Developers
Build on TigerTag.
The TigerTag protocol is open — CC-BY-4.0, with an irrevocable right to implement it in any product, free, forever. Tiger Studio and Tiger-Scale are MIT; the SDKs are Apache-2.0. The mobile app is free to use, but proprietary.
- 1
An open protocol
Any NTAG 213/215/216, any ACR122U reader, bought anywhere. The Pod is 3D-printed — print it yourself.
- 2
TigerTag is 100% offline
The data lives on the chip. No cloud, no account, nothing phones home.
- 3
TigerTag+ adds an optional online layer
The same offline chip, plus a catalogue entry its manufacturer maintains. Optional. Additive. Never a dependency.
- 4
TigerCloud
For spools with no chip at all: tracked in the app, upgradeable to a real chip anytime.
- 5
The ecosystem
Desktop and mobile apps, the Pod, the Scale. Installs in a minute — no self-hosting required.
- 6
Factory partners
Filament that arrives already knowing what it is, tagged on the production line.
- 7
The tag outlives the spool
Rewrite it onto the next spool, or reflash it as a plain NDEF tag.
What is open, component by component
Verified against the public repositories.
| Component | Licence | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Protocol spec | CC-BY-4.0 | The protocol specification and the public registry tables. LICENSING.md carries an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free implementation grant. |
| Tiger Studio | MIT | The desktop app. Fork it, sell it — just don't call your fork Tiger Studio. |
| Tiger-Scale | MIT | The scale firmware (ESP32). |
| TigerPOD | CC-BY-4.0 | The Pod, presented: free design, free electronics — two ACR122U readers, a printed shell, a splitter. |
| SDK-JS | Apache-2.0 | JavaScript SDK. Apache-2.0 carries an express patent grant. |
| SDK-Python | Apache-2.0 | Python SDK. Same terms as the JS SDK. |
| Firebase integration | CC-BY-4.0 | Integration reference for third parties: security-rules mirror and data model. |
| Mobile app | Proprietary | Free to use. Not open source. |
Free protocol, guarded name
Anyone may implement the protocol and say “compatible with TigerTag”. Only a certified partner may put the TigerTag name and logo on a product and issue TigerTag+ signatures — TigerTag holds the private key. Two gates: the trademark (marketing) and the signature (technical). Neither restricts the protocol by one line.
An uncertified chip works perfectly — offline, in any printer, with any app. It just can't prove its origin. The free tier actually works; the certified tier proves.