QR Code Reader. Read a QR Code From Any Image, Online
Have a QR code saved as a picture, a screenshot or inside a downloaded file? Drop it here (or choose it, paste it, or use your camera) and read exactly what it contains in an instant, decoded entirely on your own device.
What is the qr code reader?
The QR Code Reader decodes a QR from an image you already have, revealing the link, Wi-Fi, contact or text inside. Drag or choose a PNG, JPG, WEBP or GIF, paste a screenshot with Ctrl/Cmd+V, or use your camera, and it reads straight from the raw pixels. Decoding is local in your browser with nothing uploaded.
The GigAI QR Code Reader is built around one everyday problem: you already have the QR code as an image, and you just need to know what's inside it. Maybe it arrived in an email, sits on a PDF invoice, was shared in a chat, or you saved it from a website, pointing a phone camera at a file you can already see makes no sense. So this reader is image-first: the moment you land, the drop zone is front and centre. Drag a picture straight onto the page, click to choose a file (PNG, JPG, WEBP or GIF), or paste a screenshot with Ctrl/Cmd+V, and it decodes the code from the raw pixels immediately. When the code is out in the physical world instead, a one-click camera path is right there too. Crucially, reading is genuinely local: powered by the jsQR engine running on a canvas in your browser, no image, camera frame or decoded value is ever uploaded, logged or transmitted. And it doesn't just spit out a raw string. It interprets the payload, recognising links, Wi-Fi credentials, vCard contacts, email, phone, SMS and geo-location codes, and laying them out as clean labelled fields with one-tap copy and a smart Open action. It is honest about what it can't do: it reads standard square QR codes, not one-dimensional retail barcodes or other 2D symbologies, and no reader can recover a genuinely damaged or unfocused code. There is no login, no account and no persistence: it's a single static page, so when you close the tab, every trace of what you read is gone.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
- Typical time:
- ~5s
- Processing:
- 100% browser processing
Last updated
How to use the qr code reader
- 1
Bring in the image
Drag a QR picture onto the drop zone, click to choose a file, or paste a screenshot with Ctrl/Cmd+V. Prefer a real-world code? Click the camera option instead.
- 2
Let it decode
The reader scans the pixels and pulls out the QR automatically. No shutter, no button. A clear image with the whole code visible reads fastest.
- 3
Read the result
It shows the code's type (link, Wi-Fi, contact and so on), a tidy field breakdown, and the exact raw value it contains.
- 4
Copy or open
Copy the value, or hit Open to follow the link, dial the number, start the email or view the location, whatever the code encodes.
- 5
Read another
Clear the result and drop in the next image. Nothing is remembered between reads.
What QR Code Reader includes
Image-first: drop or choose a file
The drop zone is the star. Drag a QR picture onto the page or click to select a PNG, JPG, WEBP or GIF, and it reads the code from the raw pixels the instant the file lands. No camera required.
Paste a screenshot straight in
Copied a QR to your clipboard? Press Ctrl/Cmd+V anywhere on the page and it decodes the pasted screenshot immediately: the fastest route when the code is already on your screen.
Camera path when you need it
For codes in the real world, a one-click webcam reader reads a QR the moment it enters frame, with an on-screen targeting guide. It's optional, the image path never touches your camera.
Reads the meaning, not just the text
It recognises URLs, Wi-Fi, vCard, email, phone, SMS and geo codes and renders them as clean, labelled fields, so you see a real contact or network, not a wall of raw characters.
Copy or open in one tap
Copy the decoded value to your clipboard, or hit Open to follow the link, dial the number, start the email or view the location on a map: the action adapts to what the code holds.
Decoded on your device, never uploaded
Reading runs on raw canvas pixels with jsQR in your browser. No image, camera frame or decoded result is ever sent to a server, stored or logged, safe even for Wi-Fi passwords and contacts.
Why use our qr code reader
Read the code you already have
When the QR is a file (an email attachment, a saved image, a PDF page, a chat screenshot) you shouldn't have to photograph a screen. Drop the file straight in and get the answer.
See where a code leads before you go
The destination appears as plain text first, so you can inspect a link, spot a shortened or mismatched domain, and decide whether to open it: rather than blindly trusting a black-and-white square.
Recover details trapped in a picture
Pull the Wi-Fi password out of a printed-network photo, or the contact details out of a business-card QR, and copy them straight into whatever device or form you need them in.
No install, no account, nothing to leak
It's a single static page that reads locally. No app to download, no sign-up, no upload, which is exactly why it's safe to read codes that contain private information.
Built for the way you work
From quick one-off fixes to daily workflows, see how people put this tool to use.
- Anyone with a saved image
Decode a QR you downloaded or were sent
A friend shares a QR in a chat, or you save one from a page. Drop the picture in and read the link instantly instead of trying to aim a phone at your own screen.
- Office / admin
Pull a link out of a PDF or document
An invoice, brochure or ticket PDF carries a QR you can't click. Export the page as an image, drop it here, and copy the underlying URL in seconds.
- Traveller / guest
Read a Wi-Fi code from a photo
Snap the Wi-Fi QR taped to a café wall, drop the photo in, and read the exact network name and password to type into any laptop or console that can't scan.
- Cautious clicker
Vet a suspicious code as an image
Save the QR from a flyer or sticker as a picture and read it here first. The real destination appears as text, so you can catch a dodgy domain before you ever visit it.
Supported formats
Accepts PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF and Webcam, and produces Text, URL, Wi-Fi and vCard, all processed locally in your browser.
- PNG
- JPG
- WEBP
- GIF
- Webcam
- Text
- URL
- Wi-Fi
- vCard
Frequently asked questions
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Comparisons & guides
Go deeper on the concepts behind the qr code reader.
Common problems, solved
Hit a snag? Here are quick fixes for the issues people run into most.
It says no QR code was found in my image.
The code may be too small, blurry, low-contrast, angled or partly cropped. Use a sharper, straight-on picture where the whole code plus a little white margin is visible, and avoid heavily compressed or downscaled screenshots.
My screenshot won't paste.
Make sure the image is actually on your clipboard (copy it as an image, not a file link) and that you've clicked onto the page before pressing Ctrl/Cmd+V. Some browsers restrict clipboard image access. If paste is blocked, just choose or drag the file instead.
The camera won't start.
Browsers only allow camera access on secure (HTTPS or localhost) pages and after you grant permission. Click the camera icon in your address bar to allow it, or simply stick with the image path. Reading from a file needs no camera at all.
It won't read my barcode.
This is a QR-code reader for square 2D QR codes only. It does not decode 1D retail barcodes (UPC/EAN) or other 2D symbologies such as Data Matrix, Aztec or PDF417, which need a different decoding engine.
Get the most out of it
The quickest read on desktop: copy the QR image, click the page, and paste with Ctrl/Cmd+V.
Keep a little white 'quiet zone' around the code in any image, decoders need that margin to lock on.
Always read the decoded link as text before hitting Open, so you know exactly where it leads.
A sharp, straight-on, well-lit image beats a high-resolution but glary or skewed one every time.
No camera? You lose nothing here, the drop, choose and paste paths read just as accurately.
What's new
Recent updates and improvements to the qr code reader.
Initial release: image-first QR reading with drag-and-drop, file choose and clipboard paste, plus an optional webcam path, all decoded in-browser with jsQR and typed result parsing for URL, Wi-Fi, vCard, email, phone, SMS and geo payloads.
Improved decoding of low-contrast, compressed and slightly angled images, and added copy and context-aware Open actions on every parsed field.
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Your privacy is built in
Every read happens on your device. Uploaded images, pasted screenshots and camera frames are decoded in-browser with the jsQR engine on raw canvas pixels. No picture, frame or decoded value is ever uploaded, stored, logged or transmitted. Camera access is only ever requested when you explicitly choose the camera option, and the stream is released the moment a code is read or you stop. Close the tab and nothing remains.
- Runs in your browser
- No uploads
- Nothing stored
Ready to try the qr code reader?
Free, private and instant. QR Code Reader runs right in your browser.