Web NFC API Guide: Writing NDEF Payloads, Tag Types & Browser Support

Interacting with Physical Objects Directly from the Browser

NFC (Near Field Communication) enables short-range wireless communication (~2–4 cm) operating at 13.56 MHz. With the standardization of the **Web NFC API**, web applications can now read and write lightweight NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format) messages without requiring native Android or iOS app installations.

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1. Browser Support & Permissions

• **Supported Environments:** Android Chrome (v89+), Chromium-based mobile browsers (Edge, Opera, Brave for Android).
• **Security Constraints:** The Web NFC API is strictly restricted to **top-level secure contexts (HTTPS)** and requires explicit user consent via permission prompts.

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2. Anatomy of an NDEF Message

An NDEF message is a container composed of one or more **NDEF Records**. Each record specifies:

• **TNF (Type Name Format):** Defines the record structure (e.g., Well-Known, MIME media-type, URI, Absolute URI).
• **Record Type:**
• * `"url"` or `"U"`: Standard website link with protocol prefix compression.
• * `"text"` or `"T"`: Plain text memo with language code metadata (e.g., `en`).
• * `"mime"`: Custom JSON, vCard, or binary payloads.

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3. Writing to a Tag in JavaScript

async function writeSmartTag() {
  if (!("NDEFReader" in window)) {
    console.warn("Web NFC is not supported in this browser.");
    return;

const ndef = new window.NDEFReader(); await ndef.write({ records: [ { recordType: "url", data: "https://qraftstudio.toolpool.in" }, { recordType: "text", data: "Asset ID #9824 — Studio Inventory" } ] });

console.log("Tag written successfully!"); } ```

With our NFC Studio, you can construct multi-record NDEF payloads visually, inspect the exact byte breakdown, download raw binary `.ndef` files, and test live writing with one click.