qed

Quod Erat Demonstrandum. Q.E.D.

Encode any data into a tar stream of QR code images.

Seriously? Yes, we are. '-']b

As you know, this is deadly inefficient in terms of storage and encoding/decoding time. Due to this inefficiency, it would not be great for simple backup purpose. However, we believe it may have useful uses.

Quick Start

# encode stream (stdin) -> tar-stream (stdout)
$ cat FILE | qed

# decode tar-stream (stdin) -> stream of the original contents (stdout)
$ cat FILE | qed | qed -d

# encode FILE_OR_DIR via argument -> tar-stream (stdout)
$ qed FILE_OR_DIR

# encode FILE_OR_DIR via argument -> filepath of TAR_FILE (stdout)
$ qed FILE_OR_DIR > TAR_FILE

# the same as above
$ qed -o TAR_FILE FILE_OR_DIR

# create a video as a QR code slideshow
$ qed -p FILE_OR_DIR

# create a HTML of QR code images
$ qed -q FILE_OR_DIR

# decode TAR_FILE via argument -> the original data's stream (stdout)
$ qed -d TAR_FILE

# can also decode a single IMAGE (*.png, *.jpg, ...) -> the original data's stream (stdout)
$ qed -d IMAGE

# can also decode a single VIDEO (*.mp4, *.mov, ...) -> the original data's stream (stdout)
$ qed -d VIDEO

# can also decode DIRECTORY conataining IMAGE(s) -> the original data's stream (stdout)
# data are automatically selected if various kinds of data are mixed.
$ qed -d DIRECTORY

# decode TAR_FILE via argument -> filepath of a single concatanated file (stdout)
$ qed -d TAR_FILE > FILE

# decode TAR_FILE via argument -> filepath of NEW_DIR of the original contents (stdout)
$ qed -d -o NEW_DIR TAR_FILE

# -v increases verbosity. it shows the details how the work is progressing.
$ qed -v FILE_OR_DIR | qed -dv

For more detailed options, refer to the Usage and More Examples section below.

Features

In short, once encoded any data by qed, it can be restored by qed at any moment.

• Decodes deterministically even in ambiguous or conflicting cases, no matter of

  • data duplication
  • filename corruption
  • file unsorting
  • filepath relocation.

• Fully support for setting version and error correction level of the QR code.

• Uses stdout by default as encoder/decoder output.

  If not provided -o filepath option, output to stdout is the default.

• Creates some bytes of header when encoding, and provides some information when decoding.

qed is heavily inspired by https://github.com/alisinabh/paperify. We have improved usability and added some features.

Install

# prerequisites
# ffmpeg is optional as only used with '-p' option.
$ brew install zbar qrencode imagemagick ffmpeg

# clone
$ git clone https://github.com/thyeem/qed.git
$ cd qed

# put the 'qed' file in $PATH direcoty like $HOME/.local/bin/ if needed
$ chmod +x qed && cp $_ $HOME/.local/bin

# check it out if you want to know it works well. This may take a while.
$ sh test.sh

Usage

$ qed -h
 qed - encode data into a tar stream of QR Code images

 Usage: qed [-hdpqzv] [-o output] [-V version] [-l error-correction-level] [-r framerate]
            [-s cell-size] [-m margin] [-1 qr-fg-color] [-0 qr-bg-color] filepath

      -h    print this message
      -d    decode input
      -p    create QR Code slideshow (mp4) after encoding is finished
      -q    create QR Code quick-view (HTML document) after encoding is finished
      -v    show in detail how the work is progressing
      -r    set QR code slideshow framerate  (default: 1)
      -o    set output filepath              (default: '-' for stdout)
      -s    set cell size of QR Code         (default: 13)
      -m    set margin of QR Code            (recommended 4+,   default: 24)
      -V    set version of QR Code           (1 to 40,          default: 40)
      -l    set error correction level       (one of [L,M,Q,H], default: L)
      -1    set foreground color of QR Code  (6-hexadecimal,    default: 000000)
      -0    set background color of QR Code  (6-hexadecimal,    default: ffffff)

More Examples

# get the encoding result of QR images in the current dir
$ qed FILE_OR_DIR | tar xv

# get the encoding result of QR images in the specified DIR
$ qed FILE_OR_DIR | tar xv -C DIR

# compress the QR code tarball after encoding
$ cat FILE | qed | gzip -c > tmp.tar.gz

# uncompress the tar.gz archive then decode. go back to FILE again
$ gunzip -c tmp.tar.gz | qed -d

# create and play a mp4 video (QR code slideshow) when encoding is finished
$ qed -p FILE | xargs open

# create and open QR code images on browser when encoding is finished
$ qed -q FILE | xargs open

# stream -> tar stream -> stream
$ curl -sL https://google.com | qed | qed -d

# stream -> QR-image mp4 file -> stream
$ curl -sL https://google.com | qed -p | xargs qed -d

# FILE_OR_DIR -> tar stream -> NEW_DIR of the original contents
$ qed FILE_OR_DIR | qed -d -o NEW_DIR

# with other encoder
$ echo "QED: QR.Encoder.Decoder" | base64 | qed | qed -d | base64 -d

# backing up directory with qed: does the same thing as tar
# $ tar -cvf - FROM_DIR | tar -xv -C TO_DIR
$ qed -v FROM_DIR | qed -dv -o TO_DIR