BoxRFID v1.2.0 – Faster Startup & Better “No NFC” Handling
This release focuses on an even faster and more reliable startup experience — especially on Windows systems without an NFC reader connected or without PC/SC drivers installed. The app now opens the main window quickly and handles missing NFC hardware gracefully.
✨ Highlights
Instant window startup (no more “Task Manager only”)
The main window now appears reliably even on systems where NFC/PCSC initialization is slow or not available
Added a safe fallback to ensure the UI is shown in all cases
Lazy NFC initialization (faster startup)
NFC/PCSC is only loaded when needed (Read / Write / Auto-Read)
Connection status can still turn green after the UI is visible — without blocking startup
Better behavior without NFC reader / drivers
App shows the main window even if no reader is connected or drivers are missing
Auto-Read enable fails fast and shows a localized message instead of hanging
📦 Downloads
Setup EXE: installer for Windows
Portable EXE: runs without installation (recommended if the installer feels slow on first run)
⚠️ Note about Windows SmartScreen / Antivirus (unsigned EXE)
BoxRFID binaries are currently not code-signed. On some systems, the first start after downloading may take longer due to SmartScreen/Defender/AV scanning. After the first successful launch, subsequent starts are usually much faster.
🔧 Technical notes
Startup flow refactored to avoid blocking calls in the Electron main process
Improved robustness around NFC service initialization and status polling
Reduced packaged payload by excluding dev-only files from the build
🖥️ Compatibility
Windows 11 (tested)
NFC readers supported via nfc-pcsc (e.g., ACR122U)
Author: Tinkerbarn
License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0