Output

A code becomes a file with one of four formats:

php

$code = Qr::url('https://example.com');

$code->svg();        // vector; needs nothing beyond PHP
$code->png(600);     // 600 × 600 pixels
$code->jpeg(600);    // no transparency: flattened onto the background, or white
$code->webp(600);

Without a size, raster formats use qr.defaults.size (600). PNG, JPEG and WebP need the Imagick or GD extension; see Drivers.

SVG options

svg() takes the SVG writer's options by name:

php

$code->svg(
    size: 300,              // width and height attributes; none by default, so CSS sizes the code
    currentColor: true,     // the dark modules in the text color around the code
    symbol: 'ticket-code',  // wrap it in a <symbol> with this id, to <use> it many times on a page
    precision: 2,           // decimals in the path data
    compact: true,          // the smallest path data; false writes it spaced out, for reading
    colorNotation: ColorNotation::Css,  // colors as written (oklch(), hsl() ...) instead of hex
    inlineSvgLogos: false,  // an SVG logo as an embedded image rather than inline markup
    xmlDeclaration: true,   // start with <?xml ...?>, for a standalone file
);

Dark modules of the same paint are merged into a single <path>, so a plain code is one path and the file stays small.

Raster options

php

$code->png(1200, dpi: 300);      // a print resolution in the file
$code->png(600, compressionLevel: 9);   // 0-9: smaller and slower; the image is the same (6 by default)
$code->jpeg(1200, quality: 85);
$code->webp(800, quality: 90);
$code->png(600, driver: 'gd');   // draw with GD rather than Imagick, for this code only

Drivers

PNG, JPEG and WebP are drawn with Imagick or with GD. qr.raster.driver picks one: auto (the default) takes Imagick when it is loaded and GD otherwise, or name imagick or gd. driver: picks one for a single code.

Both measure the shapes the same way, filled with the nonzero rule and smoothed at the edges, so a code looks the same with either, on ImageMagick 6 and 7 alike, and its edges land where they do in the SVG. Imagick is faster, draws SVG logos (with ImageMagick's SVG support) and writes metadata into every format; GD needs no ImageMagick, draws raster logos only, and writes metadata into PNG and JPEG but not WebP.

Imagick is the one to install where you can. PNG output, the median of seven runs on one machine (composer bench runs it on yours):

Code	Size	Imagick	GD
Plain	600 px	79 ms	104 ms
Plain	1200 px	225 ms	314 ms
Dots	600 px	98 ms	116 ms
Dots	1200 px	248 ms	350 ms
Flowing, gradient	600 px	303 ms	356 ms
Flowing, gradient	1200 px	505 ms	716 ms
Clovers, logo	600 px	326 ms	349 ms
Clovers, logo	1200 px	663 ms	760 ms
Long text, dots	600 px	466 ms	499 ms
Long text, dots	1200 px	812 ms	950 ms

The larger the image, the further ahead Imagick gets. Cache codes on hot pages either way; see Caching.

What you can do with the output

Every format returns an ExeQue\Qr\Builders\Rendered:

php

$png = Qr::url($url)->png(600);

$png->save('codes/a.png');              // to the default disk
$png->save('codes/a.png', disk: 's3');  // to a named disk, or a Filesystem instance
$png->store('codes/a.png', 's3');       // the same as save()

return $png->download('ticket.png');    // a streamed download
return $png;                            // a response: Rendered is Responsable

$png->contents();       // the bytes
$png->chunks(8192);     // the bytes in pieces, for streaming
$png->toResource();     // a new PHP stream with the bytes, at its start; close it yourself
$png->toStream();       // a new PSR-7 stream with the bytes
$png->detach();         // the code's own stream, handed over; the output cannot be read afterwards
$png->toBase64();
$png->toBase64Url();    // URL-safe, without padding
$png->toDataUri();      // data:image/png;base64,...
$png->mimeType();       // image/png
$png->extension();      // png

Every output is Htmlable, so it can go straight into a page: SVG inline, the other formats as an <img> with a data URI.

blade

{{ Qr::url($url)->svg() }}
{{ Qr::url($url)->png(300) }}

Responses carry X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff; an SVG response also carries a Content-Security-Policy that lets it run nothing and load nothing from elsewhere. Download filenames are sent with an ASCII fallback, so any name works.

Outputs live in temporary streams, in memory while small and on disk beyond qr.streams.max_memory, so large codes do not sit in PHP strings until you ask for them.

Attribution

Codes can carry who made them, written into the file: <title>, <desc> and RDF metadata in SVG; XMP in PNG, JPEG and WebP; and text chunks in PNG.

php

Qr::url($url)
    ->metadata(title: 'Launch ticket', author: 'Example Events', copyright: '© 2026 Example', url: 'https://example.com', keywords: ['ticket'])
    ->png(600);

Defaults for every code go in qr.metadata; a code's own values are merged over them.

Formats of your own

Add a format by name with a writer, and write with it like the built-in ones:

php

use ExeQue\Qr\Facades\Qr;
use ExeQue\Qr\Writers\Contracts\Writer;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Container\Container;

Qr::extend('pdf', fn (Container $app, array $options): Writer => new PdfWriter(...$options));

Qr::url($url)->format('pdf', pageSize: 'A6')->save('ticket.pdf');

A writer turns a drawn Scene into an Output. See Extending.

Output ​

SVG options ​

Raster options ​

Drivers ​

What you can do with the output ​

Attribution ​

Formats of your own ​