Windows 11 can now scan QR codes from your screen using the Snipping Tool. Here's how, plus a faster way that also handles barcodes.
Use the Windows Snipping Tool (built in)
- Open the Snipping Tool and capture the area with the QR code
- Open the snip from the notification that pops up
- Click Text Actions (Extract Text)
- Click the link the Snipping Tool finds in the code to open it
Added in 2024, this works well for QR codes. It does not read 1D barcodes (UPC, EAN, Code 128), and it takes a few clicks each time: capture, open the notification, run Text Actions, then click the link.
Want it in one step? UnicornOCR skips the notification and the extra clicks. Drag a box around any code on your screen and the link or text is already on your clipboard. It also reads 1D barcodes, which the Snipping Tool can't.
Other options
Point your phone at the screen. Aim your phone's camera at the code and tap the link that appears. Works for most QR codes, but the result lands on your phone, not your computer, and it won't read 1D barcodes.
Upload a screenshot to a decoder site. Take a screenshot (see our screenshot guide), upload it to an online QR or barcode decoder, and copy the result. More steps, and you're sending your image to a third-party server.
What Windows can and can't do
The Snipping Tool now detects QR codes in a snip and surfaces the link or text, all processed locally on your device. The catch is that it only handles QR codes, not 1D barcodes, and you go through the capture, notification, and Text Actions steps every time.
The Camera app can scan a QR code through your webcam, but only if you hold a physical code up to it. It can't read anything on your screen. Some browsers (like Google Lens in Chrome) can identify QR codes in web images, but only within the browser and typically only QR codes.
If you scan codes often
UnicornOCR is a Windows tray app built for speed. Press a hotkey or click the tray icon, drag over any code on your screen, and the result is on your clipboard. No notification, no Text Actions, no extra clicks. And unlike the Snipping Tool, it reads 1D barcodes too.
Supported formats (15+)
- QR Code
- PDF417
- Aztec
- Data Matrix
- UPC-A / UPC-E
- EAN-13 / EAN-8
- Code 39 / 93 / 128
- Codabar
- ITF (Interleaved 2 of 5)
- DataBar (RSS-14)
- DataBar Expanded
Shipping labels, product barcodes, inventory codes, ID badges, not just QR codes.
Available on the Microsoft Store. Runs offline, nothing leaves your machine.