NFC Keyboard Emulator

Cross-platform desktop tool that turns a contactless NFC card reader (PC/SC, e.g. ACR122U) into a keyboard: read a card's UID and type it into the focused field. Runs locally — no cloud, no telemetry.

What it is

NFC Keyboard Emulator turns a PC/SC NFC reader into a software keyboard wedge: place a card on the reader and the app reads its UID and types it straight into whatever input field is focused — for readers that don’t emulate a keyboard themselves. Everything runs locally: no cloud account, no telemetry.

Why

Many NFC readers (e.g. the ACS ACR122U) expose cards over the PC/SC smartcard API rather than acting as a USB keyboard. That makes them unusable in plain web forms or apps that simply expect typed input. This tool fills that gap: pick your reader, and every scanned card UID is entered for you.

Highlights

Works with any PC/SC reader — ACR122U and other CCID / 13.56 MHz readers on macOS and Windows
Types the UID into the focused field — with a configurable trailing key (Enter, Tab, or none)
Pick your scanner — live device list with hot-plug detection
Safety toggle — arm or disarm typing with one click
Live scan log with CSV export
Configurable output — case, separator, byte order, prefix, with a live preview
System notifications on every scan
Tray & autostart, DE/EN switch, update notice
Local only — the card UID never leaves your machine

Tech stack

Tauri 2 — Rust backend, lean WebView frontend
Rust with pcsc (reader) and enigo (keyboard emulation)
Vue 3 & TypeScript & vue-i18n
macOS builds signed + notarized

Download

Prebuilt installers are available straight from the latest release — macOS (signed, notarized DMG) or Windows (.exe / .msi).

On macOS, grant Accessibility access once so the app can type into other programs.

For developers

git clone https://github.com/NoiXdev/nfc-keyboard-emulator.git
cd nfc-keyboard-emulator
npm install
npm run tauri dev

Build distributable bundles for macOS and Windows with npm run tauri build.

Status

NFC Keyboard Emulator is released as v1.0.0 and under continued maintenance. Issues and PRs are welcome — github.com/NoiXdev/nfc-keyboard-emulator.