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lpadmin – Configure printers and classes in the CUPS suite

The lpadmin command is used to configure printers and classes in the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) suite. It allows system administrators to add, modify, or delete printers and classes, as well as set various printer options such as page size, print quality, and printer sharing.

Overview

To use lpadmin, you must have administrative privileges on the system. The basic syntax of the command is as follows:

lpadmin [options] -p printer-name -E -v device-uri

Here, printer-name is the name of the printer you want to configure, and device-uri is the URI of the printer device. The -E option enables encryption for the printer connection.

To add a new printer, use the -p option followed by the printer name, and then specify the printer device using the -v option. For example:

lpadmin -p printer1 -E -v socket://192.168.1.10:9100

This command adds a new printer named “printer1” and sets its device URI to “socket://192.168.1.10:9100”.

You can also set various printer options using the -o option. For example, to set the page size to A4 and the print quality to 600 dpi, use the following command:

lpadmin -p printer1 -o PageSize=A4 -o PrintQuality=600dpi

To delete a printer, use the -x option followed by the printer name. For example:

lpadmin -x printer1

This command deletes the printer named “printer1”.

Options

Here is a list of available options for lpadmin:

Option Description
-p printer-name Specifies the name of the printer to configure.
-E Enables encryption for the printer connection.
-v device-uri Specifies the URI of the printer device.
-o option=value Sets a printer option to the specified value.
-x printer-name Deletes the specified printer.
-d printer-name Sets the default printer to the specified printer.
-c class-name Creates a printer class with the specified name.
-r class-name Removes the specified printer class.
-A Allows all users to print to the specified printer.
-U username Allows the specified user to print to the specified printer.
-u allow:username Allows the specified user to modify the specified printer.
-u deny:username Denies the specified user from modifying the specified printer.

Troubleshooting tips

  • If you encounter permission errors, make sure you are running the command with administrative privileges.
  • If you are having trouble connecting to a network printer, make sure the printer device URI is correct and that the printer is turned on and connected to the network.
  • If you are having trouble setting printer options, make sure the option names and values are correct and supported by the printer driver.

Notes

  • lpadmin is part of the CUPS suite, which is the default printing system on most Linux distributions.
  • The lpadmin command can be used in scripts and other automated processes to configure printers and classes.
  • The lpadmin command can be used in conjunction with other CUPS utilities, such as lpstat and cancel, to manage printing jobs and queues.

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