QR Code Decode

Use when you need to extract QR code or barcode content from an image — given a screenshot, photo URL, or local image file containing a QR code, DataMatrix, or barcode that needs to be read and decoded

QR Code Detection & Decoding

Detect and decode QR codes from images via a single API call. Input an image (URL or base64), get structured output: decoded content, content type classification, position, and confidence.

When to Use

• You have a screenshot or photo and need to extract the QR code content
• A workflow requires reading a QR code from an image URL
• You need to classify what a QR code contains (URL, WiFi config, vCard, email, etc.)
• You need to batch-process multiple images for QR code extraction

API

Endpoint: POST https://data.cli.im/x-deepscan/vision/detect

Content-Type: application/json

Input — pick one

bash

# From URL (simplest)
curl -s -X POST https://data.cli.im/x-deepscan/vision/detect \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com/photo-with-qrcode.jpg"}'

# From local file (base64)
curl -s -X POST https://data.cli.im/x-deepscan/vision/detect \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"image\": \"$(base64 -i photo.jpg)\"}"

# Batch
curl -s -X POST https://data.cli.im/x-deepscan/vision/detect \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"urls": ["https://example.com/1.jpg", "https://example.com/2.jpg"]}'

Output

Single image returns:

json

{
  "count": 1,
  "codes": [
    {
      "content": "https://example.com",
      "format": "QR Code",
      "content_type": "url",
      "bbox": {"x1": 211.8, "y1": 211.3, "x2": 425.8, "y2": 424.7},
      "keypoints": null,
      "confidence": 0.93
    }
  ]
}

No QR code found returns {"count": 0, "codes": []} — not an error.

Content Type Classification

content_type is auto-classified:

Value	Matches
url	http:// or https:// prefix
wifi	WIFI: prefix
vcard	BEGIN:VCARD prefix
email	mailto: prefix
phone	tel: prefix
sms	sms: prefix
geo	geo: prefix
text	Everything else

Request Fields Reference

All fields optional, but at least one required:

Field	Type	Description
image	string	Base64-encoded image
url	string	Image URL (http/https only)
images	string[]	Batch base64 (max 10)
urls	string[]	Batch URLs (max 10)

Single input (image or url alone) returns DetectResponse. Batch/mixed returns BatchDetectResponse with per-item results.

Error Handling

Errors return {"error": {"code": "...", "message": "..."}}.

Code	When
INVALID_BASE64	Base64 decoding failed
INVALID_URL	Bad URL or SSRF blocked (private IP)
URL_NOT_IMAGE	URL content is not an image
URL_DOWNLOAD_FAILED	Download timeout or HTTP error
IMAGE_TOO_LARGE	Exceeds 10MB
RATE_LIMITED	Too many requests (check Retry-After header)
BATCH_TOO_LARGE	More than 10 images

Rate Limits

Free usage: 20 requests/minute, 200 requests/day per IP.

Limitations

• Optimized for 2D codes (QR Code, DataMatrix). 1D barcode detection (EAN-13, Code128) is weak in complex backgrounds.
• Max image size: 10MB. Supports JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, BMP.
• URL input has SSRF protection — private/internal network URLs are blocked.