Generating and managing QR codes in Zapier with OpenQR

This is the no-code path through Zapier. If you want the underlying mechanics, every step calls the OpenQR REST API — see getting started with the API and dynamic codes and scan analytics. For where Zapier sits among the automation options, see QR codes in LLM apps and workflows.

Connect your OpenQR account

Authentication is a single API key. Create a free one at openqr.uk/api — sign in with a magic link, then mint a key (it starts with oqr_).

The full step list

The OpenQR app exposes one trigger, five action steps and two searches. Together they cover the whole dynamic-code lifecycle — create, find, re-point, track, organise and delete — natively in Zapier.

Create QR Code (static)

Encodes whatever you give it straight into the image. Fields: Text or URL (required, ≤2000 chars), Format (png default or svg), Size (64–2048, default 512), Quiet-zone margin (0–16), and Foreground/Background hex colours. The endpoint returns the raw image, so the action stashes it as a Zapier file you can attach to an email, upload to Drive, or print — plus the raw svg markup when you choose SVG.

Create Dynamic QR Code (editable)

Creates an oqr.to short link that redirects through OpenQR. Fields: Destination URL (required, a public http(s) URL), an optional Label, and an optional Theme (a saved style's id or name). The action surfaces id, slug, short_url and destination, plus a printable PNG (qr_png) that already encodes the short_url — so the code you print stays re-pointable.

Update Dynamic QR Code (re-point / edit)

The headline action: edit a live code without reprinting it. Pass the Code ID (from Create or Find) and any of New destination URL (the re-point — a public http(s) URL), Label, Slug, Tags (a list, up to 10), Folder ID, or Theme (a saved style's id or name). Leave a field blank to keep its current value; send an empty Label or Folder ID to clear it. It calls PATCH /v1/dynamic/{id} and returns the updated id, slug, short_url, destination and label. The printed code is untouched — only where it redirects changes.

Delete Dynamic QR Code

Permanently removes a code via DELETE /v1/dynamic/{id}. Pass the Code ID; its oqr.to short link stops redirecting immediately, so anything already printed will no longer work. The step returns the id and deleted: true so a later step can log it. This can't be undone — use it for cleaning up test or expired-campaign codes.

Create Folder

Creates a folder to organise dynamic codes via POST /v1/folders. Give it a Folder name and it returns the folder id and name. Feed that id into a later Update Dynamic QR Code step's Folder ID to file codes into it — handy for grouping a campaign's codes as a Zap mints them.

Find Dynamic QR Code (search)

Looks up an existing code so you can act on it without having stored the id yourself. Filter by Label contains and/or Slug contains (case-insensitive substrings), or leave both blank for the most recent codes; Max codes to scan (1–500, default 200) bounds the lookup. It returns each match's id, slug, short_url, destination, label, status and created_at — Zapier uses the first match by default. This is the bridge into Update, Delete or Get Scan Analytics when the only thing your trigger knows is a label or slug.

Get Scan Analytics (search)

Reads scan analytics for one code via GET /v1/dynamic/{id}/scans. Pass the Code ID and an optional Window (days) (1–365, default 30). It returns flat scalars most Zaps branch on — total_scans (lifetime), last_7_days, top_country, top_device, window_total — plus line-item arrays for the daily series (daily) and the country/device/referrer breakdowns. Branch on a number, or template the arrays into a Slack/email digest.

Worked Zap: form submission → dynamic code → email

A common pattern: someone submits a form to register an asset (a product, a property, an exhibit), and you want to email them a QR that links to its page — but you want to keep the option to re-point it later. Three steps:

Worked Zap: schedule → re-point a campaign code

Re-pointing is native now, so a classic campaign flip is a two-step Zap: on a date, swap where a printed code sends people — no reprint, no webhook plumbing. Say a poster code should point at the spring menu until 1 June, then the summer menu.

Worked Zap: scan analytics → Slack/email digest

Pull a code's numbers into a report on a cadence — a Monday-morning scan digest, or an alert when a code goes quiet.

What's not in the Zapier app

The Zapier surface is deliberately the common-path 90%, not the whole REST API. A few things live elsewhere:

• Bulk minting — Zapier creates one code per step run. For hundreds at once, call POST /v1/dynamic/bulk (up to 200 per request) directly; see the bulk generation guide.
• Creating themes — Create and Update apply a saved theme by id or name, but you build the themes themselves in the dashboard, not from a Zap.
• Raw per-scan event export — Get Scan Analytics returns aggregates and breakdowns, not individual scan rows. For raw events, use the REST endpoint directly.

For any of those, drop to the REST API — see dynamic codes and scan analytics, with the OpenAPI spec at https://openqr.uk/openapi.json — or the n8n community node if you want a richer no-code surface.

Mind the creation rate limit

Dynamic-code creation is capped at 20 per hour per account; over that the API returns 429 and the Create Dynamic QR Code step errors. For high-volume flows — a Zap that fires on every order — either add a delay/throttle, or move bulk minting to POST /v1/dynamic/bulk (up to 200 per request) outside Zapier. The bulk generation guide covers that path.