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.