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Task-oriented how-to guides (shorter and more targeted than
[tutorials](../tutorials/README.md)).

> **TODO:** this section is scaffolding. Planned topics:
## Available

- **[Buying pitfalls](./buying-pitfalls.md)** — the handful of wrong purchases
that only reveal themselves after delivery: chips, readers, PN532 modules,
the TigerScale screen, screws, filament for printed parts.
- **[Troubleshooting: symptom → cause](./troubleshooting.md)** — chip reading,
writing and verification problems, most frequent first, collected from real
cases.
- **[Buy and encode TigerTag chips](./buy-and-encode-chips.md)** — start to
finish: which chips, which reader, encoding from phone or desktop, Twin Tag
pairs, and encoding in series.
- **[Promote a chipless spool to a real chip](./promote-chipless-spool.md)** —
writing a TigerData / TigerData+ record onto a physical NTAG chip (desktop +
reader).
- **[Publish a public list link on TigerHub](./publish-list-on-tigerhub.md)** —
share a read-only inventory or wishlist as a `/list/<token>` link; no app, no
account for the viewer.

> **TODO:** more guides planned:
>
> - How to buy / encode TigerTag chips
> - How to promote a chipless (digital) spool to a real chip
> - How to migrate an existing spreadsheet inventory into your TigerSystem account
> - How to publish a public list link on TigerHub

---

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# Buy and encode TigerTag chips

The fastest way to make a spool intelligent, start to finish: get the right
chips, then write their identity. No account, no cloud, a few cents per spool.

For the wrong purchases that only reveal themselves after delivery, read
[buying pitfalls](./buying-pitfalls.md) first — this guide assumes you bought
the right chips.

## 1. Which chips to buy

Any **NTAG213 / 215 / 216** (NFC Forum Type 2), **25 mm round sticker**
recommended. NTAG213 is the minimum — the 144-byte payload is sized to fit it
([the TigerTag chip](../concepts/tigertag-chip.md)). Buy from anywhere; nothing
official is required.

> **Note:** planning **two chips per spool**? That's how factory spools ship —
> one on each side, so a reader always faces one. Write them as a pair (see
> step 4).

## 2. Which reader to use

| You have | Use | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| An NFC phone | [Tiger NFC Connect](../products/tigertag-connect.md) | Getting started, occasional writes — the reader is already in your pocket |
| A computer + a USB reader | Tiger Studio + ACR122U or [TigerPOD](../products/tigerpod.md) | Encoding in series, an inventory, a workshop |

Everything below works **100 % offline**.

## 3. Encode a chip from your phone

1. Open Tiger NFC Connect and tap **Scan**.
2. Present the chip to the phone's antenna (Android: upper back; iPhone: top
edge).
- A **blank** chip → the app offers to write a new TigerTag.
- A chip already holding **non-TigerTag** data → the app offers to
**convert** it. (If it errors instead, wipe it blank with a generic NFC
app, then re-scan — see [troubleshooting](./troubleshooting.md).)
3. **Describe the filament** — material, brand, colour, aspect, diameter, and
the print settings: nozzle and bed temperature ranges, drying. The choices
come from the shared catalogue, so every compatible app reads the spool the
same way.
4. Tap **Make** and hold the phone to the chip until it confirms.
5. Stick the chip on the spool, and re-scan to check.

> **Tip:** fill in the temperatures even if you know them by heart. The day a
> reader-equipped machine reads the tag on its own, it needs them — and a
> field you leave empty is a field nobody else will fill for a generic
> filament.

## 4. Encode two chips as a pair (Twin Tag)

For the full experience, put a chip on each side of the spool and write them
**together**, so they stay one spool for its whole life:

- **On the phone** — use the **Dual Link** option at creation time.
- **On the desktop** — write both with two readers, or repair an unlinked pair
in Tiger Studio with **Link to twin Spool**.

Writing the two chips one after another with a single reader may link them
temporarily, but the association is not guaranteed to survive a re-scan — write
them as a pair.

## 5. Encode in series (desktop)

Beyond three or four spools, Tiger Studio + an ACR122U (or a
[TigerPOD](../products/tigerpod.md)) is the practical route: prepare one
filament sheet, duplicate it, and encode spools one after another. This is also
where you burn a **chipless** [TigerData / TigerData+](../concepts/universal-filament-identity.md)
record onto a physical chip — the mobile app doesn't do that yet.

## What you can't do this way

You cannot produce a **TigerTag+ Certified** (signed) chip: the signature is
issued by certified manufacturers, and TigerTag holds the private key
([TigerTag+](../products/tigertag-plus.md)). Encoding at home always produces a
standard TigerTag — fully readable everywhere, just not signed.

---

**▲ [Documentation index](../../README.md)** · **Related:** [Buying pitfalls](./buying-pitfalls.md), [The TigerTag chip](../concepts/tigertag-chip.md), [Your first smart spool](../tutorials/first-smart-spool.md), [Troubleshooting](./troubleshooting.md)
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# Buying pitfalls

Everything in the ecosystem runs on cheap, widely available parts — that's the
point. The flip side: marketplace listings all look alike, and the wrong
variant only reveals itself **after delivery**. Every pitfall below cost a
real builder time or money; most were reported on the
[Discord](https://discord.gg/3Qv5TSqnJH).

Read this **before** placing an order, not after.

## Blank NFC chips

| Buy | Avoid | Why |
|---|---|---|
| **NTAG213 / 215 / 216**, 25 mm round sticker recommended | Listings that only say "NFC 13.56 MHz" | That label also covers incompatible chips. Insist on the exact NTAG reference. |
| | **MIFARE Classic 1K** tags | Same frequency, different standard — it's what several printer vendors use for their own locked tags ([compatibility](../compatibility/README.md)). A blank one cannot hold a TigerTag. |
| | UID-changeable **"magic" chips** | The [TigerTag+](../products/tigertag-plus.md) trust model is anchored on the factory-locked UID. A spoofable UID defeats it — and a seller pushing "magic" chips for spool tagging is a red flag in itself. |
| | Pre-locked promotional tags | Some promotional NFC stickers ship **write-locked** and can never be encoded. |

> **Note:** NTAG213 is the minimum — the 144-byte payload is sized to fit it.
> Official branded chips ship as NTAG215 so the chip can be reused as a plain
> NDEF object at end of life ([the TigerTag chip](../concepts/tigertag-chip.md)).

Sticking a chip **on a metal surface**? A standard sticker goes dead on metal —
you need an *on-metal* (ferrite-backed) tag, which costs more. For a plastic or
cardboard spool, the standard sticker is fine.

## USB desktop readers (ACR122U class)

The ACR122U is the reference desktop reader — two of them power a
[TigerPOD](../products/tigerpod.md). The reader itself is a safe buy; how you
plug it is the trap:

> **Warning:** on an **unpowered USB hub**, an ACR122U reads fine but **fails
> writes intermittently** — the most confusing failure mode there is, reported
> repeatedly by builders. Plug it directly into the computer, or use a powered
> hub.

## PN532 modules (TigerScale builds)

> **Warning:** *"Sealed USB-C-only PN532 dongles will not work with this
> board"* — the
> [Tiger-Scale-V3 README](https://github.com/TigerTag-Project/Tiger-Scale-V3)'s
> own words. You need bare **PN532 V3 modules with accessible header pins**.
> The sealed dongles look like the convenient option; they are the single most
> common wrong purchase of the build.

Two more things to check on the listing photos:

- The common red PN532 boards carry **two DIP switches** selecting the bus
(I²C / SPI / HSU). Wrongly set, the module is simply invisible — set them to
match the transport you flash.
- You need **two** modules for a TigerScale.

## The TigerScale touchscreen: 3.5 vs 3.5B

Both Waveshare variants are supported — they differ only in controllers:

| | ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-**3.5** | ESP32-S3-Touch-LCD-**3.5B** |
|---|---|---|
| Display controller | ST7796 (SPI) | AXS15231B (QSPI) |
| Touch controller | FT6336 (separate chip, I²C) | AXS15231B (integrated, I²C) |
| MCU / PSRAM / resolution | identical | identical |

The **3.5B** was the original development target and is the nicer
architecture — but it is chronically **out of stock**. The plain **3.5**
performs just as well in practice (team-confirmed after user testing, on the
Discord). **Buy whichever you can find**; you select the variant at flash
time.

## Screws: order them with the electronics

The TigerScale build needs 2× M5×30 + 2× M4×30 (load cell), 4× M2×6
(display) and M3 self-tapping screws (housing). In non-metric countries these
are genuinely hard to find in local hardware stores — a builder on the
Discord ended up assembling a separate parts order after discovering this
mid-build. One online order **together with the electronics** avoids the
wait.

## Filament for the printed parts

Do **not** print any part that sits between a reader and a chip in
carbon-fiber-filled filament (PLA-CF, PETG-CF): the conductive fibers disturb
the NFC field. Plain PLA or PETG works fine.

---

**▲ [Documentation index](../../README.md)** · **Related:** [The TigerTag chip](../concepts/tigertag-chip.md), [TigerScale](../products/tigerscale.md), [TigerPOD](../products/tigerpod.md), [FAQ](../faq/README.md)
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# Promote a chipless spool to a real chip

You can manage a whole inventory with **no chips at all** — as
[TigerData or TigerData+](../concepts/universal-filament-identity.md) records,
the identity living purely in your account. When you're ready, "promoting" a
record means writing it onto a physical NTAG chip so the spool carries its own
identity, offline.

## What you need

- The chipless spool in your inventory (a **TigerData** or **TigerData+**
record).
- A blank **NTAG213 / 215 / 216** chip.
- **[Tiger Studio](../products/tiger-studio.md) + a USB reader** — an ACR122U
or a [TigerPOD](../products/tigerpod.md).

> **Warning:** this one step is **desktop-only**. Tiger NFC Connect can write a
> tag you describe on the spot, but it cannot burn an existing chipless
> **record** onto a chip yet — that path runs through Tiger Studio and a reader.

## Steps

1. In Tiger Studio, open the chipless spool from your inventory.
2. Place the blank chip on the reader.
3. Write the record to the chip. The record keeps its catalogue identity — a
promoted TigerData+ stays identified.
4. Re-scan to confirm, and stick the chip on the spool.

The moment the data lands on the chip, the record becomes a **TigerTag**: a
physical UID is now associated with the identity. A promoted **TigerData+**
becomes a **TigerTag+** (still identified, still not signed — see
[TigerTag+](../products/tigertag-plus.md)).

## Two chips? Promote them as a pair

If the spool will carry two chips, write both in the same operation so they
stay one spool — with two readers, or by repairing the pair afterwards with
**Link to twin Spool**. See
[Buy and encode chips](./buy-and-encode-chips.md#4-encode-two-chips-as-a-pair-twin-tag).

## The reverse is always possible

Chips are never write-locked. A promoted spool can be re-encoded, wiped, or
returned to a plain chipless record at any time — the identity is yours to move
between digital and physical.

---

**▲ [Documentation index](../../README.md)** · **Related:** [Universal filament identity](../concepts/universal-filament-identity.md), [Buy and encode chips](./buy-and-encode-chips.md), [TigerPOD](../products/tigerpod.md), [Tiger Studio](../products/tiger-studio.md)
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# Publish a public list link on TigerHub

Share a read-only view of an inventory or a wishlist as a plain web link.
Whoever opens it needs **no app and no account** — just a browser.

## What it is

A public list link looks like:

```
https://tigersystem.io/list/<token>
```

It's a read-only snapshot served by [TigerHub](../products/tigerhub.md), the
ecosystem's web home. The `<token>` is what makes the link work — anyone who
has it can view the list, so treat it like a shared password (see revoking,
below).

## Publish a list

The link is generated from the apps, not from the website — TigerHub only
displays what [Tiger Studio](../products/tiger-studio.md) or
[Tiger NFC Connect](../products/tigertag-connect.md) publish:

1. In Tiger Studio or Tiger NFC Connect, open the inventory or wishlist you
want to share.
2. Generate a **share link** for it.
3. Copy the `https://tigersystem.io/list/<token>` link and send it to anyone.

The viewer opens it in any browser and sees the list read-only — they cannot
edit it, and nothing about your account is exposed beyond what the list shows.

## Revoke a link

A share link stays valid until you revoke it. Revoke it from the same place you
generated it (Tiger Studio / Connect) once you no longer want the list public —
after that, the old `/list/<token>` URL stops resolving.

> **Tip:** revoking then re-publishing produces a **new** token. If you shared
> the old link widely and want to cut access, revoking is the way — the old URL
> goes dead immediately.

## Public link vs sharing with a friend

Two different mechanisms, same source data:

| | Public list link | Friend |
|---|---|---|
| Who can see it | anyone with the URL | a specific person you added |
| They need an account | no | yes (a TigerSystem account) |
| How | generate a `/list/<token>` link | exchange **friend codes / invitations** |
| Good for | a Reddit post, a forum, a quick show-and-tell | an ongoing, mutual view between two makers |

Friend codes and invitations are managed from the apps and from your account on
the web (`/account`).

## What's behind it

The published data comes from your TigerSystem account (a single shared Firebase
database that every app reads and writes); TigerHub is only the web surface that
renders the public view. Your account data is never public — only the specific
list you chose to publish. See
[Inventory & cloud sync](../concepts/inventory-and-cloud-sync.md).

---

**▲ [Documentation index](../../README.md)** · **Related:** [TigerHub](../products/tigerhub.md), [Inventory & cloud sync](../concepts/inventory-and-cloud-sync.md), [Tiger Studio](../products/tiger-studio.md)
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