Pretty QR

npx add-mcp 'https://pretty-qr.com/api/mcp'

Create QR codes from your own app. Send the content and a design, and get back the same PNG or SVG file that Download gives in the editor.

POSThttps://pretty-qr.com/api/v1/qr

Quick start

1. Sign in. A free account includes 100 requests a month; Pro raises that to 10,000.
2. Create a key on the API keys page and keep it somewhere safe: it is shown once.
3. Set it as PRETTY_QR_KEY and send your first request. This one saves qr.png:

curl https://pretty-qr.com/api/v1/qr \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PRETTY_QR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
      "content": "https://example.com",
      "design": {
        "backgroundColor": "#ffffff",
        "foregroundStyle": {
          "colors": [
            "#000000"
          ]
        }
      },
      "format": "png"
    }' \
  -o qr.png

Authentication

Send the key as a bearer token: Authorization: Bearer pqr_…. A key keeps working if the account loses Pro, on the free allowance. Treat it like a password: keep it on your server, never in a web page or app that others can download. You can revoke a key on the API keys page at any time. A free account can hold 2 keys; Pro can hold 10.

Request

POST /api/v1/qr with a JSON body of three fields. Everything about the look lives in design, which uses the same options as the editor.

content stringrequired

What the code encodes: a URL or any text. At most 2331 bytes (UTF-8), or 1273 with a logo or the shield shape.

format stringrequired

png (2048 × 2048 px) or svg.

design objectrequired

How the code looks. Unknown fields are refused with a 400, so a typo never gives a different code.

design.backgroundColor stringrequired

Background colour as #rrggbb.

design.foregroundStyle.colors string[]required

Module colours as #rrggbb, 1 to 5. One colour draws a solid code. Two or more draw one gradient over the code and its shape, the colours evenly spaced.

design.foregroundStyle.type string

Gradient type: linear, radial. Default linear.

design.foregroundStyle.direction string

Linear gradients only, from the first colour to the last: top-bottom, left-right, top-left-bottom-right, top-right-bottom-left, bottom-top, right-left, bottom-right-top-left, bottom-left-top-right. Default top-bottom.

design.moduleShape string

square, circle, rounded, dot. Default square.

design.eyeShape string

Shape of the three corner squares: square, circle, rounded. Default square.

design.cornerRadius number

Rounds the code's background, 0 to 1000.

design.shape.type string

Silhouette: square, circle, heart, shield, house, pin. Silhouettes hold at most 213 bytes of content (119 with a logo or the shield).

design.logo object | null

A logo in the middle of the code. Omit it or send null for none.

design.logo.src stringrequired

Base64 data URL of a PNG, JPEG, WebP or SVG image. SVGs must not reference external files or contain scripts.

design.logo.size numberrequired

Share of the code's width, 0.1 to 0.5.

design.logo.margin numberrequired

Space around the logo, 0 to 50.

design.logo.hideBackgroundDots booleanrequired

Clear the modules behind the logo.

design.frame object | null

A frame around the code. Omit it or send null for none.

design.frame.enabled truerequired

Always true.

design.frame.borderWidth numberrequired

1 to 20.

design.frame.borderColor stringrequired

#rrggbb.

design.frame.padding numberrequired

8 to 48.

design.frame.cornerRadius numberrequired

0 to 240. The frame is drawn with at most the radius that keeps the code scannable and the label inside the frame: it depends on the frame type, padding and border width (for example rectangle 112 at padding 16, 240 at padding 48; banner 64 at padding 2). The coffee cup always has small corners.

design.frame.text object

Label: { "enabled": boolean, "content": string }, at most 24 characters. Shown on every frame except rectangle.

design.frame.outerColor string

Colour outside the frame, #rrggbb.

Fields under design.logo and design.frame marked required are required only when you send that object.

Response and errors

A 200 is the file itself: image/png (2048 × 2048 px) or image/svg+xml. Anything else is JSON with one field, { "error": "…" }, a sentence that says what to fix.

Limits

• Free: 100 requests per calendar month (UTC, resets on the 1st).
• Pro: 1,000 requests in any hour and 10,000 per calendar month (UTC), per account across all its keys.
• API requests and the MCP tools create_qr_code, open_in_editor and create_file_upload share one count. list_templates does not count.
• Every counted request with a valid key counts, including ones that fail with 400 or 413. A request the quota refuses does not.
• Request bodies up to 1 MB, logo included.
• Requests are rendered one after another. Send them in sequence rather than hundreds at once, and retry a 503 after a few seconds.

Examples

Each image is what the request next to it returns. Start from one and change the fields you need.

Banner frame with a label Rounded modules and eyes inside a banner frame that reads "SCAN ME".

Heart with a logo Heart silhouette, speech-bubble frame and an SVG logo sent as a data URL.

Coffee cup Circle silhouette with dot modules in a coffee-cup frame with an outer colour.

MCP

AI assistants such as Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code can make QR codes for you through the MCP server at https://pretty-qr.com/api/mcp. It takes the same API key and the same monthly allowance. Hosting a file with create_file_upload stays part of Pro.

claude mcp add --transport http pretty-qr https://pretty-qr.com/api/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $PRETTY_QR_KEY"

Tools

list_templates

Lists the templates with their id, name, description and a preview image. Does not count towards the quota.

create_qr_code

Returns the PNG or SVG file for content, a template id and design fields as in Request; design replaces the template's fields. Each call counts towards the quota.

open_in_editor

Saves the design to your account and returns a link that opens it in the editor, also listed in My designs. Each call counts towards the quota.

create_file_upload

Pro only. Hosts a photo, video, audio file or PDF for a hosted file QR code. Returns a one-time upload_url (30 minutes) and the file_url the file will have. Upload with curl --upload-file photo.jpg <upload_url>, then call create_qr_code with file_url as content. Up to 10 files per account; each call counts towards the quota.

Clients that only run local (stdio) servers can connect through mcp-remote. Connectors in claude.ai and ChatGPT need sign-in, which is not available yet.

Postman and OpenAPI

The Postman collection has every example on this page and the common errors, each with a test. To use it:

1. In Postman, choose Import and drop in both the collection and the environment.
2. Select the Pretty QR environment and paste your key into apiKey.
3. Send a request. Use Send and Download to save the file.

The OpenAPI file describes the same request and responses. Import it into Insomnia, Bruno or any OpenAPI tool, or generate a client from it.

Questions or a field you need? Write to [email protected].