QRScanner

QRScanner is a lightweight macOS menu bar app for scanning QR codes directly from the screen.

Press Ctrl+Shift+Q, drag over an area of the screen, and the decoded QR content is copied to the clipboard. The app runs as a menu bar utility and can also be triggered from the status bar menu.

AI Disclosure

This started as an AI-generated little utility for myself, but it seemed useful enough to share in case it saves someone else a bit of time and a few tokens.

Demo

Download

If you do not want to build from source, download the latest packaged app from GitHub Releases.

Current release install flow:

1. Download QRScanner-mac.zip from the latest release.
2. Unzip it.
3. Drag QRScanner.app into /Applications.
4. Launch it with right-click Open on first run if macOS blocks it.
5. Grant Screen Recording permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording.

Features

• Menu bar app with no main window
• Global hotkey: Ctrl+Shift+Q
• Drag-to-select screen region
• Decodes QR codes from the selected area
• Copies decoded content to the clipboard
• Uses macOS notifications for success and failure states

Requirements

• macOS 12 or later
• Xcode Command Line Tools or Xcode
• Screen Recording permission

Build From Source

swift build -c release
./build.sh

This creates QRScanner.app in the repository root.

Install Locally

cp -R QRScanner.app /Applications/
open /Applications/QRScanner.app

On first launch, macOS may block the app because it is unsigned or only ad-hoc signed. If that happens:

1. Right-click the app in Finder.
2. Choose Open.
3. Approve the launch in the system prompt.

You will also need to grant Screen Recording permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording.

Privacy

QRScanner captures only the user-selected screen region in order to decode QR content locally on the machine. It does not require a backend service.