nfcfyi 0.1.1

NFC chip encyclopedia API client — look up NFC Forum types, NDEF records, operating modes, ISO 14443, and FeliCa specifications from NFCFYI.

nfcfyi

NFC chip encyclopedia API client for Python. Look up NFC chips from NTAG, MIFARE, ST25, FeliCa, and ICODE families, NFC Forum Tag Types 1-5, NDEF record types, operating modes, ISO 14443/15693 standards, and contactless use cases from NFCFYI -- the comprehensive NFC reference with 288 records covering every major chip family in commercial and industrial use.

Extracted from NFCFYI, an NFC technology platform with 288 records spanning chip specifications, manufacturer product lines, security protocols, frequency bands, and deployment guides used by embedded systems engineers, IoT architects, and mobile payment developers worldwide.

Explore NFC at nfcfyi.com -- Chip Explorer | Standards Reference | NDEF Types | Use Cases

Table of Contents

• Install
• Quick Start
• What You'll Find on NFCFYI
  • NFC Forum Tag Types (1-5)
  • NDEF Record Types
  • Operating Modes
  • Chip Families
  • NFC vs RFID vs BLE
  • Security and Authentication
  • Key NFC Standards
• API Endpoints
• Command-Line Interface
• MCP Server (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf)
• REST API Client
• Learn More About NFC
• Also Available
• Tag FYI Family
• FYIPedia Developer Tools
• License

Install

pip install nfcfyi[api]     # API client (httpx)
pip install nfcfyi[cli]     # + CLI (typer, rich)
pip install nfcfyi[mcp]     # + MCP server
pip install nfcfyi[all]     # Everything

Quick Start

from nfcfyi.api import NFCFYI

with NFCFYI() as api:
    # Search chips, standards, NDEF types, glossary
    results = api.search("ntag")
    print(results)

    # Look up a specific NFC chip
    ntag215 = api.chip("ntag215")
    print(ntag215["name"], ntag215["memory_size"])  # NTAG215 504 bytes

    # Compare two NFC chips side-by-side
    diff = api.compare("ntag213", "ntag215")
    print(diff)

    # Discover a random chip
    surprise = api.random()
    print(surprise["name"])

What You'll Find on NFCFYI

NFCFYI is a comprehensive NFC chip encyclopedia covering chips, standards, NDEF record types, operating modes, and real-world use cases. Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless technology operating at 13.56 MHz that enables contactless data exchange between devices within approximately 4 cm -- the foundation of mobile payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay), transit cards (Suica, Oyster), access control, smart posters, product authentication, and IoT device pairing worldwide.

NFC Forum Tag Types (1-5)

The NFC Forum defines five standardized tag types with different memory, speed, and compatibility trade-offs. Each type maps to an underlying ISO standard and radio modulation scheme:

Tag Type	Based On	Memory	Speed	Read/Write	Example Chips
Type 1	ISO 14443A (Topaz)	96 B - 2 KB	106 kbps	R/W or read-only	Broadcom Topaz 512
Type 2	ISO 14443A	48 B - 2 KB	106 kbps	R/W or read-only	NTAG213, NTAG215, NTAG216
Type 3	FeliCa (JIS X 6319-4)	Up to 1 MB	212/424 kbps	R/W or read-only	Sony FeliCa Lite-S, RC-S967
Type 4	ISO 14443A/B	Up to 32 KB	106-424 kbps	R/W or read-only	MIFARE DESFire EV3, ST25TA
Type 5	ISO 15693 (VICC)	Up to 64 KB	26.48 kbps	R/W or read-only	ICODE SLIX2, ST25TV

Type 2 dominance: NTAG 21x chips (Type 2) dominate consumer NFC applications due to low cost ($0.05-0.15 per tag), reliable 106 kbps communication, and broad smartphone compatibility. NTAG213 (144 bytes) suits URLs and small records, NTAG215 (504 bytes) is used for Nintendo Amiibo figures, and NTAG216 (888 bytes) handles vCards and multi-record NDEF messages.

Type 4 for security: MIFARE DESFire EV3 (Type 4) provides AES-128 encryption, mutual authentication, and up to 8 independent applications on a single card -- the standard for corporate access control, transit systems, and government identity programs requiring tamper-resistant credential storage.

Learn more: Chip Explorer | Glossary

NDEF Record Types

NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) is the standard message format for NFC tags. Each NDEF message contains one or more records, identified by a Type Name Format (TNF) field and a record type:

Record Type	TNF	Type String	Description
Text	0x01 (Well Known)	T	Plain text with language code (e.g. "en", "ja")
URI	0x01 (Well Known)	U	URLs with prefix abbreviation (0x01=http://www., 0x02=https://www.)
Smart Poster	0x01 (Well Known)	Sp	URI + title + action + icon for interactive posters
Handover Select	0x01 (Well Known)	Hs	Bluetooth/Wi-Fi handover negotiation
MIME	0x02 (Media-type)	varies	vCard (text/vcard), Wi-Fi config, Bluetooth OOB
External	0x04 (External)	varies	Custom application-specific records
Android App Record	0x04 (External)	android.com:pkg	Launches specific Android app on tap

URI prefix abbreviation: The NDEF URI record type compresses common URL prefixes into a single byte -- 0x01 for http://www., 0x02 for https://www., 0x03 for http://, 0x04 for https://, and 30+ other prefixes including tel:, mailto:, and ftp://. This saves 7-15 bytes per record, critical for memory-constrained Type 2 tags.

Learn more: NDEF Types | Use Cases

Operating Modes

NFC devices operate in three primary modes, each serving different interaction patterns:

Mode	Device Role	Initiator	Use Cases
Read/Write	Active reader + passive tag	Reader	Smart posters, product authentication, inventory
Card Emulation	Device emulates passive card	External reader	Apple Pay, Google Pay, transit cards, access control
Peer-to-Peer	Two active devices	Either	Android Beam (deprecated), device pairing, data sharing

Host Card Emulation (HCE): Android 4.4+ introduced HCE, allowing apps to emulate NFC cards without a hardware Secure Element. HCE routes APDU commands from the NFC controller directly to an Android service, enabling cloud-based payment tokens and custom card emulation applications. Apple restricts card emulation to Apple Pay via the Secure Enclave.

Chip Families

Major NFC chip product lines from leading manufacturers:

Family	Manufacturer	Tag Type	Memory Range	Key Feature
NTAG 21x	NXP	Type 2	144-888 bytes	Most popular, Amiibo (NTAG215), low-cost
NTAG I2C	NXP	Type 2	1-2 KB	I2C interface for MCU bridging
MIFARE Ultralight	NXP	Type 2	64-192 bytes	Transit ticketing, single-ride tokens
MIFARE DESFire	NXP	Type 4	2-8 KB	AES-128 crypto, multi-application
MIFARE Classic	NXP	Proprietary	1-4 KB	Legacy access control, Crypto-1 (broken)
ST25TA	STMicroelectronics	Type 4	256 B - 64 KB	Augmented NDEF, tamper detection
ST25TV	STMicroelectronics	Type 5	256 B - 64 KB	VICC, long-range, anti-counterfeiting
FeliCa	Sony	Type 3	Up to 1 MB	Suica, PASMO, high-speed 424 kbps transit
ICODE	NXP	Type 5	128 B - 8 KB	Library books, logistics, longer range

MIFARE Classic vulnerability: MIFARE Classic's proprietary Crypto-1 cipher was reverse-engineered in 2008. The key recovery attack (MFOC/MFCUK) can extract all sector keys in seconds. New deployments should use MIFARE DESFire EV3 or NTAG 424 DNA with AES-128 authentication.

Learn more: Chip Explorer | Standards Reference

NFC vs RFID vs BLE

Feature	NFC (13.56 MHz)	HF RFID (13.56 MHz)	UHF RFID (860-960 MHz)	BLE
Range	~4 cm	~1 m	1-12 m	10-100 m
Frequency	13.56 MHz	13.56 MHz	860-960 MHz	2.4 GHz
Power Source	Reader field	Reader field	Reader field	Battery
Data Rate	106-424 kbps	26-424 kbps	40-640 kbps	1-2 Mbps
Standards	ISO 14443, 18092	ISO 14443, 15693	ISO 18000-63, EPC Gen2	Bluetooth 4.0-5.4
Bidirectional	Yes (peer-to-peer)	Limited	No (backscatter only)	Yes
Phone Support	Native (iOS/Android)	Requires external reader	Requires external reader	Native

Security and Authentication

Modern NFC chips implement multiple security layers for product authentication, access control, and payment applications:

Feature	NTAG 213/215/216	NTAG 424 DNA	MIFARE DESFire EV3
Password Protection	32-bit password	AES-128	AES-128/192/256
Dynamic URL (SUN)	No	Yes (per-tap counter)	No
Mutual Authentication	No	Yes (LRP protocol)	Yes (EV2/EV3 auth)
Message Authentication	No	CMAC (AES)	CMAC (AES)
Originality Signature	ECDSA	ECDSA	ECDSA
Applications	1	1	Up to 8 independent apps

NTAG 424 DNA (DNA = Digital NFC Authentication) generates a unique encrypted URL on every tap, enabling cloud-based product authentication without specialized readers. Each tap increments a counter and produces a fresh AES-CMAC signature, making cloning practically impossible.

Key NFC Standards

Standard	Organization	Scope
ISO/IEC 14443 A/B	ISO	Proximity cards -- modulation, anti-collision, transmission
ISO/IEC 15693	ISO	Vicinity cards -- longer read range, lower data rate
ISO/IEC 18092 (NFCIP-1)	ISO	NFC interface and protocol -- active/passive communication
ISO/IEC 21481 (NFCIP-2)	ISO	NFC operating mode selection
JIS X 6319-4	JISC	FeliCa contactless IC card standard
GlobalPlatform	GP	Secure element management for card emulation
EMV Contactless (Books A-D)	EMVCo	Contactless payment terminal specifications

Learn more: Standards Reference | Glossary

API Endpoints

Free, no authentication required. JSON responses with CORS enabled.

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/chip/{slug}/	NFC chip detail with specs
GET	/api/chip-family/{slug}/	Chip family with product line
GET	/api/standard/{slug}/	Standard detail with linked chips
GET	/api/operating-mode/{slug}/	Operating mode detail
GET	/api/ndef-type/{slug}/	NDEF record type detail
GET	/api/use-case/{slug}/	Use case with recommended chips
GET	/api/term/{slug}/	Glossary term definition
GET	/api/search/?q={query}	Search across all content types
GET	/api/compare/?a={slug}&b={slug}	Compare two chips
GET	/api/random/	Random chip discovery
GET	/api/openapi.json	OpenAPI 3.1.0 specification

Example

# Search for NTAG chips
curl -s "https://nfcfyi.com/api/search/?q=ntag" | python -m json.tool

Full API documentation at nfcfyi.com/api/. OpenAPI 3.1.0 spec: nfcfyi.com/api/openapi.json.

Command-Line Interface

nfcfyi search "ntag"                  # Search all content
nfcfyi chip ntag215                   # Chip detail
nfcfyi compare ntag213 ntag215        # Side-by-side comparison
nfcfyi random                         # Discover a random chip

MCP Server (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf)

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "nfcfyi": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": ["--from", "nfcfyi[mcp]", "python", "-m", "nfcfyi.mcp_server"]
        }
    }
}

Tools: nfc_search, nfc_lookup, nfc_compare

REST API Client

from nfcfyi.api import NFCFYI

with NFCFYI() as api:
    api.search("ntag")                     # Full-text search
    api.chip("ntag215")                    # Chip detail
    api.chip_family("ntag-21x")            # Chip family
    api.standard("iso-14443")              # Standard detail
    api.operating_mode("read-write")       # Operating mode
    api.ndef_type("uri")                   # NDEF record type
    api.use_case("access-control")         # Use case
    api.glossary_term("ndef")              # Glossary term
    api.compare("ntag213", "ntag215")      # Compare two chips
    api.random()                           # Random discovery
    api.openapi()                          # OpenAPI 3.1.0 spec

Learn More About NFC

• Browse: Chip Explorer · NDEF Types · Use Cases
• Reference: Standards · Operating Modes · Glossary
• API: REST API Docs · OpenAPI Spec

Also Available

Platform	Install	Link
npm	npm install nfcfyi	npm
Go	go get github.com/fyipedia/nfcfyi-go	pkg.go.dev
Rust	cargo add nfcfyi	crates.io
Ruby	gem install nfcfyi	rubygems.org
MCP	uvx --from "nfcfyi[mcp]" python -m nfcfyi.mcp_server	Config

Tag FYI Family

Part of the FYIPedia open-source developer tools ecosystem -- automatic identification and data capture technologies.

Site	Domain	Focus
BarcodeFYI	barcodefyi.com	518 records -- barcode symbologies, standards, GS1 prefixes
QRCodeFYI	qrcodefyi.com	425 records -- QR code types, versions, encoding modes
NFCFYI	nfcfyi.com	288 records -- NFC chips, NDEF records, standards
BLEFYI	blefyi.com	261 records -- BLE chips, GATT profiles, beacons
RFIDFYI	rfidfyi.com	318 records -- RFID tags, frequency bands, EPC schemes
SmartCardFYI	smartcardfyi.com	280 records -- smart cards, EMV, Java Card, platforms

FYIPedia Developer Tools

Package	PyPI	npm	Description
barcodefyi	PyPI	npm	Barcode symbologies, standards -- barcodefyi.com
qrcodefyi	PyPI	npm	QR code types, versions, encoding -- qrcodefyi.com
nfcfyi	PyPI	npm	NFC chips, NDEF, standards -- nfcfyi.com
blefyi	PyPI	npm	BLE profiles, beacons, chips -- blefyi.com
rfidfyi	PyPI	npm	RFID tags, readers, frequencies -- rfidfyi.com
smartcardfyi	PyPI	npm	Smart cards, EMV, platforms -- smartcardfyi.com

License

MIT