Lo-Fi Python

Streamline Sharing Your Wi-Fi Network Details With Python

If you host a public space or office with shared Wi-Fi, a QR code skips the tedious process of exchanging your network's details. This is nice to have as an alternative to asking people to manually enter an auto-generated, cryptic, error-prone 16 character string password. Especially when you frequently have customers or new people asking for the information. You could post a sign with the network name and password like most coffee shops do, or you could try a QR code. Here's how to create a QR code for your Wi-Fi network.

To accomplish this task, I found the wifi-qr-code-generator library on pypi. It makes creating a Wi-Fi QR code very simple with help from the pillow and qrcode modules. It is a great example of a library that has a very specific purpose and does it well. The connection will only be automatic if your password is correct, so make sure you type it carefully.

The library has two ways to create a QR code:

1. Run a Python script with the network details.
2. Use wifi-qr-code-generator's CLI and respond to prompts for Wi-Fi details.

Install wifi-qrcode-generator

pip install wifi-qrcode-generator

Generating a QR Code Python Script

This code snippet prints the qr code to the terminal screen, then saves it as a png image.

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#!/usr/bin/env python3
import wifi_qrcode_generator.generator

qr_code = wifi_qrcode_generator.generator.wifi_qrcode(
    ssid="add_wi-fi_network_name",
    hidden=False,
    authentication_type="WPA",
    password="add_wi-fi_password",
)
qr_code.print_ascii()
qr_code.make_image().save("wifi-qr-code.png")

QR Code Example Image

Wi-Fi Auto-Connected Confirmation

Generating a QR Code With CLI Command

The 2nd way to use this module is via a built-in command line interface to make your QR code. It can be invoked with this command:

wifi-qrcode-generator

Small Projects for the Win

Some of my favorite coding happens when I start with a simple goal, research the libraries available, apply Python skills and get a tangible result in a short period of time. If you want to streamline sharing your Wi-Fi network, remember this practical Python library!