# Build brief — a focused alternative to QR Tiger

> **Verdict:** Yes, for personal use · **Buildability:** 90/100 · **Category:** QR Codes
> **Source:** https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/qr
> Independent editorial assessment from Can It Be Vibe Coded? Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or derived from QR Tiger. Verify current pricing and capabilities before acting.

## Context

**QR Tiger** — A library call with a UI. It currently costs $15/mo.

A library call with a UI. Peak "why is this a subscription."

This brief describes a focused, single-operator replacement for the part of QR Tiger that is genuinely reproducible. It is deliberately narrower than the product it replaces, and it says so in writing. Build the useful core; do not pretend to have rebuilt the rest.

## What you are building

A focused, single-user version of QR Tiger's main workflow.

- Build a focused single-user workflow with real persistence, search, and export.
- A responsive interface with real empty, loading, success, and error states.

## Requirements

### Non-functional

- Accessibility: semantic markup, labelled controls, visible focus, and reduced-motion support.
- Security: server-side secrets, validated input, and no credentials in the client bundle.
- Reliability: retries with backoff on external calls, and a clear failure state when a provider is down.
- Portability: the operator can export their data and leave without losing it.

## Implementation brief

Build me a QR code generator like QR Tiger, self-hosted. Requirements:

- A single page: enter a URL or text, live-preview the QR code, customize
  foreground/background color, corner style, and an optional center logo upload.
  Use the qr-code-styling library. Export as PNG or SVG.
- Dynamic QR codes: /r/:slug 302-redirects to a target URL stored in SQLite,
  so the destination can be edited later without reprinting the code. CRUD for
  these behind basic-auth (/admin, credentials from .env).
- Scan tracking for dynamic codes: log timestamp + user-agent + referer per hit,
  show per-code totals and a 30-day count in the admin list.
- Clean minimal UI, mobile-friendly, no accounts, no third-party calls.
- Node, one process, SQLite file storage, deploy notes for a VPS.

## Delivery standard

- Inspect the repository first, then write a short implementation plan before writing code.
- Deliver the smallest complete end-to-end workflow first; every primary control must work against persisted data.
- Use real validation and storage; never substitute fake dashboards, decorative controls, hard-coded success states, or mock integrations.
- Include responsive layouts plus genuine empty, loading, success, validation, and failure states.
- Keep secrets server-side in environment variables, provide .env.example, and never commit credentials or user data.
- Add structured logs around every external call and return actionable errors without leaking sensitive details.
- Write unit tests for the core logic and one automated test of the main user journey.
- Finish with a README covering setup, architecture, data location, backups, tests, deployment, and known limitations.

## Acceptance criteria

- [ ] A clean install starts the app using only the README and .env.example.
- [ ] The primary journey works from first visit through saved result, reload, edit, export, and deletion where applicable.
- [ ] Invalid input, missing configuration, provider failure, and an empty database each have a usable state.
- [ ] The interface works at 390px and 1440px, is keyboard navigable, and shows visible focus on every control.
- [ ] Tests, type checking, linting, and a production build all pass with no ignored failures.
- [ ] No part of the interface implies a live integration, security guarantee, or scale capability that was not actually built and verified.

## Non-goals

Do not build these, and do not claim to have replaced them:

- Hosted dynamic-QR redirects on their domain.
- Their scan-analytics dashboard.
- Bulk generation UI.
- The last 20 percent is sync, migration fidelity, speed, and edge cases.

## What you still own after launch

- Run migrations, backups, restores, and dependency updates.
- Test the critical journey after every model, API, or hosting change.
- Monitor failures and fix the edge cases a first prompt will miss.

## Risk

**Manageable.** A personal version is realistic if you test the critical journey and keep reliable backups.

Editorial confidence in this assessment: high. No independent one-shot implementation is linked yet.

## Prior art

Working open-source software you can read, fork, or borrow from before starting:

- [qr-code-styling](https://github.com/kozakdenys/qr-code-styling) — the styling library that does the heavy lifting

---

Generated by [Can It Be Vibe Coded?](https://www.canitbevibecoded.com) · Full report: https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/qr