OpenSC

OpenSC provides a set of libraries and utilities to access smart cards. Its main focus is on cards that support cryptographic operations, and facilitate their use in security applications such as mail encryption, authentication, and digital signature. OpenSC implements the  PKCS#11 API so applications supporting this API such as Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird can use it. OpenSC implements the  PKCS#15 standard and aims to be compatible with every software that does so, too.

See our OverView page for more details.

OpenSC was written by an international team and is licensed as  Open Source software under the  LGPL license. For a list of all authors and contributers as well as detailed license information see AuthorsAndCredits.

Please note: typical smart cards are completely undocumented and incompatible with all other existing smart cards. Thus please check these lists below, and review each page to find out which specific smart card is supported by opensc.

For programmable JavaCards?: only certain pre-loaded applets and blank JavaCards? are supported (after you load a supported applet to the card). If you can't load applets to the card and your applet is not supported, OpenSC won't work for you.

National ID Cards

These are usually pre-initialized read-only cards. Supported eID cards:

Unclear/unsupported eID cards:

Smart Cards

Each entry on this list represents a whole family of cards. See each page to find out which modells are supported.

USB Tokens

Each entry on this list represents a whole family of cards. See each page to find out which modells are supported.

Unsupported stuff

Things that we have (some) code for but which are known to be incomplete, broken or largely useless

OpenSC forks

Starting Points

Application Support

Developers Corner