How to use QR codes with IFTTT – IFTTT Help Center

QR codes are a quick and convenient way to trigger Applets using the Camera widget. Simply scan a code to trigger an Applet, whether it’s opening an app, logging your arrival somewhere, or starting a smart home routine.

Getting started with QR code Applets

To begin, you’ll first need to create an Applet that uses one of the QR code Triggers from the Camera Widget service. You can then pair it with any action or actions of your choice, such as sending a notification, updating a spreadsheet, or controlling smart home devices.

Once your Applet is set up, you can scan QR codes directly from the IFTTT app. Here’s how:

Open the IFTTT app
Tap your profile icon in the top right
Tap Widgets
Tap your QR code widget
Use your camera to scan the QR code

You can also add your camera widget Applet to your home screen for even faster access. For more details on how to manage widgets on your device, follow this link.

QR Triggers available on the Camera widget service

Triggers available on the Camera widget service

Any QR code scanned

This Trigger runs your Applet every time any QR code is scanned, regardless of its content.

Any URL QR code scanned

This Trigger only runs when the scanned QR code contains a URL (starts with http:// or https://). Use this if you only want to trigger your Applet from web-based QR codes and ignore other types of data.

Specific QR code scanned

If you want your Applet to run only when scanning a particular QR code, use this Trigger. In the "QR code" field, enter the exact content or destination of the code.

If you enter https://ifttt.com/ into the QR Code field, then if you scan a QR code that leads to that URL, the Applet will run. The applet will not run for QR codes that don't exactly match https://ifttt.com/ for example if the QR code lead to https://ifttt.com/explore. This is useful when you’re wanting your Applet to only run for specific QR codes.

QR code scanned – wildcard match

This option allows you to match patterns using simple wildcards. Use the asterisk (*) to represent any characters before or after your keyword.

Examples:

ifttt.com*: triggers if the QR code starts with ifttt.com
*menu*: triggers if the QR code contains the word menu anywhere

This is great for partial matches when you don’t need the full flexibility of regular expressions.

QR code scanned – regular expression match

Regular expressions (regex) let you define powerful, flexible patterns to match specific QR code formats.