Generate QR Codes via the qr:generate Artisan Command

Use php artisan qr:generate to create QR codes in build scripts, batch exports, CI pipelines, or quick local tests without writing any PHP.

The qr:generate Artisan command lets you create QR codes directly from the terminal. It is ideal for build scripts, batch export pipelines, CI/CD workflows, and quick local tests — no PHP code required. The command supports two modes: interactive (guided prompts) and non-interactive (inline flags for scripting).

Interactive mode

Run the command with no arguments to start a guided session. Laravel Prompts walks you through each option — payload, output path, format, and advanced settings — with sensible defaults at every step:

php artisan qr:generate

The prompt sequence:

1. Payload — what to encode (e.g. a URL or plain text)
2. Output path — where to save the file (leave blank to print to the console)
3. Format — svg, png, webp, or eps (shown only when an output path is provided)
4. Advanced options — confirm whether to configure size, colors, margin, and error correction

If you have already passed any advanced flag (e.g. --size), the advanced-options prompt defaults to yes so you can fill in the remaining fields interactively.

Non-interactive mode

Pass the payload as a positional argument and use flags to set every option. This mode is designed for scripting — it skips all prompts and exits immediately with a success or failure code.

# Save a 500 px SVG to public/
php artisan qr:generate "https://example.com" \
  --output=public/qr.svg \
  --format=svg \
  --size=500

# Save a red PNG
php artisan qr:generate "Hello World" \
  --format=png \
  --output=public/qr.png \
  --color=255,0,0

# High error correction, custom margin, white background
php artisan qr:generate "https://example.com" \
  --output=public/qr.svg \
  --errorCorrection=H \
  --margin=6 \
  --backgroundColor=255,255,255

# Print SVG to the console (no --output flag)
php artisan qr:generate "https://example.com"

When you omit --output, the raw QR code is printed directly to stdout. For SVG this is human-readable markup; for binary formats pipe the output to a file:

php artisan qr:generate "https://example.com" --format=png > public/qr.png

All available options

data · string

Positional argument. The payload to encode in the QR code. Omit it to enter interactive mode.

--output / -O · string

File path to save the generated QR code (e.g. public/qr.svg, storage/app/exports/badge.png). If omitted, the output is printed to the console.

--format / -F · string · default: "svg"

Output format: svg, png, webp, or eps. Unlike the Blade component, the CLI supports all four formats including EPS for print workflows.

--size / -S · int · default: "400"

Size of the QR code in pixels. Must be a positive integer.

--color / -C · string · default: "0,0,0"

Foreground color as comma-separated RGB or RGBA integers. RGB channels are 0–255; the optional alpha channel is 0–100. Examples: 255,0,0 (red), 0,102,204,80 (blue at 80 % opacity).

--backgroundColor / -B · string · default: "255,255,255"

Background color in the same R,G,B or R,G,B,A format as --color.

--errorCorrection / -E · string · default: "M"

Error correction level: L (7 %), M (15 %), Q (25 %), or H (30 %). Use H when overlaying a logo to ensure the QR code remains scannable.

--margin / -M · int · default: "4"

Quiet-zone margin around the QR code. Must be zero or a positive integer.

Step-by-step: batch export

Use the command in a shell loop to generate QR codes for a list of URLs in one go:

1. Create a URLs file

   cat > urls.txt <<EOF
   https://example.com
   https://laravel.com
   https://packagist.org
   EOF
   
2. Run the loop

   while IFS= read -r url; do
     slug=$(echo "$url" | sed 's|https\?://||;s|/|_|g')
     php artisan qr:generate "$url" \
       --output="public/qrcodes/${slug}.svg" \
       --format=svg \
       --size=400
   done < urls.txt
   
3. Verify the output

   ls -lh public/qrcodes/
   

Use cases

Build scripts

Generate static QR code assets during your deployment pipeline so they are always up to date without runtime generation overhead.

Batch export

Loop over a dataset and generate one QR code per record — product codes, event tickets, asset tags — without writing a custom Artisan command.

CI/CD pipelines

Validate that QR generation works in your environment after every deploy by running a quick smoke test command in your pipeline.

Local testing

Preview QR code output for any format or option combination instantly, without spinning up a browser or writing throwaway PHP.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	QR code generated successfully
1	Validation error (invalid size, color format, error correction level) or file write failure

Scripts can check $? immediately after the command to detect and handle failures:

php artisan qr:generate "https://example.com" --output=public/qr.svg

if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
  echo "QR code generation failed" >&2
  exit 1
fi

Naming conventions

The CLI flags use camelCase (e.g. --errorCorrection, --backgroundColor) while the config/qrcode.php keys use snake_case (e.g. error_correction, background_color). When translating your config values to CLI flags, remember to convert the case.

config/qrcode.php key	CLI flag
error_correction	--errorCorrection / -E
background_color	--backgroundColor / -B
format	--format / -F
size	--size / -S
margin	--margin / -M
color	--color / -C