1 supports only the `DetectionOnly` error correction level, which detects errors without correcting them; M2 and M3 add Low and Medium, and M4 also offers Quartile.

Micro QR Code does not support ECI, FNC1 or Structured Append. Its text API accepts ISO-8859-1 and, with the `kanji` feature, eligible Shift JIS Kanji characters.

## Rectangular Micro QR Code

The optional `rmqr` feature adds all 32 ISO/IEC 23941 rMQR versions. The encoder automatically selects the smallest-area version that fits and performs exact segment and ECI optimization for each character-count profile:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::{Renderer, rmqr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection}};

let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Medium)
    .encode_text("https://magiclen.org")
    .unwrap();

let width = (symbol.width() + 4) * 8;
let height = (symbol.height() + 4) * 8;
let svg = Renderer::new_with_dimensions(&symbol, width, height)
    .to_svg_string(None::<&str>)
    .unwrap();
```

rMQR supports Medium and High error correction, ECI, FNC1 and optional Kanji mode. It has one fixed data mask and does not support Structured Append.

## Automatic family selection

With both `qr` and `micro-qr` enabled, `AutoEncoder` tries the Micro QR Code encoder first and falls back to the Model 2 encoder when the data does not fit, giving you the smallest symbol that works:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::{AutoEncoder, micro, qr};

let encoder = AutoEncoder::new(
    qr::Encoder::new(qr::ErrorCorrection::Medium),
    micro::Encoder::new(micro::ErrorCorrection::Medium),
);

let symbol = encoder.encode_text("HELLO 123").unwrap();
```

## FNC1 and Structured Append

These two QR Code features serve data-exchange standards rather than plain text.

*FNC1* marks a symbol as following a formatted-data standard rather than plain text. First position selects GS1, whose element strings concatenate application identifiers and separate variable-length ones with a `0x1D` (GS) byte; second position selects an industry application indicator through `ApplicationIndicator`. Pass the data with the `0x1D` separators already in place and turn FNC1 on with `qr::Encoder::fnc1`:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection, Fnc1};

// AI 01 is a GTIN, the 0x1D (GS) byte separates it, then AI 10 is a batch number.
let symbol = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Medium)
    .fnc1(Some(Fnc1::Gs1))
    .encode_bytes(b"0101234567890128\x1D10ABC")
    .unwrap();
```

*Structured Append* spreads one message across up to 16 symbols that a reader stitches back together. You can supply the parts yourself, or let the encoder split a message automatically:

```rust
use qrcode_generator::qr::{Encoder, ErrorCorrection};

let symbols = Encoder::new(ErrorCorrection::Medium)
    .encode_text_with_structured_append("a very long message …")
    .unwrap();

println!("{} symbols", symbols.len());
```

Automatic splitting first minimizes the number of symbols, then their largest version, and finally the total symbol area.

## Kanji

The optional `kanji` feature adds Kanji mode to automatic text segmentation and exposes `Segment::kanji`. It is off by default for the widest scanner compatibility.

## Cargo features

- `std` (default) enables synchronous writer and file output.
- `qr` (default) enables the Model 2 QR Code encoder.
- `image` (default, requires `std`) enables PNG and `ImageBuffer` output.
- `micro-qr` enables the Micro QR Code encoder with all four versions.
- `rmqr` enables the Rectangular Micro QR Code encoder with all 32 versions.
- `kanji` enables Shift JIS Kanji segments and automatic Kanji mode selection.
- `url` implements `ToQRText` for `url::Url` and works with `no_std + alloc`.
- `tokio` (requires `std`) enables the tokio asynchronous writer and atomic file-save methods.

## Crates.io

https://crates.io/crates/qrcode-generator

## Documentation

https://docs.rs/qrcode-generator

## License

[MIT](LICENSE)

qrcode-generator

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