# vCard QR Interoperability Record methodology

## Release

- Release: 2026-07-25-v1
- Published: 2026-07-25
- Publisher: QR Code Crafter, a service of Brand Aspect Ltd
- Landing page: https://qrcodecrafter.com/vcard#interoperability
- JSON results: https://qrcodecrafter.com/data/vcard-interoperability-v1.json
- CSV results: https://qrcodecrafter.com/data/vcard-interoperability-v1.csv
- VCF fixture: https://qrcodecrafter.com/data/vcard-interoperability-v1.vcf

## Automated method

The release calls the same vCard encoder and importer used by the QR Code Crafter application. It generates one vCard 3.0 contact containing 13 field groups, encodes the exact payload as clean PNG and SVG QR fixtures, decodes each fixture with the site's local JavaScript decoder, and compares the recovered payload byte for byte.

The recovered vCard is parsed again and every published field result is compared with the normalized input. Separate fixtures check the importer paths for vCard 2.1, 3.0, and 4.0, including quoted-printable text, preferred work fields, URI values, and folded lines.

Reproduce the artifacts from the project root with `npm run vcard:generate`. The command fails before publishing results when an exact QR decode, field round trip, or import fixture fails.

## Standards context

- vCard 3.0 format used by the generator: RFC 2426, https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2426
- Current vCard 4.0 standard: RFC 6350, https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6350

## Scope and limitations

- This is an automated software interoperability record, not device, operating-system, contacts-app, printer, ISO, or security certification.
- iPhone, Android, Apple Contacts, Google Contacts, Microsoft Outlook, and CRM field mapping were not tested in this release.
- Contact applications can ignore, rename, merge, or display optional fields differently.
- The test fixture uses reserved example.com addresses and does not contain a real person's contact data.
- Scan the final artwork on the devices and contact applications your audience uses before printing or publishing.

## Corrections

Report a reproducibility problem or factual error to contact@qrcodecrafter.com. Include the release identifier, failing row, runtime details, and enough information to reproduce the result.