Manual: lpadmin

lpadmin(8) OpenPrinting lpadmin(8)

NAME
lpadmin - configure cups printers and classes

SYNOPSIS
lpadmin [ -E ] [ -U username ] [ -h server[:port] ] -d destination
lpadmin [ -E ] [ -U username ] [ -h server[:port] ] -p destination [ -R name-default ] option(s)
lpadmin [ -E ] [ -U username ] [ -h server[:port] ] -x destination

DESCRIPTION
lpadmin configures printer and class queues provided by CUPS. It can also be used to set the server default printer
or class.

When specified before the -d, -p, or -x options, the -E option forces encryption when connecting to the server.

The first form of the command (-d) sets the default printer or class to destination. Subsequent print jobs submitted
via the lp(1) or lpr(1) commands will use this destination unless the user specifies otherwise with the lpoptions(1)
command.

The second form of the command (-p) configures the named printer or class. The additional options are described be‐
low.

The third form of the command (-x) deletes the printer or class destination. Any jobs that are pending for the des‐
tination will be removed and any job that is currently printed will be aborted.

OPTIONS
The following options are recognized when configuring a printer queue:

-c class
Adds the named printer to class. If class does not exist it is created automatically.

-m model
Sets a standard PPD file for the printer from the model directory or using one of the driver interfaces. Use
the -m option with the lpinfo(8) command to get a list of supported models. The model "raw" clears any existing
PPD file and the model "everywhere" queries the printer referred to by the specified IPP device-uri. Note: Mod‐
els other than "everywhere" are deprecated and will not be supported in a future version of CUPS.

-o cupsIPPSupplies=true

-o cupsIPPSupplies=false
Specifies whether IPP supply level values should be reported.

-o cupsSNMPSupplies=true

-o cupsSNMPSupplies=false
Specifies whether SNMP supply level (RFC 3805) values should be reported.

-o job-k-limit=value
Sets the kilobyte limit for per-user quotas. The value is an integer number of kilobytes; one kilobyte is 1024
bytes.

-o job-page-limit=value
Sets the page limit for per-user quotas. The value is the integer number of pages that can be printed; double-
sided pages are counted as two pages.

-o job-quota-period=value
Sets the accounting period for per-user quotas. The value is an integer number of seconds; 86,400 seconds are
in one day.

-o job-sheets-default=banner

-o job-sheets-default=banner,banner
Sets the default banner page(s) to use for print jobs.

-o name=value
Sets a PPD option for the printer. PPD options can be listed using the -l option with the lpoptions(1) command.

-o name-default=value
Sets a default server-side option for the destination. Any print-time option can be defaulted, e.g., "-o num‐
ber-up-default=2" to set the default "number-up" option value to 2.

-o port-monitor=name
Sets the binary communications program to use when printing, "none", "bcp", or "tbcp". The default program is
"none". The specified port monitor must be listed in the printer's PPD file.

-o printer-error-policy=name
Sets the policy for errors such as printers that cannot be found or accessed, don't support the format being
printed, fail during submission of the print data, or cause one or more filters to crash. The name must be one
of "abort-job" (abort the job on error), "retry-job" (retry the job at a future time), "retry-current-job"
(retry the current job immediately), or "stop-printer" (stop the printer on error). The default error policy is
"stop-printer" for printers and "retry-current-job" for classes.

-o printer-is-shared=true

-o printer-is-shared=false
Sets the destination to shared/published or unshared/unpublished. Shared/published destinations are publicly
announced by the server on the LAN based on the browsing configuration in cupsd.conf, while unshared/unpublished
destinations are not announced. The default value is "true".

-o printer-op-policy=name
Sets the IPP operation policy associated with the destination. The name must be defined in the cupsd.conf in a
Policy section. The default operation policy is "default".

-R name-default
Deletes the named option from printer.

-r class
Removes the named printer from class. If the resulting class becomes empty it is removed.

-u allow:{user|@group}{,user|,@group}*

-u deny:{user|@group}{,user|,@group}*

-u allow:all

-u deny:none
Sets user-level access control on a destination. Names starting with "@" are interpreted as UNIX groups. The
latter two forms turn user-level access control off. Note: The user 'root' is not granted special access - us‐
ing "-u allow:foo,bar" will allow users 'foo' and 'bar' to access the printer but NOT 'root'.

-v "device-uri"
Sets the device-uri attribute of the printer queue. Use the -v option with the lpinfo(8) command to get a list
of supported device URIs and schemes.

-D "info"
Provides a textual description of the destination.

-E When specified before the -d, -p, or -x options, forces the use of TLS encryption on the connection to the
scheduler. Otherwise, enables the destination and accepts jobs; this is the same as running the cupsaccept(8)
and cupsenable(8) programs on the destination.

-L "location"
Provides a textual location of the destination.

DEPRECATED OPTIONS
The following lpadmin options are deprecated:

-i filename
This option historically has been used to provide either a System V interface script or (as an implementation
side-effect) a PPD file. Note: Interface scripts are not supported by CUPS. PPD files and printer drivers are
deprecated and will not be supported in a future version of CUPS.

-P ppd-file
Specifies a PostScript Printer Description (PPD) file to use with the printer. Note: PPD files and printer dri‐
vers are deprecated and will not be supported in a future version of CUPS.

CONFORMING TO
Unlike the System V printing system, CUPS allows printer names to contain any printable character except SPACE, TAB,
"/", or "#". Also, printer and class names are not case-sensitive.

Finally, the CUPS version of lpadmin may ask the user for an access password depending on the printing system config‐
uration. This differs from the System V version which requires the root user to execute this command.

NOTES
CUPS printer drivers and backends are deprecated and will no longer be supported in a future feature release of CUPS.
Printers that do not support IPP can be supported using applications such as ippeveprinter(1).

The CUPS version of lpadmin does not support all of the System V or Solaris printing system configuration options.

Interface scripts are not supported for security reasons.

The double meaning of the -E option is an unfortunate historical oddity.

The lpadmin command communicates with the scheduler (cupsd) to make changes to the printing system configuration.
This configuration information is stored in several files including printers.conf and classes.conf. These files
should not be edited directly and are an implementation detail of CUPS that is subject to change at any time.

EXAMPLE
Create an IPP Everywhere print queue:

lpadmin -p myprinter -E -v ipp://myprinter.local/ipp/print -m everywhere

SEE ALSO
cupsaccept(8), cupsenable(8), lpinfo(8), lpoptions(1), CUPS Online Help (http://localhost:631/help)

2021-02-28 CUPS lpadmin(8)

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Manual: lpadmin

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