# How to Scan a QR Code on Your Mac Screen

> Scan a QR code on your Mac screen without a phone: with Snapix, press ⇧⌘2 and drag over the code. The link is copied, and clicking the banner opens it.

Published: 2026-10-22
Author: Elisei Nicolae
Source: https://snapix.app/tutorials/scan-qr-code-mac-screen/

---

To scan a QR code on your Mac screen, press <kbd>⇧⌘2</kbd> with [Snapix](/) running and drag a box around the code. Snapix copies the link and shows a **QR code copied** banner, and clicking the banner opens the link in your browser. This is for a code that's already on your screen, in a web page, a PDF, an email or a paused video, not one you hold up to a camera.

## How to scan a QR code on your Mac screen with Snapix

1. **Press ⇧⌘2.** Or choose **Extract Text** from the Snapix menu in the menu bar. The pointer turns into a crosshair, and nothing is captured while you aim.
2. **Drag a box around the QR code.** Take in the whole code. If you only want the link, keep the box to the code, because any words inside the box are copied too. Press <kbd>Esc</kbd> to cancel.
3. **Let go.** Snapix reads the code on your Mac. A banner at the top center of the screen says **QR code copied**, with the link underneath, and the link is now on your clipboard.
4. **Click the banner to open the link.** It opens in your default browser. Or paste the link anywhere with <kbd>⌘V</kbd>. The banner stays for a few seconds, and longer while the pointer is on it.

<figure>
  <picture>
    <source
      media="(max-width: 600px)"
      srcset="/images/tutorials/scan-qr-code-mac-screen-ways-narrow.webp"
      width="716"
      height="1480"
    />
    <img
      src="/images/tutorials/scan-qr-code-mac-screen-ways.webp"
      width="1288"
      height="936"
      loading="lazy"
      decoding="async"
      alt="Two ways to scan a QR code on a Mac screen with Snapix. One way: a ⇧⌘2 selection dragged around a QR code on a slide. The other: a hovered screenshot preview with Copy, Save and a QR code pill under the pointer. Both lead to one banner: QR code copied, https://snapix.app"
    />
  </picture>
  <figcaption>Drag over the code with ⇧⌘2, or click the QR code pill on a screenshot's preview. Either way the link is copied, and the banner opens it.</figcaption>
</figure>

## Scan a QR code from a screenshot you just took

Snapix checks every screenshot for QR codes, so you don't have to plan ahead. Take a screenshot as usual, for example with <kbd>⇧⌘4</kbd> to [screenshot part of the screen](/tutorials/screenshot-part-of-screen-mac/), and hover the preview that appears in the corner. If the picture holds a code, a white **QR code** pill shows up on the preview's bottom edge a second or two after the capture.

- **Click QR code** to copy the link. The same **QR code copied** banner appears at the top of the screen, and the preview closes.
- **Click the banner** to open the link in your browser.
- **Several codes?** The pill reads **2 QR codes** (or however many there are) and copies them all, one per line. The banner reads **2 QR codes copied**, with the first link and how many more there are.

Snapix [copies every screenshot to the clipboard](/tutorials/copy-screenshot-to-clipboard-mac/) by default, so clicking the pill swaps the picture on your clipboard for the link. The screenshot itself stays in [Recent Captures](/tutorials/screenshot-history-mac/) (<kbd>⇧⌘S</kbd>), which keeps your latest 50 by default.

**Tip:** If a code in a photo, such as a picture of a poster, doesn't get a pill, drag over it with <kbd>⇧⌘2</kbd> instead. The preview's quick check is tuned for codes drawn on screen. Extract Text adds a second detector that can catch codes it misses, such as ones in photos.

## Get the link from an older screenshot or an image

For a screenshot you took earlier, or an image file, use the editor:

1. **Open the picture in Snapix.** In **Recent Captures** (<kbd>⇧⌘S</kbd>), double-click the screenshot. For a PNG, JPEG, HEIC or TIFF file, Control-click it in Finder and choose **Open With ▸ Snapix**. For a code in a PDF, open the PDF and use <kbd>⇧⌘2</kbd> instead.
2. **Click Extract Text** in the bar at the bottom of the editor (its tooltip says **Show selectable text**).
3. **Click the chip on the code.** Each QR code gets a chip that shows its link. Clicking it copies the full link but doesn't open it.

Paste the link before you leave the editor, or close the editor with <kbd>⌘W</kbd>. Leaving with <kbd>Esc</kbd> or **Done** copies the picture, which replaces the link on your clipboard.

The **Copy Text** button (two pages) appears in the same bar while the text is shown. It copies everything at once: the words in the picture, then a `QR code:` line for each code. If the picture holds only a code, you get just the link. There's more on reading the words in a picture in [how to extract text from a screenshot on Mac](/blog/how-to-extract-text-from-screenshot-mac/).

## What Snapix copies from a QR code

- **Links** are copied exactly as the code holds them. Only web links (http and https) open when you click the banner.
- **Wi-Fi details, contact cards and plain text** are copied as they are. Snapix doesn't join the network or add the contact.
- **A code with words around it:** if your <kbd>⇧⌘2</kbd> box also takes in text, the banner says **Text and QR code copied**. Your clipboard then holds the text, a blank line, and a `QR code:` line for each code. Clicking that banner opens the editor instead of the link.
- **QR codes only.** Snapix doesn't read barcodes such as EAN, UPC or Code 128.

The scan happens on your Mac, so it works offline too.

**Note:** By default, <kbd>⇧⌘2</kbd> can't read a code shown on Snapix's own previews or pins: it reads what's behind them. Open the capture in the editor and use **Extract Text** there.

## Is there a way to scan a QR code on screen without an app?

macOS has no simple built-in way to scan a QR code that's on your screen. Live Text in Preview can open a website address that's written out in an image, so if the link is printed under the code, that works. Otherwise, your iPhone or iPad can scan it:

1. Open the **Camera** app, or tap **Scan Code** in Control Center (add it there first if it's missing).
2. Point it at the QR code on your Mac's screen.
3. Tap the link that appears.

The link then opens on your phone, not on your Mac. To keep it all on the Mac, [try Snapix free](#get-snapix). QR scanning is part of the 14-day free trial and of Snapix Pro, and Snapix runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can my Mac read QR codes on the screen?

Yes, with an app. macOS doesn't come with a QR code scanner app, but with Snapix you press **⇧⌘2** and drag over the code. The link is copied, and clicking the **QR code copied** banner opens it in your browser. You don't need your phone.

### Does macOS have a QR code scanner?

Not as an app. Live Text in Preview can open a web address that's written out in an image, and your iPhone or iPad can scan the code with the Camera app or **Scan Code** in Control Center. To read it on the Mac itself, use an app such as Snapix.

### How do I scan a QR code from a screenshot on Mac?

In Snapix, hover the screenshot's preview and click the **QR code** pill to copy the link, then click the banner to open it. For an older screenshot, open it in the editor and click **Extract Text**. Each code gets a chip, and clicking the chip copies its link.

### Can Snapix scan a QR code with my Mac's camera?

No. Snapix reads QR codes that are already on your screen, in a page, a picture or a paused video. It doesn't use the camera, and it reads QR codes only, not product barcodes.