Generate QR codes via the API

After creating a link, download its QR image with a clean, path-addressed GET:

https://goto.now/download-qr-code/{shortCode}/svg/600

Use svg for print or png for screens; the size segment is capped at 3000. The image request needs no API key. Because the QR code contains the short link, changing that link's destination updates every printed copy without regenerating the artwork.

Choose the format before layout begins

SVG is the dependable handoff for packaging, posters, menus, tickets, and other artwork that may be resized. It remains vector-sharp and lets a print designer place the code without guessing final pixels. PNG is convenient for email, a web page, a slide deck, or a generated receipt. If you request PNG, ask for approximately the rendered size or larger; enlarging a tiny raster later softens the square edges scanners rely on.

The size parameter controls width and height together and is capped at 3000. Six hundred pixels is a practical general-purpose default. Physical size still matters after download: a technically perfect image printed at a few millimeters may fail from normal phone distance.

Production checks for generated artwork

Keep a quiet zone—blank space—around all four sides. Use a dark foreground on a light background, avoid gradients through the data modules, and never crop the outer margin. A center logo can work because QR codes have error correction, but it should not cover a large portion of the pattern. Test the final exported PDF or manufactured proof, not only the source SVG on a bright monitor.

Scan with at least one iPhone and one Android device from the distance your audience will use. Confirm the scan opens the expected short code, then verify the destination in GoTo.now's link checker. For a batch such as event badges, sample the first physical sheet before printing the full run.

Cache by short code and style

The QR image is deterministic for a given short code and rendering choice, so a document pipeline can fetch it once and reuse it. Store the asset alongside the record that contains shortCode; there is no reason to request the same image for every invoice view. Updating the destination does not invalidate the cached art because the encoded short URL stays the same.

If the endpoint returns 404, first confirm that you passed only the code—not the full URL—and that it contains valid short-code characters. A failed network request should be retried with bounded backoff; do not substitute an untested QR library result halfway through a print batch.