First Scan

This page walks you through your first card scan from a fresh install. The whole process takes under a minute once the app is running.

macOS users

Before anything will type, macOS requires the Accessibility permission. If you have not granted it yet, see the Installation guide — nothing in this guide will work without it.

Step 1 — Select your reader

Open the app. The Scanner view is shown by default. In the Active reader dropdown, your connected PC/SC reader should appear by name.

• If the list is empty or your reader is missing, plug in the reader and click Refresh. The app rescans all connected PC/SC readers immediately and updates the dropdown.
• Select your reader from the dropdown. The status bar at the bottom of the window will show the reader as connected once it is recognized.

Step 2 — Arm typing

Typing is off by default. This is intentional: it prevents the app from unexpectedly typing into whatever field happens to be focused when the app starts.

Click the large toggle button — it reads Typing off when disarmed. After you click it, the button turns teal and reads Typing active. The status bar also updates to confirm that typing is armed.

Only arm typing when you are ready to scan into a specific field.

Step 3 — Scan a card

1. Click into the input field where you want the UID to appear.
2. Place a 13.56 MHz contactless card flat on the reader.
3. The app reads the card UID and types it immediately. By default the output is uppercase hex with no separator, followed by Enter (for example: 04A1B2C3).

The card is read the moment it is detected — you do not need to press anything.

Step 4 — Check the scan log

Click Log in the left sidebar. Every scan is listed here with:

• the time it was scanned
• the reader that detected it
• the formatted UID
• the length in bytes
• whether it was typed (Yes or No)
• the status (OK, Read error, Typing off, No accessibility, or Type error)

You can export the full log to a CSV file with the Export CSV button at the top of the log view.

Adjusting the output format

If you need the UID in a different format — lowercase, colon-separated bytes, reversed byte order, or with a custom prefix — open the Options view from the left sidebar. All format settings include a live preview so you can see exactly what will be typed before scanning. You can also change the trailing key (Enter, Tab, or none) here.

Disarming typing

Click the Typing active toggle again to disarm. The button returns to its grey Typing off state and scanning no longer triggers any keyboard output, even if a card is placed on the reader.