simple-nfc-tag

A tag-agnostic NFC data storage library built on PC/SC, abstracting away reader, tag and protocol details.

This package is still experimental. Read and write are verified against real hardware (ACR122U, NTAG213, MIFARE Classic 1K), but the API and the data layout written to tags can still change between releases.

Install

uv add simple-nfc-tag

pip install simple-nfc-tag

Python 3.10+. Depends on pyscard. No driver swap: uses the PC/SC stack already present on Windows and macOS, and pcscd on Linux.

Usage

import simple_nfc_tag as snt

with snt.connect() as reader:
    tag = reader.wait_for_tag(timeout=5)
    print(tag.uid.hex(), tag.product, tag.user_size)

    tag.write(["ABC123", 42])   # values in
    print(tag.read())           # -> ["ABC123", 42]

Same code against a Classic 1K and an NTAG216. Sector trailers, page-granularity read-modify-write, Classic authentication and payload framing are handled internally.

Values are typed automatically: str, int, float, bool, bytes, anything else as JSON. read() with no format= detects what is on the tag.

Features

• Readers: generic PC/SC, ACR122U (buzzer, LED, PN532 passthrough), in-memory fake
• Tags: MIFARE Classic 1K/4K, Ultralight, NTAG213/215/216, identified automatically
• Formats: compact TLV of typed values, and raw bytes
• Auth: MIFARE Classic keys and trailers, NTAG21x PWD_AUTH and password setting
• Monitor: background thread with per-UID debounce, blocking in the PC/SC driver
• Write verification: on by default; a refused write reports SW=9000 on an NTAG
• Typed: py.typed, no bare except, every non-90 00 answer raises ApduError

vs nfcpy

	simple-nfc-tag	nfcpy
Transport	PC/SC	libusb or serial, direct to the chip
Readers	any PC/SC reader	a fixed device list: PN531/PN532/PN533, RC-S956, Port100
ACR122U	primary target, verified	supported, but "it is not recommended to buy this device for use with nfcpy"
Tags	MIFARE Classic 1K/4K, Ultralight, NTAG213/215/216	NFC Forum Type 1-4
API level	values (write([...]) / read())	NDEF records, protocol operations
Tag differences	hidden	exposed per tag type
Scope	storage on tags	+ peer-to-peer, card emulation, connection handover

Use nfcpy for NFC protocol work. Use this to store data.

Testing without hardware

from simple_nfc_tag.readers.fake import FakeReader, FakeNTAG213

reader = FakeReader(FakeNTAG213())
tag = reader.wait_for_tag()
tag.write(["ABC123", 42])
assert tag.read() == ["ABC123", 42]

The images reproduce the awkward parts: 4-page reads that wrap at end of memory, 63 00 past the last page, Classic sectors silent until authenticated, and a tag that stops answering after refusing a command.

Docs

• USAGE.md: monitors, Classic keys and trailers, NTAG passwords, raw bytes, custom codecs, errors
• examples/: roundtrip.py (manual hardware check), monitor.py, classic_keys.py

License

MIT