# cups

## NAME



           cups - a standards-based, open source printing system
    


## DESCRIPTION



           **CUPS** is the software you use to print from applications like word
           processors, email readers, photo editors, and web browsers. It
           converts the page descriptions produced by your application (put a
           paragraph here, draw a line there, and so forth) into something
           your printer can understand and then sends the information to the
           printer for printing.
    
           Now, since every printer manufacturer does things differently,
           printing can be very complicated.  **CUPS** does its best to hide this
           from you and your application so that you can concentrate on
           printing and less on how to print. Generally, the only time you
           need to know anything about your printer is when you use it for
           the first time, and even then **CUPS** can often figure things out on
           its own.
    
       **HOW DOES IT WORK?**
           The first time you print to a printer, **CUPS** creates a queue to
           keep track of the current status of the printer (everything OK,
           out of paper, etc.) and any pages you have printed. Most of the
           time the queue points to a printer connected directly to your
           computer via a USB port, however it can also point to a printer on
           your network, a printer on the Internet, or multiple printers
           depending on the configuration. Regardless of where the queue
           points, it will look like any other printer to you and your
           applications.
    
           Every time you print something, **CUPS** creates a job which contains
           the queue you are sending the print to, the name of the document
           you are printing, and the page descriptions. Job are numbered
           (queue-1, queue-2, and so forth) so you can monitor the job as it
           is printed or cancel it if you see a mistake. When **CUPS** gets a job
           for printing, it determines the best programs (filters, printer
           drivers, port monitors, and backends) to convert the pages into a
           printable format and then runs them to actually print the job.
    
           When the print job is completely printed, **CUPS** removes the job
           from the queue and moves on to any other jobs you have submitted.
           You can also be notified when the job is finished, or if there are
           any errors during printing, in several different ways.
    
       **WHERE DO I BEGIN?**
           The easiest way to start is by using the web interface to
           configure your printer. Go to "http://localhost:631" and choose
           the Administration tab at the top of the page. Click/press on the
           Add Printer button and follow the prompts.
    
           When you are asked for a username and password, enter your login
           username and password or the "root" username and password.
    
           After the printer is added you will be asked to set the default
           printer options (paper size, output mode, etc.) for the printer.
           Make any changes as needed and then click/press on the Set Default
           Options button to save them. Some printers also support auto-
           configuration - click/press on the Query Printer for Default
           Options button to update the options automatically.
    
           Once you have added the printer, you can print to it from any
           application. You can also choose Print Test Page from the
           maintenance menu to print a simple test page and verify that
           everything is working properly.
    
           You can also use the lpadmin(8) and lpinfo(8) commands to add
           printers to **CUPS**.  Additionally, your operating system may include
           graphical user interfaces or automatically create printer queues
           when you connect a printer to your computer.
    
       **HOW DO I GET HELP?**
           The **OpenPrinting CUPS** website
           (https://openprinting.github.io/cups) provides access to the _cups_
           and _cups-devel_ mailing lists, additional documentation and
           resources, and a bug report database. Most vendors also provide
           online discussion forums to ask printing questions for your
           operating system of choice.
    


## ENVIRONMENT



           **CUPS** commands use the following environment variables to override
           the default locations of files and so forth. For security reasons,
           these environment variables are ignored for setuid programs:
    
           **CUPS_ANYROOT**
                Whether to allow any X.509 certificate root (Y or N).
    
           **CUPS_CACHEDIR**
                The directory where semi-persistent cache files can be found.
    
           **CUPS_DATADIR**
                The directory where data files can be found.
    
           **CUPS_ENCRYPTION**
                The default level of encryption (Always, IfRequested, Never,
                Required).
    
           **CUPS_EXPIREDCERTS**
                Whether to allow expired X.509 certificates (Y or N).
    
           **CUPS_GSSSERVICENAME**
                The Kerberos service name used for authentication.
    
           **CUPS_SERVER**
                The hostname/IP address and port number of the CUPS scheduler
                (hostname:port or ipaddress:port).
    
           **CUPS_SERVERBIN**
                The directory where server helper programs, filters, backend,
                etc. can be found.
    
           **CUPS_SERVERROOT**
                The root directory of the server.
    
           **CUPS_STATEDIR**
                The directory where state files can be found.
    
           **CUPS_USER**
                Specifies the name of the user for print requests.
    
           **HOME** Specifies the home directory of the current user.
    
           **IPP_PORT**
                Specifies the default port number for IPP requests.
    
           **LOCALEDIR**
                Specifies the location of localization files.
    
           **LPDEST**
                Specifies the default print queue (System V standard).
    
           **PRINTER**
                Specifies the default print queue (Berkeley standard).
    
           **TMPDIR**
                Specifies the location of temporary files.
    


## FILES



           _~/.cups/client.conf_
           _~/.cups/lpoptions_
    


## CONFORMING TO



           **CUPS** conforms to the Internet Printing Protocol version 2.1 and
           implements the Berkeley and System V UNIX print commands.
    


## NOTES



           CUPS printer drivers, backends, and PPD files 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).
    


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