Spotify QR code for a playlist, album or podcast

How to make a Spotify QR code

1. In Spotify, open the playlist, album, track, artist or podcast, choose Share (the three dots on mobile, right-click on desktop) and then Copy link. The link begins with open.spotify.com.
2. Remove the ?si= part at the end if there is one. It is a sharing identifier, not part of the destination, and dropping it makes the code smaller.
3. Paste the address into Spotify link and press Test link. It should open the item in the Spotify app or the web player.
4. Optionally pick a Style preset, set your Foreground colour or add your own artwork with Upload logo; Spotify's logo is not included.
5. Wait for Verified: scans as URL, then Download PDF at the printed size for posters and cards or Download PNG for screens.

Spotify QR code details

The code contains one Spotify link, for example https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXcBWIGoYBM5M. A phone camera reads it, shows the link and opens it; on a phone with Spotify installed, the app takes over and shows the playlist ready to play, otherwise the web player appears. The code is a plain link, so it needs no account and nothing about the scan comes back to anyone.

Getting the link

Every item in Spotify has a Share option (the three dots on mobile, right-click on desktop) with Copy link. The address you get looks like open.spotify.com, a type such as playlist or album, and a 22-character ID, followed by ?si= and a sharing identifier. Delete the ?si= part before pasting. Without it the link is about 57 characters and fits a 33 × 33 module code at error correction M; with it, the link grows to around 80 characters and needs 37 × 37 modules or more.

Playlist, album, track, artist or podcast

A playlist is the most flexible destination: you can add and remove tracks after printing and the code stays valid, as long as the playlist is public. An album or track is fixed content and suits liner notes or a launch poster. An artist page suits merchandise and gig posters. For podcasts, link the show for an ongoing series or one episode for a specific promotion.

Common mistakes

• A private playlist. Set it to public, or people who scan will see nothing.
• Copying the embed code from the desktop app. Copy the link, not the embed code.
• Green-on-black styling. Inverted codes fail on many phones; keep dark modules on a light background.

Check the downloaded file with the QR code reader to make sure the decoded link is the clean one without the sharing identifier.

This code never expires

The code stores the open.spotify.com address as text, so it keeps working for as long as the playlist, album or podcast stays on Spotify. This is a static QR code: the data is written into the pattern, so scanning it needs no server, no account and no subscription. There is nothing to renew and no redirect that can be switched off, which is why a code made here keeps working for as long as the printed copy exists. The trade-off is honest: a static code cannot be edited after printing and does not count scans. If you need either, encode a link to a page you control. Read how static and dynamic codes differ, and if a code you already have has stopped working, see why QR codes expire.

Styling, formats and print size

Every code can be styled in the Style panel: six dot shapes, corner shapes, solid or gradient colours, a transparent background, a quiet zone of 0–8 modules, and your own logo up to 30 percent of the width. A contrast checker warns below 3:1 and blocks downloads below 1.5:1, and after each change the preview is decoded again so the badge tells you whether the styled code still scans.

Print size: as a rule of thumb the code should be at least one tenth of the scanning distance wide, with the quiet zone included.

A table card or programme is scanned from 30 cm, so 3 cm is enough; a poster read from 2 m needs 20 cm. Remove the ?si= parameter to keep the code compact.

The QR code size guide has a calculator for module size, DPI and distance.

Frequently asked questions