Disclosed are systems and methods for a vehicle scanner to automatically execute applications from a removable storage card. The method includes detecting a presence of one or more executable diagnostic requests in removable data storage, and responsive to the detection, transmitting one or more corresponding requests for vehicle diagnostic data to the vehicle via a vehicle interface. Responsive to the transmission, the vehicle scanner receives and processes diagnostic data from the vehicle. The vehicle scanner may store the data back to the removable storage card, or may transmit the data via a wired or wireless interface to a display device. As part of the detection process, the vehicle scanner may first authenticate the removable storage card before executing vehicle diagnostic instructions from the card.