qr-generator-cli 1.0.0

A CLI tool to generate QR codes with custom colors and icons

QR Code Generator

A Python-based QR code generator with customizable styling, watermark support, and multiple output formats. Generate professional QR codes from URLs or text with ease.

Features

✨ Core Capabilities:

• Generate QR codes from URLs or plain text
• Customizable QR code colors (red, blue, green, orange, purple, yellow, black)
• Optional watermark/icon support at the center of QR code
• Multiple output formats (PNG, JPG, JPEG)
• High error correction rate (Level H)
• Automatic directory creation for output paths
• Input validation for URLs
• Better error handling with detailed error messages
• Mutually exclusive arguments enforcing either URL or text input

Requirements

• Python 3.x
• Dependencies listed in requirements.txt:
  • qrcode==7.3.1
  • Pillow==8.4.0

Installation

Quick Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/Ahmed122000/QR-Code-Generator.git
cd QR-Code-Generator

2. Install dependencies using requirements.txt:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Alternative: Install dependencies manually:

pip install qrcode[pil]==7.3.1 Pillow==8.4.0

Usage

Basic Commands

Generate a QR code from a URL:

python main.py --url "https://example.com"

Generate a QR code from text:

python main.py --txt "Hello, World!"

Generate a QR code with custom color:

python main.py --url "https://example.com" --color red

Generate with custom output filename and directory:

python main.py --txt "Your text here" --output "my_qrcode" --path "./qrcodes"

Generate with custom format (JPG instead of PNG):

python main.py --url "https://example.com" --format jpg

Generate with watermark/icon:

python main.py --url "https://example.com" --icon icon.png

Arguments

Argument	Type	Default	Required	Description
--url	string	-	*	URL to encode in QR code (URL validation performed)
--txt	string	-	*	Text to encode in QR code
--color	string	black	No	QR code color: red, blue, green, orange, purple, yellow, black
--output	string	qrcode	No	Output filename (without extension)
--icon	string	-	No	Path to icon/watermark image file
--path	string	./	No	Output directory path
--format	string	png	No	Output image format: png, jpg, jpeg

* Either --url or --txt is required, but not both.

Examples

Generate QR code from GitHub URL

python main.py --url "https://github.com/Ahmed122000/QR-Code-Generator"

Output: qrcode.png (in current directory)

Generate red QR code from text with custom output

python main.py --txt "Contact: [e-mail]" --color red --output "contact_qr"

Output: contact_qr.png

Generate QR code with watermark/logo

python main.py --url "https://example.com" --icon logo.png --output "branded_qr"

Output: branded_qr.png (with centered logo)

Generate JPG format in custom directory

python main.py --txt "My Data" --format jpg --path "./output/qrcodes" --output "my_code"

Output: ./output/qrcodes/my_code.jpg (creates directory if it doesn't exist)

Generate blue QR code with all custom options

python main.py --url "https://example.com" --color blue --icon watermark.png --path "./qr_codes" --output "website_qr" --format png

Output: ./qr_codes/website_qr.png

Project Structure

QR-Code-Generator/
├── main.py              # CLI entry point with argument parsing and validation
├── qr_generator.py      # Core QR code generation logic
├── requirements.txt     # Python package dependencies
├── icon.png             # Default watermark image (optional)
├── LICENSE              # MIT License
└── README.md            # This file

How It Works

main.py

• Argument Parsing: Uses argparse with mutually exclusive group for --url and --txt
• URL Validation: Validates URL format using urllib.parse.urlparse
• Input Validation: Ensures input data is not empty and properly formatted
• Directory Creation: Automatically creates output directory if it doesn't exist
• Error Handling: Provides detailed error messages and graceful exit codes
• Calls QRGenerator: Passes arguments to the core QR generation logic

qr_generator.py

• QRGenerator Class: Static method generate_qrcode() handles all QR generation
• QR Code Creation: Uses qrcode library with auto-fitting version
• Image Processing: Uses PIL (Pillow) for image manipulation
• Icon/Watermark Support:
  • Optionally loads and converts icon to RGBA
  • Scales watermark to 1/4 of QR code size
  • Centers watermark on QR code
  • Composites with transparency support
• Multiple Formats: Saves in PNG, JPG, or JPEG format
• Error Handling: Catches and reports specific errors (DataOverflowError, PermissionError, etc.)
• Type Hints: Uses Python type hints for better code clarity

requirements.txt

Contains all dependencies needed to run the project:

• qrcode==7.3.1 - QR code generation library
• Pillow==8.4.0 - Image processing library
• Pin versions ensure compatibility and reproducible builds

Configuration

QR Code Parameters (Advanced)

You can modify advanced parameters by editing qr_generator.py:

QRGenerator.generate_qrcode(
    data,                           # QR code data (required)
    output="qrcode",                # Output filename
    output_path="./",               # Output directory
    box_size=10,                    # Pixel size per box (default: 10)
    border=2,                       # Border width in boxes (default: 2)
    color="black",                  # QR code color
    icon_path=None,                 # Icon file path (optional)
    format='png'                    # Output format
)

Color Options

• red - Red colored QR code
• blue - Blue colored QR code
• green - Green colored QR code
• orange - Orange colored QR code
• purple - Purple colored QR code
• yellow - Yellow colored QR code
• black - Black colored QR code (default)

Output Formats

• png - PNG format (lossless, recommended)
• jpg - JPEG format (lossy compression)
• jpeg - JPEG format (alias for jpg)

Error Handling

The application provides helpful error messages for common issues:

Error	Cause	Solution
Input data cannot be empty!	Empty input provided	Provide non-empty --url or --txt
Invalid URL format!	Malformed URL	Use proper URL: https://example.com
Cannot create directory	Permission denied	Check directory permissions
Icon file not found	Icon path doesn't exist	Verify icon path is correct
Data too large for this QR version	Text/URL too long	Reduce input size

Troubleshooting

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'qrcode'

Make sure to install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Permission Denied when creating output directory

Check write permissions on the target directory path.

Icon not displayed in QR code

Ensure the icon file path is correct and the file exists. The icon should support transparency (PNG recommended).

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Technologies Used

• qrcode - QR code generation (v7.3.1)
• Pillow (PIL) - Image processing and watermarking (v8.4.0)
• argparse - Command-line interface
• typing - Type hints for better code quality

Topics

argparse | python | qrcode | qrcode-generator | cli | image-processing

---

Author: Ahmed122000