Generate a QR code in Google Apps Script

First: do you even need a script?

If the goal is "a QR code next to each URL in my sheet", the no-code =IMAGE() formula does it without Apps Script at all — that route is written up in how to make a QR code in Google Sheets. Reach for a script when you need files in Drive, codes in Docs or Slides, batch output, or regeneration on a trigger.

Fetch a code, save it to Drive

The keyless API needs no key, so UrlFetchApp is the whole integration:

function saveQrToDrive() {
  const url = "https://useqr.app/api/v1/qr?data="
    + encodeURIComponent("https://example.com") + "&size=1024";
  const blob = UrlFetchApp.fetch(url).getBlob().setName("qr.png");
  DriveApp.createFile(blob);
}

encodeURIComponent is mandatory — an unencoded & in the payload truncates the code's contents silently. Add format=svg for vector output destined for print.

A code per row in a Sheet

Writing =IMAGE() formulas from script scales cleanly, because Sheets then fetches and displays each image itself:

function qrColumn() {
  const sheet = SpreadsheetApp.getActiveSheet();
  const urls = sheet.getRange("A2:A101").getValues().flat().filter(String);
  urls.forEach((u, i) => {
    sheet.getRange(i + 2, 2).setFormula(
      '=IMAGE("https://useqr.app/api/v1/qr?data=' + encodeURIComponent(u) + '&size=512")'
    );
  });
}

For an image anchored over the grid rather than in a cell, sheet.insertImage(blob, 3, 2) places a fetched blob at column 3, row 2. Spreadsheet-driven batch workflows more broadly — including CSV export routes — are covered in QR codes from a spreadsheet.

Quotas, and why formulas beat fetch loops

UrlFetchApp is quota-limited (20,000 calls per day on consumer accounts), and a fetch loop over a big sheet burns it. The formula approach spends zero fetch quota — the requests come from Sheets, not your script — and the API's immutable caching means each distinct payload is only ever fetched once anyway.

Regenerate on a trigger

Because static codes never expire, regeneration is only needed when the source data changes. An installable trigger keeps a column honest:

function onEditInstallable(e) {
  if (e.range.getColumn() !== 1) return;    // only react to URL edits in column A
  const row = e.range.getRow();
  const value = e.range.getValue();
  if (!value) return;
  e.source.getActiveSheet().getRange(row, 2).setFormula(
    '=IMAGE("https://useqr.app/api/v1/qr?data=' + encodeURIComponent(value) + '")'
  );
}

Install it via Triggers → Add Trigger → On edit. Time-driven triggers suit nightly batch jobs that pull rows and write PNGs to a Drive folder. If your automation lives outside Google's stack, the same API drops into n8n, Zapier and Make with an HTTP node.

FAQ

How do I generate a QR code in Google Apps Script?

UrlFetchApp.fetch the keyless API URL with your data encoded, call getBlob(), and hand the blob to DriveApp, Sheets, Docs or Slides.

How do I put a QR code in every row of a Google Sheet?

Loop the rows and setFormula an =IMAGE() call per row, or skip scripting entirely and drag the formula down — no quota is consumed either way.

Does UrlFetchApp have a limit?

Yes — daily quotas apply (20,000 fetches on consumer accounts). Prefer =IMAGE() formulas for bulk sheets so Sheets does the fetching instead of your script.

Can the QR codes update automatically when data changes?

Yes. An installable on-edit trigger can rewrite the formula for the edited row, and time-driven triggers handle scheduled batch regeneration.