PCSC lite project

Middleware to access a smart card using SCard API (PC/SC).

Source download

Download section, ChangeLog

You can also access the Subversion developement version. You may need to use the Subversion version to support the latest added readers.

svn checkout svn://anonscm.debian.org/pcsclite/trunk/PCSC
./bootstrap
./configure
make

Documentation

• PC/SC Lite API (WinSCard)
• IFD Handler API v3.0
• PC/SC internals documented with Doxygen

Ludovic Rousseau blog about PC/SC and smart cards

Supported features

• Card movement notification mechanism
• Card auto power on and off
• pcscd auto start and device udev rule
• Configuring your system for pcscd auto-start
• PCSC API spy for GNU systems
• PC/SC sample in different languages
• Embedded systems support: pcsc-lite for limited (embedded) systems, RAM and CPU improvements in pcsc-lite 1.6.x
• What is in a PC/SC reader name?
• PC/SC client and server on two different hosts

Sending usefull logs

If you have a problem and want to get support from me (ludovic.rousseau@free.fr) you shall include the following information:

Versions

• smart card reader driver name and version
• pcsc-lite version
• smart card reader name
• the output of the command "/usr/sbin/pcscd --version"

Platform

• Operating system name and version
• Smart card middleware name and version
• Reader manufacturer name and reader model name
• Smart card name

Log

Then you shall generate a complete log.

• Kill the pcscd process
• And restart pcscd exactly as described bellow:

  sudo su
  LIBCCID_ifdLogLevel=0x000F
  export LIBCCID_ifdLogLevel
  pcscd --foreground --debug --apdu

• Stop pcscd (using Control-C) after the problem occured and send me the generated output

Mailing list

If you have general questions or bug reports you should use the MUSCLE mailing list: muscle@lists.musclecard.com.

First search the mailing list archives. Maybe your probem has already been reported and solved. If you have not found a solution then write to muscle@lists.musclecard.com with a description of your problem.

Authors

The pcsclite project was started by David Corcoran. The main author now is Ludovic Rousseau.

See Subversion statistics for pcsc-lite at September 2010 for more information.

Licence

Copyright (c) 1999-2003 David Corcoran <corcoran&linuxnet.com>
Copyright (c) 2001-2011 Ludovic Rousseau <ludovic.rousseau&free.fr>
All rights reserved.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
are met:

1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
   documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3. The name of the author may not be used to endorse or promote products
   derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

Changes to this license can be made only by the copyright author with
explicit written consent.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT
NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF
THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Supported and unsupported operating systems

GNU/Linux

• GNU/Linux using libudev
• GNU/Linux using libusb 1.0.8 and later

Mac OS X

Apple has its own (forked) version of pcsc-lite. You can find it at SmartCard Services project on Mac OS Forge.

Solaris

Solaris has its own (forked) version of pcsc-lite.

FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, *BSD

pcsc-lite should work but is not heavily tested on these systems.

HP-UX

pcsc-lite may have worked on HP-UX a long time ago.

Other operating systems

It may or may not work.

Available binaries

The middleware is also available as packages pcscd, libpcsclite1 libpcsclite-dev and for many other distributions.

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