vCard (.vcf)
vCard is the standard electronic business-card format — .vcf files with properties like FN, TEL, EMAIL, and ORG — defined by RFC 6350 and understood by every phone, mail client, and CRM.
Structure and versions
A vCard is a BEGIN:VCARD…END:VCARD block of properties: VERSION, FN (formatted name), N (structured name), TEL with type params, EMAIL, ORG, TITLE, ADR, URL, and more. Lines longer than 75 octets are folded — a continuation line starts with a space — which is the subtlety most hand-rolled parsers miss.
Version 3.0 is the interoperable sweet spot (iPhone, Android, Outlook, Google Contacts all import it); 4.0 modernizes the property model and drops some legacy quirks; 2.1 survives mostly in old mobile exports. Choose 3.0 unless a specific target demands otherwise.
Practical use
vCards travel in QR codes, email signatures, contact-sharing, and CRM onboarding — anywhere a contact needs to move between systems without retyping. Our generator builds standards-conformant .vcf files live, and the parser inspects any pasted card’s properties.
Related Standards
- •RFC 6350 — vCard Format Specification (version 4.0)
- •RFC 2426 — vCard 3.0 profile
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