Every type below routes through the same short link and scan tracking — the only difference is what happens the instant someone scans it. Pick the type that matches what you actually want to happen, not just what fits the data.
On scan
Redirects straight to your destination page.
Good for
Anything you might need to change later — the destination is fully editable after the code is printed. This is the type that replaces $40/mo QR tools.
On scan
Opens a simple page showing whatever text you entered.
Good for
Instructions, a short message, an ingredient list, a wifi-free "about this item" note — anything that's just words, no links needed.
On scan
Opens the phone's dialer with your number already entered.
Good for
Support lines, booking desks, "call to reserve" signage — anywhere the next step should be a phone call, not a web form.
On scan
Opens a new text message to your number, with an optional message pre-filled.
Good for
Text-to-join lists, quick support, "text START to sign up" style campaigns.
On scan
Opens a new email addressed to you, with subject and body optionally pre-filled.
Good for
RSVPs, "email us for a quote," feedback forms that don't need a whole web page.
On scan
Opens a WhatsApp chat with your number, with an optional message pre-filled.
Good for
Anywhere your customers already message you on WhatsApp — order confirmations, support, sales inquiries.
On scan
Offers to save a contact card straight into the phone's address book.
Good for
Business cards, name badges, "add me to your contacts" at the bottom of an email signature print-out.
On scan
Opens the PDF you uploaded, hosted directly by QRfox — no separate file host needed.
Good for
Menus, spec sheets, event programs, manuals — anything already living as a PDF.
On scan
Detects whether the phone is iPhone or Android and sends it to the right store listing (with a fallback URL for everyone else).
Good for
One QR code on packaging or a poster that correctly routes both iPhone and Android users to "download the app," instead of printing two codes.
On scan
Opens a "link in bio" style page — your title, an optional avatar and bio, and a stack of link buttons — hosted directly on qrfox.co, not a third party's domain.
Good for
Business cards, event signage, packaging, or an Instagram bio link — anywhere you'd otherwise need a whole separate Linktree-style tool. Every link on the page is editable anytime, same as everything else in QRfox.
Every code — whatever type it is — has a Manage button in your dashboard's codes table. It controls when and how the code works, separately from what it does when it works. It's also where you'll find tags — a free-form, comma-separated way to label codes ("spring-promo, flyer") so a dropdown above your codes table can filter down to just that group once you've got more than a handful.
What it does
Instantly stops the code from redirecting — scanners see a "temporarily unavailable" page instead. Nothing is deleted, and unpausing brings it right back.
Good for
Taking a promo code offline between campaigns without reprinting it for next time.
What it does
Set an "active from" and/or "active until" date and time. Outside that window, scanners see a "not live yet" or "expired" page instead of the real destination.
Good for
Printing signage or packaging ahead of a launch date, or making sure an event code stops working the day after the event.
What it does
Caps the code at a set number of successful scans — the next scan after the limit shows an "expired" page.
Good for
Limited-quantity coupons, one-per-table event check-ins, or any "first N people" offer.
What it does
Requires a password before the code redirects. Once someone enters it correctly, that browser won't be asked again for that code.
Good for
Content you only want reachable by people you've actually handed the password to — private event details, an internal document, a members-only page.
What it does
Add rules to a Website URL code that send different visitors to different destinations, checked top to bottom — the first match wins, and anyone matching nothing gets the code's normal destination. Rules can match on device (mobile/tablet/desktop), OS, country, day of week, or time of day.
Good for
One QR code that sends mobile visitors to your app's install page and desktop visitors to your website, a code that only shows a special offer during business hours, or region-specific landing pages off a single printed code.
Worth knowing
Country matching only works once Cloudflare proxying is active on qrfox.io (see the note under Analytics below). Day/time rules are evaluated in UTC, not your local timezone.
What it does
Instead of redirecting immediately, shows a branded page first — a heading, optional body text and image, and a button that takes the visitor on to the real destination (or wherever smart routing sends them, if that's also set up).
Good for
A restaurant confirming "you're viewing tonight's menu" before the PDF opens, an open house giving a quick intro before the listing page, or any code where a bare redirect feels too abrupt.
Once you've got more than a handful of codes, tags (mentioned above), folders, archiving, and the card/list view toggle are all there to keep the codes table from turning into a wall of rows.
What it does
Group codes into folders — one level, no sub-folders. Use the Folders… button above your codes to create, rename, or delete one, and the dropdown next to it to move a code in or out (a code can be in one folder and still carry its own tags on top).
Good for
Separating codes by client, campaign, or location once tags alone stop being enough structure.
Worth knowing
Deleting a folder never deletes the codes in it — they just fall back to "Unfiled," same as any code that was never filed in the first place.
What it does
Hides a code from your default codes list without touching it in any other way — it still redirects, still tracks scans, and can still be edited. Switch to the Archived tab above the list to see (and unarchive) anything you've archived.
Good for
A campaign that's over but whose printed codes are still out in the world and need to keep working — tidier than leaving it in your active list, safer than deleting it.
Worth knowing
Archive is not Pause — an archived-but-unpaused code redirects completely normally when scanned. Use Pause (above) if you actually want scans to stop working.
What it does
Makes a full copy of a code — destination/content, design, tags, folder, and access controls (schedule/max scans/password) — under a brand-new short code. The copy starts unpaused and with zero scans of its own, whatever the original's state was.
Good for
Starting a near-identical code for a new location or variant without rebuilding it field by field.
What it does
The two icons above your codes list switch between the original table and a card grid with a bigger thumbnail per code. Your choice is remembered on this device.
Good for
Cards if you're scanning visually for a specific design; the table if you want to compare scan counts or destinations at a glance.
On Pro, the Team tab at the bottom of your dashboard lets you invite up to 3 teammates by email to work in your workspace — they create, edit, and manage codes alongside you, using your plan's limits rather than their own. Invite someone as an editor (full access) or a viewer (can see codes and analytics, can't change anything). Removing someone from your team doesn't delete anything they created — it stays in your workspace.
If you join someone's team but already have your own codes on your own account, a Viewing: Your codes / [owner]'s team switcher appears at the top of your dashboard — flip it to move between the two without leaving the team. Whichever one you're viewing determines which plan's limits apply and, if you're a viewer on the team side, whether you can edit anything.
On paid tiers, the Custom Domains tab at the bottom of your dashboard lets your short links use your own domain instead of qrfox.co — so a code prints as links.yourbrand.com/r/Ab12cd3. Always use a dedicated subdomain you're not already using for anything else (like links. or qr. on your domain) — never your main website's address or www. QRfox will actually refuse those, on purpose: pointing an in-use address at us could break your existing website or email, and no QR code is worth that.
Setup is two steps at your domain provider (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.), and the Team page shows you the exact records to add: first a TXT record that proves you own the domain (click Verify once it's added — DNS changes can take a few minutes to show up), then our team completes the hosting setup on our side and your domain goes live. From then on, new codes you create use your domain automatically — and codes created before the switch keep working on qrfox.co, nothing breaks.
On Pro, the API & Webhooks tab at the bottom of your dashboard is where you generate keys. Generate a key and call /api/v1/codes with Authorization: Bearer <key> to create, list, read, or delete codes and pull scan logs — up to 10 active keys, 120 requests/minute per key. A key is shown once at creation; if you lose it, revoke it and make a new one.
Add a webhook URL and QRfox POSTs a JSON payload there on every scan, signed with HMAC-SHA256 in the X-QRfox-Signature header so you can verify it's really from us.
Every code's Analytics button breaks scans down further than just a total count: a day-by-day chart for the last 30 days, a scans-by-hour view so you can see your actual peak times, and a breakdown by device, operating system, and browser. A Download CSV button on the same screen exports the raw scan log if you want to dig in yourself or hand it to someone else.
Country-level breakdowns show up automatically once Cloudflare proxying is enabled on qrfox.io's DNS — no action needed on your account either way, and nothing about scan tracking changes in the meantime.
Log in with a password, a one-time email link ("Email me a login link" on the login page), or Google — all three work for the same account if the emails match. Forgot your password? Use Forgot password? on the login page to get a reset link by email; it's valid for 30 minutes, and resetting signs you out of any other device you were logged into elsewhere.