Every workshop we’ve run starts the same slow way: someone’s laptop needs a virtual environment, a pip install, and a fix for USB permissions before they can even plug in a board. We built BomberCat to make NFC research approachable, and that installer friction worked against us. The newest release removes it.

What is BomberCat?

So what is BomberCat, exactly? It’s our board for hands-on NFC (Near-Field Communication) research: relaying a tag session against a reader you’re authorized to test, auditing an old magstripe terminal, or running a workshop lab. The command-line tool and firmware are what turn the board into those use cases.

What’s new?

• Native installers: bombercat-tools v1.3.0 ships as a .deb (Debian/Ubuntu), a .pkg.tar.zst (Arch), a .pkg (macOS, Intel and Apple Silicon) and a .exe
• Chip identification on every scan: tags read/watch/scan
• Guided auto-flash: if a command needs different firmware than what’s on the board, the tool now offers to reflash it instead of just failing.
• Mifare Classic support in firmware v1.2.1.0: card detection, Key A/B authentication, block read/write, sector read, and a live command session for hands-on key work.
• Two auth bugs fixed: a Key B constant that silently passed as Key A, and a “session-riding” bug where a warm session made the wrong key look valid.

Why did chip identification take this long? Because it used to need a firmware update just to add one chip to the list — now the host tool recognizes it on its own.

What can I do with it?

Install BomberCat’s CLI as a native package — no Python toolchain — and every tag you scan on a reader you’re authorized to test now comes back with its chip model, not just its raw serial number. Pair that with the new card-auth support, and you can walk through key auth, block reads, and sector dumps in the same session, on a terminal you own or have permission to assess.

Curious exactly what changed? Both changelogs are public: firmware v1.2.1.0 and the tool’s v1.3.0 notes.

The native installers don’t cover every Linux distro yet. If yours isn’t on the list, the old pip install

Where do I get it?

Grab the installer from the bombercat-tools releases page, flash the firmware from bombercat-firmware, or start with the BomberCat ficha

See you at the next workshop table — BomberCat’s claws are a little sharper now.