A Guide to Generate QR Code Using NodeJS

Overview

QR codes, short for Quick Response codes, have become ubiquitous in our digital world. They offer a convenient way to share information, from website URLs to Wi-Fi credentials. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to harness the power of Node.js to generate QR codes programmatically. Whether you want to create QR codes for your business, marketing campaign, or simply for fun, Node.js provides a versatile platform.

Introduction

QR Code:

QR code stands for “Quick Response” code. A QR code is a form of barcode that electronic devices can effortlessly scan and store a substantial volume of data within a grid arranged in a square shape. Standard barcodes can read data only in one direction, i.e., top to bottom, and thus, they can only store a small amount of data. But the QR code can be read in two directions, i.e., top to bottom and left to right. This allows it to store more data.

NodeJS:

Node.js is a popular open-source server-side JavaScript runtime environment. It runs on various platforms, including Windows, Linux, Unix, and Mac OS. Node.js uses asynchronous programming for its input-output operations, allowing it to handle many concurrent connections without blocking. It is designed for scalable network applications. It uses asynchronous programming to handle many concurrent connections, making it ideal for real-time applications such as chat servers and web games.

Use Cases of QR code

The information contained within a QR code can encompass website URLs, phone numbers, or even as much as 4,000 characters of text. QR codes also serve various purposes, such as:

• Directly linking to app downloads from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
• Authenticating online accounts and confirming login credentials.
• Facilitating Wi-Fi access by storing encryption particulars like SSID, password, and encryption type.
• Transmitting and receiving payment data.

Steps to Set up NodeJS Server

Here, we will create a server using NodeJS and ExpressJS. So, we will install Express in our application.

In this application, I will be using VS Code Editor. You can choose your IDE or Code Editor.

Step 1: Create your project directory, open the terminal, and navigate to the project directory. In your terminal, give the command npm init -y. It will generate a boilerplate for our NodeJS application.

Step 2: Next, we will install Express.JS using our application’s command npm i express.

Step 3: We will install nodemon, which restarts the NodeJS server every time there is a change in our code. nodemon detects the changes and restarts the server for you. In the terminal, write npm i -g nodemon.

Step 4: Finally, we will install the “qrcode” dependency, which saves the QR code as QR code images. In the terminal, write ‘npm i qrcode’

Step 5: We will add a start script in our package.json so that our app starts automatically when it senses the code change.

So, our package.json looks like this-

QR Code Generator

Now, we will see how to generate a QR code.

There are 3 steps to generate a QR code.

1. Install the QR code npm package, which we have already installed.
2. Prepare data to be stored in a QR code.
3. Creating a QR code image.

Let’s create a “app.js” file in the root directory of our project.

1. First, we will import the qrcode package in our app.js file using the syntax –

2. Create the data we want to store in our QR code.

3. We need to convert our data into String format using the stringify() method to perform operations on our data easily.

4. There are two methods in the qrcode package to encode data. The first method is to print the qrcode in the terminal, which will not be used for production. We will see it in the console for testing. The second method is toDataURL(), which returns a data URI representing a QR code image.

Testing the Server

Next, we’ll commence our application server by entering the ‘npm start’ command in the terminal.

Our output on the terminal will be –

Conclusion

Creating QR codes using Node.js is a straightforward and versatile process that opens up many possibilities for businesses and developers. Whether for sharing website links, contact information, or even enhancing security measures, Node.js provides the tools and libraries necessary to generate QR codes efficiently and effectively. With the ability to customize QR codes and integrate them seamlessly into web applications or print materials, Node.js empowers developers to enhance user experiences and streamline various operations.

Drop a query if you have any questions regarding QR codes and we will get back to you quickly.

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