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pcsc-tools

Smartcard reader diagnostics — is the reader even working?

What it does

Utilities for PC/SC smartcard readers: listing readers, monitoring card insertion and removal, and identifying a card from its ATR against a public database.

Why you would want it

It answers the first question in every contactless problem -- does the host see the reader at all -- separately from whether any card tooling works. pcsc_scan identifying a card by ATR is often the fastest route to knowing what you are holding.

Before it will work

The pcscd daemon running, which the package pulls in, and a PC/SC- compatible reader.

How it installs

  • apt: pcsc-tools

Known problems

pcscd and libnfc will fight over the same reader: whichever claims it first wins and the other reports no device. Stopping pcscd is the usual fix when libnfc tools suddenly stop seeing hardware, and it is the single most common confusion in this profile.

Keeping it current

  • probe: apt policy
  • strategy: apt_upgrade

Source: catalog/packages/pcsc-tools.yaml