Styling Methods — Shape, Format & Error Correction

Control size, margin, module style, eye shapes, output format, character encoding, and error correction level for every QR code you generate.

Every method documented here returns a cloned Generator instance, keeping the original state intact. Chain as many calls as you need before calling generate() or any data-type method to produce your final QrCodeResult.

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style()

public function style(string|Style $style, ?float $size = null): static

Set the shape used to draw each QR module (the individual dots that make up the code).

style · string · required

The module style. Accepted values:

Value	Description
square	Standard filled squares (default)
dot	Circular dots
round	Squares with rounded corners

size · float

Optional scaling factor for the module size, between 0.0 and 1.0. Useful with dot style to add spacing between dots. Defaults to the renderer’s built-in size.

Dot style

QrCode::size(300)
    ->style('dot')
    ->generate('https://example.com');

QrCode::size(300)
    ->style('round', 0.8)
    ->generate('https://example.com');

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eye()

public function eye(string|EyeStyle $style): static

Set the style of the three outer finder-pattern squares (the large corner squares that help scanners locate the code).

style · string · required

Accepted values:

Value	Description
square	Standard square outline (default)
circle	Circular outer ring
pointy	Square with pointed inner corners

QrCode::size(300)
    ->eye('circle')
    ->generate('https://example.com');

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internalEye()

public function internalEye(string|EyeStyle $style): static

Set the style of the three inner finder-pattern squares independently of the outer eye. Use this together with eye() to create composite eye designs.

style · string · required

Accepted values: square, circle, pointy — same as eye().

QrCode::size(300)
    ->eye('circle')
    ->internalEye('square')
    ->generate('https://example.com');

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eyeColor()

public function eyeColor(int $eyeNumber, string|array $inner, string|array|null $outer = null): static

Override the color of a single finder-pattern eye. Call this method up to three times to style each eye independently.

Requires the ext-imagick PHP extension for raster output (PNG). The GD fallback does not support per-eye colors and will throw a MissingExtensionException if eyeColor() is used without Imagick. SVG and EPS output work without Imagick.

eyeNumber · int · required

The index of the eye to color. Accepted values: 0, 1, 2 (top-left, top-right, bottom-left respectively).

inner · string | array · required

Color for the inner square of the eye. Pass a hex string (e.g. '#e11d48') or an RGB array (e.g. [225, 29, 72]).

outer · string | array | null

Color for the outer ring of the eye. Accepts the same formats as inner. When null, the outer ring inherits the global foreground color set by color().

Hex string colors

QrCode::size(300)
    ->eyeColor(0, '#1d4ed8', '#93c5fd') // eye 0: blue theme
    ->eyeColor(1, '#15803d', '#86efac') // eye 1: green theme
    ->eyeColor(2, '#b91c1c', '#fca5a5') // eye 2: red theme
    ->generate('https://example.com');

QrCode::size(300)
    ->eyeColor(0, [29, 78, 216], [147, 197, 253])
    ->generate('https://example.com');

QrCode::size(300)
    ->color(0, 0, 0)
    ->eyeColor(0, '#e11d48') // outer stays black
    ->generate('https://example.com');

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size()

public function size(int $size): static

Set the output image width and height in pixels. The QR code is always square.

size · int · required

Pixel dimensions for both width and height. The default from the package config is 400.

QrCode::size(250)->generate('https://example.com');

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margin()

public function margin(int $margin): static

Set the quiet-zone margin — the blank border surrounding the QR code. A margin of at least 4 modules is recommended by the QR specification for reliable scanning.

margin · int · required

Margin thickness in pixels. The package default is 4.

QrCode::margin(6)->generate('https://example.com');

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format()

public function format(string|Format $format): static

Set the output image format.

format · string · required

Accepted values:

Value	Requires	Notes
svg	—	Default. Vector format; no PHP extension required.
png	ext-imagick or ext-gd	Raster format. Falls back to GD if Imagick is unavailable.
webp	ext-imagick	Raster format. Requires Imagick.
eps	—	PostScript vector. Image merging is not supported for EPS.

PNG

QrCode::format('png')->size(400)->generate('https://example.com');

QrCode::format('svg')->generate('https://example.com');

QrCode::format('webp')->size(400)->generate('https://example.com');

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encoding()

public function encoding(string $encoding): static

Set the character encoding used when converting the text payload to QR code data. The default is UTF-8, which handles most use cases including multibyte characters.

encoding · string · required

Any valid PHP character encoding string, such as UTF-8, ISO-8859-1, or Shift_JIS.

QrCode::encoding('UTF-8')->generate('日本語テキスト');

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errorCorrection()

public function errorCorrection(string|ErrorCorrectionLevel $errorCorrection): static

Set the Reed–Solomon error correction level. Higher correction means the QR code can recover from more physical damage or obstruction, but also produces a denser, larger code for the same payload.

errorCorrection · string · required

Accepted values:

Level	Recovery capacity	Typical use
L	~7%	Maximum data density; minimal redundancy
M	~15%	Balanced default for most use cases
Q	~25%	Good choice when embedding a logo
H	~30%	Best durability; use for printed materials

Use H error correction when you overlay a logo using merge() or mergeString(). The extra redundancy ensures scanners can still read the code even though part of it is covered.

High correction for logo overlay

QrCode::size(400)
    ->errorCorrection('H')
    ->merge(public_path('logo.png'), 0.3)
    ->generate('https://example.com');

QrCode::size(600)
    ->errorCorrection('L')
    ->generate(str_repeat('A', 400));

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Full styling example

use Linkxtr\QrCode\Facades\QrCode;

$qr = QrCode::size(350)
    ->format('svg')
    ->margin(4)
    ->errorCorrection('Q')
    ->encoding('UTF-8')
    ->style('dot', 0.9)
    ->eye('circle')
    ->internalEye('square')
    ->color(15, 23, 42)
    ->backgroundColor(248, 250, 252)
    ->generate('https://example.com');

// Return as an HTTP response
return $qr;