aqrobat
GitHub

QR codes, in character.

Turn a link or short text into a working QR code drawn with real characters, then paste it into an email, a document, or a chat.

Free · No account · Runs in your browser · Offline page

19 / 1024 bytes · never shortened

Characters Emoji squares · tested for pasting
More characters · experimental when pasted

1 unique symbol. Several symbols take turns in the order typed.

Parts
  • Corner frames
  • Corner centers
  • Light squares

Where will it go?

More settings
Recipe

Preview

Untested

Insert with extension
More

Copy

Download

Made in this browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Select the text yourself

Paste guide

Apps treat pasted text differently. Pick the destination above and the copy is shaped for it, always with the characters you chose. Emoji squares, and full blocks in code blocks, are the tested choices; anything else is experimental, so scan the pasted result before you send it.

Destination Pastes as How

Each format was chosen by pasting it into common editor engines in each app's typical font and spacing and reading the result with software. The real apps can still differ, and so can phones and light, so every new code starts untested: scan the pasted result.

Chrome extension

Insert a code straight into the page you are writing in. The extension measures that field's own font, so the code keeps its shape without going through the clipboard.

  • Right-click a selection, a link, or the page to make a code from it.
  • Keep up to 20 codes, then insert one with a preview and normal Undo.
  • No account, no server, and access only to the tab you choose.
  1. Download the extension ZIP and unzip it.
  2. Open chrome://extensions and turn on Developer mode.
  3. Choose Load unpacked and pick the unzipped folder.
  4. Try it on the practice page, which needs no install.

Scan lab

Build versions of this code: its paste formats in typical app fonts and spacing, and 12 images at two densities, two fonts, and three sizes. Scan each with your phone and record what happened. Results stay in this page until you export them.

A pass means the exact payload came back. Printed codes are 65 mm square.

How it works

  1. A standard QR matrix

    Project Nayuki's MIT-licensed encoder turns your exact input into a normal QR code: the same squares, corner markers, and error correction any phone expects.

  2. Characters instead of squares

    Each dark square becomes a character you chose and each light square becomes a blank. There is no solid code hidden behind the text, so what you see is what a camera reads.

  3. Shaped for where it goes

    Fonts and line spacing change from app to app. Aqrobat picks a layout that keeps the squares square where you paste it, and the extension measures the field itself.

Will it scan?

Often, but check. Emoji squares, and full blocks in a code block, are the tested choices for pasting; other characters are experimental. Dark emoji such as 🍇 or 🖤, with emoji-square corners, have scanned after pasting into Gmail on a phone; light ones such as 🙂 do not, even as the light squares. Gmail on a phone also closes up the spaces that letter codes need. Small sizes and loose line spacing make codes harder to read. Every new code is marked untested until you scan the actual result.

Sizes, emoji, and limits

Input is limited to 1024 bytes and is never shortened. A QR code grows in steps of four squares as the payload needs more room; making the image smaller does not shrink that grid. Custom characters can mix letters, punctuation, and whole emoji, including flags and families. Emoji artwork comes from your system and can look different on other devices. A text QR code is decoration, not encryption: any reader can decode it.

Command line and API

The page, the extension, and a Node command-line tool share one core. Scripts can call it directly; nothing has to draw the pattern by hand. 

node bin/aqrobat.mjs 'https://example.com' --format tiles

Command-line guide

Can prose be a QR code?

A side project tested whether readable, copyable prose can also scan as a QR code. It can when each letter is set in one of two tones, but not invisibly: nothing that looked like ordinary prose scanned. Read the research notes.

Prior art

Text and emoji QR codes are not new. qrcode-terminal prints codes in a terminal, and OshiQR makes emoji codes. Aqrobat's focus is getting real-text codes into the place you write, with formats shaped for each destination and recipes you can reproduce.

Emoji