Model Context Protocol

Drive QR Forge from your AI assistant

The QR Forge MCP server lets an AI assistant like Claude create and manage your QR codes for you, in plain conversation. Ask it to "make a QR code for my menu link" and it does the whole job: it creates the code, styles it, and shows you the image, without you ever opening a dashboard.

What is the MCP server?

MCP (the Model Context Protocol) is a standard way for AI assistants to use outside tools. When you connect the QR Forge MCP server to your assistant, it gains a set of QR Forge "tools" it can call on your behalf: create a link QR, upload a file, change a style, look up scan numbers, and more.

Everything runs against your own QR Forge account, so the codes it makes are real, trackable codes that show up in your dashboard right away. The server only acts when you ask, and only with the token you give it.

It is a thin connector over our public REST API. It stores nothing of its own. Every request carries your API token, which it passes straight through to the API and then forgets.

Step 1: Get an API token

The MCP server authenticates as you, using a QR Forge API token. Create one on the API Keys page (sign in first), give it a name you will recognise (for example "Claude on my laptop"), and copy the value. Treat it like a password. Anyone holding it can manage your QR codes.

You can revoke a token at any time from the same page. If you ever paste a token somewhere by mistake, revoke it and create a new one.

Step 2: Connect it

There are two ways to use the server. The hosted option needs no install and is the quickest way to start. The local option runs the server on your own machine, which is handy if you want it to read files straight off your disk.

Recommended

Option A: Use our hosted server (no install)

We run the server for you at https://mcp.qrforge.work/mcp/. You only need to point your assistant at it and pass your token. Because the hosted endpoint sits behind a proxy that drops the usual Authorization header, the token goes in a custom header named X-QRForge-Token.

Claude Code (command line)

claude mcp add --transport http qrforge https://mcp.qrforge.work/mcp/ \
  --header "X-QRForge-Token: your-token-here"

Claude Desktop (config file)

Open your claude_desktop_config.json and add a server entry. The same shape works for any MCP client that reads this file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "qrforge": {
      "transport": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.qrforge.work/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "X-QRForge-Token": "your-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option B: Run it locally

Prefer to run it yourself? The server is open source and published as a small Python package. Running it locally lets the assistant attach files straight from your computer (for file QR codes), and keeps everything on your machine. Here you pass the token through the QRFORGE_API_TOKEN environment variable.

Try it without installing

# with uv:
uvx qrforge-mcp

# or install it for good with pipx:
pipx install qrforge-mcp

Claude Code (command line)

claude mcp add qrforge \
  --env QRFORGE_API_TOKEN=your-token-here \
  -- qrforge-mcp

Claude Desktop (config file)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "qrforge": {
      "command": "qrforge-mcp",
      "env": {
        "QRFORGE_API_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

The source lives at github.com/jkolarov/qrforge-mcp.

Step 3: Just ask

Once it is connected, you talk to your assistant in normal language. It picks the right tool, fills in the details, and shows you the result (including the QR image itself, right in the chat). A few things you can say:

Make a QR code that points to https://example.com/menu and call it Cafe Menu.

Create a Wi-Fi QR for the network "Guest" with the password "welcome123".

Turn this PDF into a QR code and use rounded modules in dark orange.

How many scans did my menu QR get in the last 30 days?

Point my "Spring promo" QR at the new landing page instead.

What it can do

The server mirrors the full QR Forge API. Your assistant has a tool for each of these jobs, so anything you can do in the dashboard, you can ask for in chat.

Create QR codes

Links, files and documents, Wi-Fi networks, WhatsApp chats, phone numbers, and prefilled emails.

Style them

Module shape, fill colours and gradients, background colour, and a centre logo.

Manage your library

List, search, rename, update destinations, enable or disable, and delete codes.

Download images

Get any code as a high-resolution PNG or a scalable SVG, ready to print.

Track scans

See total scans and a daily series, plus the change history for each code.

Manage tokens

Check who you are signed in as, and list, create, or revoke your API tokens.

Good to know

Use the right header on the hosted server

On the hosted endpoint, the token must travel in X-QRForge-Token. A plain Authorization: Bearer header gets stripped by the proxy in front of the server, so it will not reach us. (For a local server, the QRFORGE_API_TOKEN environment variable is all you need.)

It acts as you

Every code the assistant creates belongs to your account and counts toward it. If you want to keep automated work separate, make a dedicated token (and revoke it when you are done).

Prefer raw HTTP?

The MCP server is a convenience layer. If you would rather call the API directly, the full reference is in the API docs.