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How to make a QR code on a Mac

A QR code is the quickest way to get a link, a Wi-Fi password or an address from your Mac onto a phone. You don't need a QR code website for it, and it's better not to use one: many free generators wrap your link in their own redirect so they can track scans, or stop working after a trial.

Updated

For the page you're on: Chrome or Edge

Chrome and Edge can make a QR code for the page you're viewing. In Chrome, right-click an empty part of the page and choose Create QR Code for this page. Newer versions also list it under Cast, save and share in the ⋮ menu. Download the image or scan it straight off the screen.

For any text: the Shortcuts app

  1. Open Shortcuts and make a new shortcut.
  2. Add Get Clipboard, then Generate QR Code, then Quick Look.
  3. Copy a link or some text, then run the shortcut. The QR code opens in a preview window.

It works, but it's a shortcut you have to build and keep somewhere you can run it.

From anything you've copied, with Maclip

Maclip keeps everything you copy. Select a link or text clip in the dashboard and choose Show QR Code: the code appears straight away, made on your Mac. Links are encoded without their tracking parameters, so the phone opens the clean link.

  • Copy Image puts the QR code on your clipboard to paste into a document or chat. Save… writes it as a PNG.
  • It works for anything up to about 2,000 characters: a link, a Wi-Fi password, an address, a short note.
  • Nothing is uploaded and there's no redirect: the code holds exactly your text. See QR codes in Maclip.

Questions

Does a Mac have a built-in QR code generator?

Not as an app. The Shortcuts app has a Generate QR Code action you can build a shortcut around, and Chrome and Edge can make one for the page you're viewing. A clipboard manager like Maclip can make one from any link or text you've copied.

Do QR codes expire?

A QR code that holds your link directly never expires. Codes from some websites point at the website's own redirect instead, and stop working if that service ends or your trial runs out. Codes made on your Mac with Shortcuts or Maclip hold the link itself.

Can I make a QR code for a Wi-Fi network?

Yes. Wi-Fi QR codes use the text format WIFI:T:WPA;S:network-name;P:password;; . Copy that text with your network's name and password, then make a QR code from it; phones offer to join the network when they scan it.

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