# fukuchi/libqrencode

A fast and compact QR Code encoding library

Repository: https://github.com/fukuchi/libqrencode
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/libqrencode
Homepage: https://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/
Language: C
License: LGPL-2.1
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2025-10-10T06:30:58+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 44/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 46, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5668, "days_push": 327, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3023, forks 618 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:38.558809+00:00)

## What it is
libqrencode is a fast, compact C library for encoding data into QR Code symbols, outputting raw bitmap arrays that applications can render directly. It also ships a command-line utility that generates QR Code images in various formats.

## Use cases
- generate QR codes in a C or C++ application
- encode a URL or text as a QR code bitmap
- create QR code images from the command line
- embed QR code generation in an embedded or low-dependency project
- generate Micro QR Codes
- render QR codes without external runtime dependencies

## When to choose
- you need a lightweight, dependency-free QR encoder in C/C++
- you want raw bitmap data to render yourself rather than image files
- you need a simple CLI tool to produce QR code images
- you need structured-append or kanji-mode QR support

## When to avoid
- you need ECI or FNC1 modes, which are unsupported
- you need QR Code model 1 (deprecated)
- you want a high-level library with built-in image rendering in a managed language
- you need Micro QR Codes in production, as support is experimental

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: image-processing, cli, sdk
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform, graphics
- platform: c, windows, cross-platform, cli
- tags: qr-code, barcode, qrcode-generator, c-library, 2d-barcode, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- fukuchi/libqrencode (main) score 44

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:38.558809+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:46:53.357402+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/fukuchi/libqrencode (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:38.558809+00:00, sha aa5a639895b7)
  - homepage: https://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:45:01.520533+00:00, sha c848bca209ec)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.