CUPS Implementation of IPP

Introduction

CUPS implements IPP/2.1 and the operations and attributes defined in the following specifications:

CUPS also provides 17 new operations and many new attributes to support multiple IPP printers and printer classes on a single host.

IPP URIs

CUPS supports the "http", "https", "ipp", and "ipps" schemes. The following resource names are used:

scheme://hostname:port/
Can be used for all "get" operations and for server subscriptions.
scheme://hostname:port/admin/
Used for all administrative operations.
scheme://hostname:port/classes/name
Specifies a printer class.
scheme://hostname:port/jobs/id
Specifies a job.
scheme://hostname:port/printers/name
Specifies a printer.

So a typical printer URI would be "ipp://foo.example.com/printers/LaserJet". In addition, the CUPS scheduler also supports (when enabled) normal browser access via "http://foo.example.com:port/" and "https://foo.example.com:port/".

CUPS IPP Operations

CUPS provides 17 vendor extension operations in addition to most of the standard IPP and registered extension operations:

Operation Name CUPS Code Brief Description
Print-Job 1.0 0x0002 Print a file.
Validate-Job 1.0 0x0004 Validate job attributes.
Create-Job 1.1 0x0005 Create a print job.
Send-Document 1.1 0x0006 Send a file for a print job.
Cancel-Job 1.0 0x0008 Cancel a print job.
Get-Job-Attributes 1.0 0x0009 Get job attributes.
Get-Jobs 1.0 0x000A Get all jobs.
Get-Printer-Attributes 1.0 0x000B Get printer attributes.
Hold-Job 1.1 0x000C Hold a job for printing.
Release-Job 1.1 0x000D Release a job for printing.
Restart-Job 1.1 0x000E Restarts a print job.
Pause-Printer 1.0 0x0010 Pause printing on a printer.
Resume-Printer 1.0 0x0011 Resume printing on a printer.
Purge-Jobs 1.0 0x0012 Purge all jobs.
Set-Printer-Attributes 1.4 0x0013 Set attributes for a printer.
Set-Job-Attributes 1.1 0x0014 Set attributes for a pending or held job.
Create-Printer-Subscription 1.2 0x0016 Creates a subscription associated with a printer or the server.
Create-Job-Subscription 1.2 0x0017 Creates a subscription associated with a job.
Get-Subscription-Attributes 1.2 0x0018 Gets the attributes for a subscription.
Get-Subscriptions 1.2 0x0019 Gets the attributes for zero or more subscriptions.
Renew-Subscription 1.2 0x001A Renews a subscription.
Cancel-Subscription 1.2 0x001B Cancels a subscription.
Get-Notifications 1.2 0x001C Get notification events for ippget subscriptions.
Enable-Printer 1.2 0x0022 Accepts jobs on a printer.
Disable-Printer 1.2 0x0023 Rejects jobs on a printer.
Hold-New-Jobs 1.4 0x0025 Hold new jobs by default.
Release-Held-New-Jobs 1.4 0x0026 Releases all jobs that were previously held.
Cancel-Jobs 1.5 0x0038 Cancel all jobs (administrator).
Cancel-My-Jobs 1.5 0x0039 Cancel all jobs (user).
Close-Job 1.5 0x003b Close a created job.
CUPS-Get-Default 1.0 0x4001 Get the default destination.
CUPS-Get-Printers 1.0 0x4002 Get all of the available printers.
CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer 1.0 0x4003 Add or modify a printer.
CUPS-Delete-Printer 1.0 0x4004 Delete a printer.
CUPS-Get-Classes 1.0 0x4005 Get all of the available printer classes.
CUPS-Add-Modify-Class 1.0 0x4006 Add or modify a printer class.
CUPS-Delete-Class 1.0 0x4007 Delete a printer class.
CUPS-Accept-Jobs 1.0 0x4008 Accept jobs on a printer or printer class. This operation is deprecated - use the Enable-Printer operation instead.
CUPS-Reject-Jobs 1.0 0x4009 Reject jobs on a printer or printer class. This operation is deprecated - use the Disable-Printer operation instead.
CUPS-Set-Default 1.0 0x400A Set the default destination.
CUPS-Get-Devices 1.1 0x400B Get all of the available devices.
CUPS-Get-PPDs 1.1 0x400C Get all of the available PPDs.
CUPS-Move-Job 1.1 0x400D Move a job to a different printer.
CUPS-Authenticate-Job 1.2 0x400E Authenticate a job for printing.
CUPS-Get-PPD 1.3 0x400F Get a PPD file.
CUPS-Get-Document 1.4 0x4027 Get a document file from a job.
CUPS-Create-Local-Printer 2.2 0x4028 Creates a local (temporary) print queue pointing to a remote IPP Everywhere printer.

Operations

The following sections describe the operations supported by CUPS. In the interest of brevity, operations which use only the standard IPP attributes are not described.

Cancel Job Operation (Extension)

The Cancel-Job operation (0x0008) cancels the specified job. CUPS 1.4 added support for the purge-job (boolean) operation attribute that (if 'true') removes all history and document files for the job as well.

Purge-Jobs Operation

The Purge-Jobs operation (0x0012) cancels all of the jobs on a given destination and optionally removes all history and document files for the jobs as well. CUPS 1.2 added support for the purge-job (boolean) operation attribute that (if 'false') retains all history and document files for the canceled jobs.

Note:

The Cancel-Jobs and Cancel-My-Jobs operations should be used instead of Purge-Jobs.

CUPS 1.2/macOS 10.5Create-Printer-Subscription

The Create-Printer-Subscription operation (0x0016) creates a subscription for printer or server event notifications. CUPS provides several additional events in addition to the standard events in the IPP notifications specification. CUPS adds the following notify-events (1setOf type2 keyword) values:

  • printer-added - Get notified whenever a printer or class is added
  • printer-deleted - Get notified whenever a printer or class is deleted
  • printer-modified - Get notified whenever a printer or class is modified
  • server-audit - Get notified when a security condition occurs
  • server-restarted - Get notified when the server is restarted
  • server-started - Get notified when the server is started
  • server-stopped - Get notified when the server is stopped

CUPS-Get-Default Operation

The CUPS-Get-Default operation (0x4001) returns the default printer URI and attributes.

CUPS-Get-Default Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Get-Default request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"requested-attributes" (1setOf keyword):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a set of attribute names and/or attribute group names in whose values the requester is interested. If the client omits this attribute, the server responds as if this attribute had been supplied with a value of 'all'.

CUPS-Get-Default Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Get-Default Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

Group 2: Printer Object Attributes

The set of requested attributes and their current values.

CUPS-Get-Printers Operation

The CUPS-Get-Printers operation (0x4002) returns the printer attributes for every printer known to the system. This may include printers that are not served directly by the server.

CUPS-Get-Printers Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Get-Printers request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"first-printer-name" (name(127)): CUPS 1.2/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute to select the first printer that is returned.
"limit" (integer (1:MAX)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute limiting the number of printers that are returned.
"printer-id" (integer(0:65535)): CUPS 2.2
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute to select which printer is returned.
"printer-location" (text(127)): CUPS 1.1.7
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute to select which printers are returned.
"printer-type" (type2 enum): CUPS 1.1.7
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a printer type enumeration to select which printers are returned.
"printer-type-mask" (type2 enum): CUPS 1.1.7
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a printer type mask enumeration to select which bits are used in the "printer-type" attribute.
"requested-attributes" (1setOf keyword):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a set of attribute names and/or attribute group names in whose values the requester is interested. If the client omits this attribute, the server responds as if this attribute had been supplied with a value of 'all'.
"requested-user-name" (name(127)): CUPS 1.2/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a user name that is used to filter the returned printers.

CUPS-Get-Printers Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Get-Printers Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

Group 2: Printer Object Attributes

The set of requested attributes and their current values for each printer.

CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer Operation

The CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer operation (0x4003) adds a new printer or modifies an existing printer on the system.

CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"printer-uri" (uri):
The client MUST supply a URI for the specified printer.

Group 2: Printer Object Attributes

"auth-info-required" (1setOf type2 keyword): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies one or more authentication keywords that are required to communicate with the printer/remote queue.
"job-sheets-default" (1setOf name(127)): CUPS 1.1.7
The client OPTIONALLY supplies one or two banner page names that are printed before and after files in a job. The reserved name "none" is used to specify that no banner page should be printed.
"device-uri" (uri):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a device URI for the specified printer.
"port-monitor" (name(127)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a port monitor name for the specified printer.
"ppd-name" (name(255)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a PPD name for the specified printer.
"printer-is-accepting-jobs" (boolean):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this boolean attribute indicating whether the printer object should accept new jobs.
"printer-info" (text(127)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating the printer information string.
"printer-location" (text(127)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating a textual location of the printer.
"printer-more-info" (uri):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating a URI for additional printer information.
"printer-state" (type2 enum):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating the initial/current state of the printer. Only the 'idle(3)' and 'stopped(5)' enumerations are recognized.
"printer-state-message" (text(MAX)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating a textual reason for the current printer state.
"requesting-user-name-allowed" (1setof name(127) | delete)
OR
"requesting-user-name-denied" (1setof name(127) | delete):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies one of these attributes to specify an access control list for incoming print jobs. To allow all users access to a printer, use the delete tag for the attribute value.

The CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer request can optionally be followed by a PPD file to be used for the printer. The "ppd-name" attribute overrides any file that is attached to the end of the request with a local CUPS PPD file.

CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Add-Modify-Printer Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

CUPS-Delete-Printer Operation

The CUPS-Delete-Printer operation (0x4004) removes an existing printer from the system.

CUPS-Delete-Printer Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Delete-Printer request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"printer-uri" (uri):
The client MUST supply a URI for the specified printer.

CUPS-Delete-Printer Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Delete-Printer Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

CUPS-Get-Classes Operation

The CUPS-Get-Classes operation (0x4005) returns the printer attributes for every printer class known to the system. This may include printer classes that are not served directly by the server.

CUPS-Get-Classes Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Get-Classes request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"first-printer-name" (name(127)): CUPS 1.2/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute to select the first printer that is returned.
"limit" (integer (1:MAX)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute limiting the number of printer classes that are returned.
"printer-location" (text(127)): CUPS 1.1.7
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute to select which printer classes are returned.
"printer-type" (type2 enum): CUPS 1.1.7
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a printer type enumeration to select which printer classes are returned.
"printer-type-mask" (type2 enum): CUPS 1.1.7
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a printer type mask enumeration to select which bits are used in the "printer-type" attribute.
"requested-attributes" (1setOf keyword):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a set of attribute names and/or attribute group names in whose values the requester is interested. If the client omits this attribute, the server responds as if this attribute had been supplied with a value of 'all'.
"requested-user-name" (name(127)): CUPS 1.2/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a user name that is used to filter the returned printers.

CUPS-Get-Classes Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Get-Classes Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

Group 2: Printer Class Object Attributes

The set of requested attributes and their current values for each printer class.

CUPS-Add-Modify-Class Operation

The CUPS-Add-Modify-Class operation (0x4006) adds a new printer class or modifies and existing printer class on the system.

CUPS-Add-Modify-Class Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Add-Modify-Class request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"printer-uri" (uri):
The client MUST supply a URI for the specified printer class.

Group 2: Printer Object Attributes

"auth-info-required" (1setOf type2 keyword): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies one or more authentication keywords that are required to communicate with the printer/remote queue.
"member-uris" (1setof uri):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies the "member-uris" set specifying the printers and printer classes that are part of the class.
"printer-is-accepting-jobs" (boolean):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this boolean attribute indicating whether the class object should accept new jobs.
"printer-info" (text(127)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating the printer information string.
"printer-location" (text(127)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating a textual location of the class.
"printer-more-info" (uri):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating a URI for additional class information.
"printer-state" (type2 enum):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating the initial/current state of the class. Only the 'idle(3)' and 'stopped(5)' enumerations are recognized.
"printer-state-message" (text(MAX)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute indicating a textual reason for the current class state.
"requesting-user-name-allowed" (1setof name(127))
OR
"requesting-user-name-denied" (1setof name(127)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies one of these attributes to specify an access control list for incoming print jobs. To allow all users access to a class, use the delete tag for the attribute value.

CUPS-Add-Modify-Class Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Add-Modify-Class Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

CUPS-Delete-Class Operation

The CUPS-Delete-Class operation (0x4007) removes an existing printer class from the system.

CUPS-Delete-Class Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Delete-Class request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"printer-uri" (uri):
The client MUST supply a URI for the specified printer class.

CUPS-Delete-Class Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Delete-Class Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

CUPS-Set-Default Operation

The CUPS-Set-Default operation (0x400A) sets the default printer destination for all clients when a resource name of "/printers" is specified.

CUPS-Set-Default Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Set-Default request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"printer-uri" (uri):
The client MUST supply a URI for the specified printer or printer class.

CUPS-Set-Default Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Set-Default Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

DeprecatedCUPS-Get-Devices Operation

The CUPS-Get-Devices operation (0x400B) returns all of the supported device-uri's for the server.

CUPS-Get-Devices Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Get-Devices request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"device-class" (type1 keyword):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a device class keyword to select which devices are returned.
"exclude-schemes" (1setOf name): CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a set of scheme names that the requestor does not want to discover. If the client omits this attribute, the server responds with devices of all schemes specified by the "include-schemes" attribute.
"include-schemes" (1setOf name): CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a set of scheme names that the requestor wants to discover. If the client omits this attribute, the server responds with devices of all schemes except those specified by the "exclude-schemes" attribute.
"limit" (integer (1:MAX)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute limiting the number of devices that are returned.
"requested-attributes" (1setOf keyword):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a set of attribute names and/or attribute group names in whose values the requester is interested. If the client omits this attribute, the server responds as if this attribute had been supplied with a value of 'all'.
"timeout" (integer (1:MAX)): CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute to limit the duration of the lookup. The default timeout is 15 seconds.

CUPS-Get-Devices Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Get-Devices Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

Groups 2-N: Device Object Attributes (using printer-attributes-tag group)

The set of requested attributes and their current values for each device.

DeprecatedCUPS-Get-PPDs Operation

The CUPS-Get-PPDs operation (0x400C) returns all of the locally available PPD files on the system.

CUPS-Get-PPDs Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Get-PPDs request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"exclude-schemes" (1setOf name): CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a set of scheme names that the requestor does not want to list. If the client omits this attribute, the server responds with PPDs of all schemes specified by the "include-schemes" attribute.
"include-schemes" (1setOf name): CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a set of scheme names that the requestor wants to list. If the client omits this attribute, the server responds with PPDs of all schemes except those specified by the "exclude-schemes" attribute.
"limit" (integer (1:MAX)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute limiting the number of PPDs that are returned.
"ppd-make" (text(127)):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a printer manufacturer to select which PPDs are returned.
"ppd-make-and-model" (text(127)): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a make and model to select which PPDs are returned.
"ppd-model-number" (integer): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a model number to select which PPDs are returned.
"ppd-natural-language" (naturalLanguage): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a language to select which PPDs are returned.
"ppd-product" (text(127)): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a PostScript product string to select which PPDs are returned.
"ppd-psversion" (text(127)): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a PostScript version string to select which PPDs are returned.
"ppd-type" (type1 keyword): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a driver type to select which PPDs are returned.
"requested-attributes" (1setOf keyword):
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a set of attribute names and/or attribute group names in whose values the requester is interested. If the client omits this attribute, the server responds as if this attribute had been supplied with a value of 'all'. Specify "ppd-make" to get a list of manufacturers.

CUPS-Get-PPDs Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Get-PPDs Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

Groups 2-N: PPD Attributes (using printer-attributes-tag group)

The set of requested attributes and their current values for each PPD file.

CUPS 1.1CUPS-Move-Job Operation

The CUPS-Move-Job operation (0x400D) moves an active print job or all print jobs for a printer to a different printer.

CUPS-Move-Job Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Move-Job request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"printer-uri" (uri)
OR
"printer-uri" (uri) and "job-id" (integer)
OR
"job-uri" (uri):
The client MUST supply a URI for the specified printer, the URI for the specified printer and a job ID number, or the job URI.

Group 2: Job Template Attributes

"job-printer-uri" (uri):
The client MUST supply a URI for a printer on the same server.

CUPS-Move-Job Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Move-Job Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Status Message:
The standard response status message.
Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.

CUPS 1.2/macOS 10.5CUPS-Authenticate-Job Operation

The CUPS-Authenticate-Job operation (0x400E) authenticates a print job for printing, releasing the job if it is held. Typically this is used when printing to a remote server. The authentication information is passed in the HTTP request; the HTTP connection is normally encrypted for this type of request.

CUPS-Authenticate-Job Request

The following groups of attributes are supplied as part of the CUPS-Authenticate-Job request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"printer-uri" (uri) and "job-id" (integer)
OR
"job-uri" (uri):
The client MUST supply a URI for the specified printer and a job ID number, or the job URI.

Group 2: Job Attributes

"auth-info" (1setOf text(MAX)): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies one or more authentication values as specified by the "auth-info-required" attribute.
"job-hold-until" (keyword | name(MAX)): CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5
The client OPTIONALLY supplies a new job-hold-until value for the job. If specified and not the "no-hold" value, the job is held instead of released for printing.

CUPS-Authenticate-Job Response

The following groups of attributes are send as part of the CUPS-Authenticate-Job Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

Group 2: Unsupported Attributes (status=client-eror-attributes-or-values-not-supported)

auth-info-required (1setOf Type2 keyword)
The required authentication information.

DeprecatedCUPS-Get-PPD Operation

The CUPS-Get-PPD operation (0x400F) gets a PPD file from the server. The PPD file can be specified using a ppd-name returned by CUPS-Get-PPDs or using the printer-uri for a queue.

If the PPD file is found, successful-ok is returned with the PPD file following the response data.

If the PPD file cannot be served by the local server because the printer-uri attribute points to an external printer, a cups-see-other status is returned with the correct URI to use.

If the PPD file does not exist, client-error-not-found is returned.

CUPS-Get-PPD Request

The following group of attributes is supplied as part of the CUPS-Get-PPD request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"printer-uri" (uri)
OR
"ppd-name" (name(255)):
The client MUST supply a printer URI or PPD name.

CUPS-Get-PPD Response

The following group of attributes is sent as part of the CUPS-Get-PPD Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.
"printer-uri" (uri):
The printer that provides the actual PPD file when the status code is cups-see-other (0x280).

If the status code is successful-ok, the PPD file follows the end of the IPP response.

CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6CUPS-Get-Document Operation

The CUPS-Get-Document operation (0x4027) gets a document file from a job on the server. The document file is specified using the document-number and either the job-uri or printer-uri and job-id identifying the job.

If the document file is found, successful-ok is returned with the document file following the response data.

If the document file does not exist, client-error-not-found is returned.

If the requesting user does not have access to the document file, client-error-not-authorized is returned.

CUPS-Get-Document Request

The following group of attributes is supplied as part of the CUPS-Get-Document request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
"printer-uri" (uri) and "job-id" (integer)
OR
"job-uri" (uri):
The client MUST supply a printer URI and job ID or job URI.
"document-number" (integer(1:MAX)):
The client MUST supply a document number to retrieve. The document-count attribute for the job defines the maximum document number that can be specified. In the case of jobs with banners (job-sheets is not "none"), document number 1 will typically contain the start banner and document number N will typically contain the end banner.

CUPS-Get-Document Response

The following group of attributes is sent as part of the CUPS-Get-Document Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.
"document-format" (mimeType):
The format of the document file.
"document-number" (integer(1:MAX)):
The requested document number.
"document-name" (name(MAX)):
The name that was supplied with the document, if any.

If the status code is successful-ok, the document file follows the end of the IPP response.

CUPS-Create-Local-Printer

The CUPS-Create-Local-Printer operation (0x4028) creates a local (temporary) print queue pointing to a remote IPP Everywhere Printer. The queue will remain until the scheduler idle exits, is restarted, or the system is restarted or shutdown. Temporary print queues can be made permanent by an administrator by setting the "printer-is-shared" attribute to 'true'.

At a minimum, the scheduler requires a name and URI for the Printer to add. When successful, the local "printer-uri" values are returned and may be used by the Client to submit Job Creation Requests, monitor for state changes, and so forth.

If the named printer already exists, the scheduler will reject the request with the 'client-error-not-possible' status code.

Access Rights: The authenticated user performing this operation MUST be a Local User of the system, and the request MUST be made over a local (domain socket or loopback interface) address. Otherwise, the request will be rejected with the 'client-error-forbidden' status code.

CUPS-Create-Local-Printer Request

The following group of attributes is supplied as part of the CUPS-Create-Local-Printer request:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.1 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.

Group 2: Printer Attributes

"printer-name" (name(127)):
The Client MUST supply this attribute which provides the name for the new Printer.
"device-uri" (uri):
The Client MUST supply this attribute which provides an "ipp" or "ipps" URI pointing to an IPP Everywhere Printer.
"printer-device-id" (text(1023)):
The Client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute which provides the IEEE 1284 device ID for the new Printer.
"printer-geo-location" (uri):
The Client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute which provides the geo-location of the new Printer as a "geo" URI.
"printer-info" (text(127)):
The Client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute which provides the description for the new Printer.
"printer-location" (text(127)):
The Client OPTIONALLY supplies this attribute which provides the location of the new Printer.

CUPS-Create-Local-Printer Response

The following group of attributes is sent as part of the CUPS-Create-Local-Printer Response:

Group 1: Operation Attributes

Natural Language and Character Set:
The "attributes-charset" and "attributes-natural-language" attributes as described in section 3.1.4.2 of the IPP Model and Semantics document.
Status Message:
The standard response status message.

Group 2: Printer Attributes

"printer-id" (integer(0:65535)):
The numeric identifier for the created Printer.
"printer-is-accepting-jobs" (boolean):
Whether the created Printer is accepting jobs at the time of the response.
"printer-state" (type1 enum):
The state of the created Printer at the time of the response.
"printer-state-reasons" (1setOf type2 keyword):
The state keywords for the created Printer at the time of the response.
"printer-uri-supported" (1setOf uri):
The URIs for the created Printer.

Attributes

CUPS provides many extension attributes to support multiple devices, PPD files, standard job filters, printers, and printer classes.

Device AttributesDeprecated

Device attributes are returned by the CUPS-Get-Devices operation and enumerate all of the available hardware devices and network protocols that are supported by the server. Device attributes are reported in the printer-attributes-tag group.

device-class (type2 keyword)Deprecated

The "device-class" attribute provides the class of device and can be one of the following:

  • 'file': A disk file.
  • 'direct': A parallel or fixed-rate serial data port, currently used for Centronics, IEEE-1284, and USB printer ports.
  • 'serial': A variable-rate serial port.
  • 'network': A network connection, typically via AppSocket, HTTP, IPP, LPD, or SMB/CIFS protocols.

device-id (text(1023))Deprecated

The "device-id" attribute provides the IEEE-1284 device ID string for the device.

device-info (text(127))Deprecated

The "device-info" attribute specifies a human-readable string describing the device, e.g., 'Parallel Port #1'.

device-location (text(127))Deprecated

The "device-location" attribute specifies the physical location of the printer, e.g., '2nd Floor Computer Lab'.

device-make-and-model (text(127))Deprecated

The "device-make-and-model" attribute specifies a device identification string provided by the printer connected to the device. If the device or printer does not support identification then this attribute contains the string 'unknown'.

device-uri (uri)

The "device-uri" attribute specifies a unique identifier for the device. The actual format of the "device-uri" string depends on the value of the "device-class" attribute:

  • 'file': The "device-uri" will be of the form 'file:///path/to/filename'.
  • 'direct': The "device-uri" will be of the form 'scheme:/dev/filename' or 'scheme://vendor/identifier', where scheme may be 'parallel' or 'usb' in the current implementation.
  • 'serial': The "device-uri" will be of the form 'serial:/dev/filename?baud=value+parity=value+flow=value'. The baud value is the data rate in bits per second; the supported values depend on the underlying hardware. The parity value can be one of "none", "even", or "odd". The flow value can be one of "none", "soft" (XON/XOFF handshaking), "hard" or "rts/cts" (RTS/CTS handshaking), or "dtrdsr" (DTR/DSR handshaking).

    The URI returned by CUPS-Get-Devices will contain the maximum baud rate supported by the device and the best type of flow control available ("soft" or "hard").

  • 'network': The "device-uri" will be of the form 'scheme://[username:password@]hostname[:port]/[resource]', where scheme may be "http", "https", "ipp", "lpd", "smb", or "socket" in the current implementation.

    The URI returned by CUPS-Get-Devices MAY only contain the scheme name ('scheme'). It is up to the client application to add the appropriate host and other information when adding a new printer.

    The URI returned by Get-Printer-Attributes and CUPS-Get-Printers has any username and password information stripped; the information is still stored and used by the server internally to perform any needed authentication.

Job Attributes

auth-info (1setOf text(MAX))CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5

The "auth-info" attribute specifies the authentication information to use when printing to a remote device. The order and content of each text value is specifed by the auth-info-required printer attribute.

job-cancel-after (integer(1:MAX))CUPS 2.0

The "job-cancel-after" attribute provides the maximum number of seconds that are allowed for processing a job.

job-hold-until (keyword | name(MAX))CUPS 1.1

The "job-hold-until" attribute specifies a hold time. In addition to the standard IPP/1.1 keyword names, CUPS supports name values of the form "HH:MM" and "HH:MM:SS" that specify a hold time. The hold time is in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) and not in the local time zone. If the specified time is less than the current time, the job is held until the next day.

job-media-progress (integer(0:100))CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6

The "job-media-progress" status attribute specifies the percentage of completion of the current page. It is only valid when the "job-state" attribute has the 'processing(5)' value.

job-printer-state-message (text(MAX))CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5

The "job-printer-state-message" status attribute provides the last known value of the "printer-state-message" attribute for the printer that processed (or is processing) the job.

job-printer-state-reasons (1setOf type2 keyword)CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5

The "job-printer-state-reasons" status attribute provides the last known value of the "printer-state-reasons" attribute for the printer that processed (or is processing) the job.

job-sheets (1setof type3 keyword | name(MAX))CUPS 1.1

The "job-sheets" attribute specifies one or two banner files that are printed before and after a job. The reserved value of "none" disables banner printing. The default value is stored in the "job-sheets-default" attribute.

If only one value is supplied, the banner file is printed before the job. If two values are supplied, the first value is used as the starting banner file and the second as the ending banner file.

job-originating-host-name (name(MAX))CUPS 1.1.5/macOS 10.2

The "job-originating-host-name" status attribute specifies the host from which the job was queued. The value will be the hostname or IP address of the client depending on whether hostname resolution is enabled. The localhost address (127.0.0.1) is always resolved to the name "localhost".

This attribute is read-only.

page-border (type2 keyword)CUPS 1.1.15

The "page-border" attribute specifies whether a border is draw around each page. The following keywords are presently defined:

  • 'double': Two hairline borders are drawn
  • 'double-thick': Two 1pt borders are drawn
  • 'none': No border is drawn (default)
  • 'single': A single hairline border is drawn
  • 'single-thick': A single 1pt border is drawn

page-set (type2 keyword)Deprecated

The "page-set" attribute specifies which pages to print in a file. The supported keywords are 'all', 'even', and 'odd'. The default value is 'all'.

PPD AttributesDeprecated

PPD attributes are returned in the printer-attributes-tag group.

ppd-device-id (text(127))Deprecated

The "ppd-device-id" attribute specifies the IEEE-1284 device ID string for the device described by the PPD file.

ppd-make (text(127))Deprecated

The "ppd-make" attribute specifies the manufacturer of the printer (the Manufacturer attribute in the PPD file). If the manufacturer is not specified in the PPD file then an educated guess is made using the NickName attribute in the PPD file.

ppd-make-and-model (text(127))Deprecated

The "ppd-make-and-model" attribute specifies the manufacturer and model name of the PPD file (the NickName attribute in the PPD file). If the make and model is not specified in the PPD file then the ModelName or ShortNickName attributes are used instead.

ppd-model-number (integer)Deprecated

The "ppd-model-number" attribute provides the cupsModelNumber value from the PPD file.

ppd-name (name(255))Deprecated

The "ppd-name" attribute specifies either the PPD filename on the server relative to the model directory or a URI that maps to a specific driver interface in the driver directory. The forward slash (/) is used to delineate directories.

ppd-natural-language (1setOf naturalLanguage)Deprecated

The "ppd-natural-language" attribute specifies the language encoding of the PPD file (the LanguageVersion attribute in the PPD file). If the language is unknown or undefined then "en" (English) is assumed.

ppd-product (1setOf text(127))Deprecated

The "ppd-product" attribute specifies the Product attribute values in the PPD file.

ppd-psversion (1setOf text(127))Deprecated

The "ppd-product" attribute specifies the PSVersion attribute values in the PPD file.

ppd-type (type1 keyword)Deprecated

The "ppd-type" attribute specifies the type of driver described by the PPD file:

  • 'fax': A facsimile or multi-function device
  • 'pdf': A PDF printer
  • 'postscript': A PostScript printer (no filters)
  • 'raster': A CUPS raster driver
  • 'unknown': An unknown or hybrid driver

Printer Attributes

auth-info-required (1setOf type2 keyword)CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5

The "auth-info-required" attribute specifies the authentication information that is required for printing a job. The following keywords are recognized:

  • 'domain': A domain name is required.
  • 'negotiate': Kerberos is required - this keyword can only appear by itself and causes cupsd to collect the UID of the printing user.
  • 'none': No authentication is required - this keyword can only appear by itself.
  • 'password': A password is required.
  • 'username': A username is required. Some protocols (like SMB) prefix the username with the domain, for example "DOMAIN\user".

job-k-limit (integer)CUPS 1.1

The "job-k-limit" attribute specifies the maximum number of kilobytes that may be printed by a user, including banner files. The default value of 0 specifies that there is no limit.

job-page-limit (integer)CUPS 1.1

The "job-page-limit" attribute specifies the maximum number of pages that may be printed by a user, including banner files. The default value of 0 specifies that there is no limit.

job-quota-period (integer)CUPS 1.1

The "job-quota-period" attribute specifies the time period used for quota calculations, in seconds. The default value of 0 specifies that the limits apply to all jobs that have been printed by a user that are still known to the system.

marker-change-time (integer)CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5

The "marker-change-time" status attribute specifies the "printer-up-time" value when the last change to the marker-colors, marker-levels, marker-message, marker-names, or marker-types attributes was made.

marker-colors (1setof name(MAX))CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5

The "marker-colors" status attribute specifies the color(s) for each supply in the printer. It is only available when the driver provides supply levels. The color is either 'none' or one or more hex-encoded sRGB colors of the form '#RRGGBB'.

marker-high-levels (1setof integer(0:100))CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6

The "marker-high-levels" status attribute specifies the supply levels that indicate a near-full condition. A value of 100 should be used for supplies that are consumed/emptied, e.g. ink cartridges.

marker-levels (1setof integer(-3:100))CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5

The "marker-levels" status attribute specifies the current supply levels for the printer. It is only available when the driver provides supply levels. A value of -1 indicates the level is unavailable, -2 indicates unknown, and -3 indicates the level is unknown but has not yet reached capacity. Values from 0 to 100 indicate the corresponding percentage.

marker-low-levels (1setof integer(0:100))CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6

The "marker-low-levels" status attribute specifies the supply levels that indicate a near-empty condition. A value of 0 should be used for supplies that are filled, e.g. waste ink tanks.

marker-message (text(MAX))CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6

The "marker-message" status attribute provides a human-readable status message for the current supply levels, e.g. "12 pages of ink remaining." It is only available when the driver provides supply levels.

marker-names (1setof name(MAX))CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5

The "marker-names" status attribute specifies the name(s) for each supply in the printer. It is only available when the driver provides supply levels.

marker-types (1setof type3 keyword)CUPS 1.3/macOS 10.5

The "marker-types" status attribute specifies the type(s) of each supply in the printer. It is only available when the driver provides supply levels. The following (RFC 3805) types are currently supported:

  • 'toner'
  • 'waste-toner'
  • 'ink'
  • 'ink-cartridge'
  • 'ink-ribbon'
  • 'waste-ink'
  • 'opc'
  • 'developer'
  • 'fuser-oil'
  • 'solid-wax'
  • 'ribbon-wax'
  • 'waste-wax'
  • 'fuser'
  • 'corona-wire'
  • 'fuser-oil-wick'
  • 'cleaner-unit'
  • 'fuser-cleaning-pad'
  • 'transfer-unit'
  • 'toner-cartridge'
  • 'fuser-oiler'
  • 'water'
  • 'waste-water'
  • 'binding-supply'
  • 'banding-supply'
  • 'stiching-wire'
  • 'shrink-wrap'
  • 'paper-wrap'
  • 'staples'
  • 'inserts'
  • 'covers'

port-monitor" (name(127))Deprecated

The "port-monitor" attribute specifies the port monitor to use when printing to this printer. The default port monitor is 'none'.

port-monitor-supported" (1setOf name(127))Deprecated

The "port-monitor-supported" attribute specifies the available port monitors.

printer-commands (1setOf Type3 keyword)Deprecated

The "printer-commands" attribute specifies the commands that are supported by the CUPS command file filter. The keyword 'none' indicates that no commands are supported.

printer-dns-sd-name (name(MAX) | noValue)CUPS 1.4/macOS 10.6

The "printer-dns-sd-name" attribute specifies the registered DNS-SD service name for the printer. If the printer is not being shared using this protocol, "printer-dns-sd-name" will have the no-value value.

printer-id (integer(0:65535)CUPS 2.2

The "printer-id" status attribute provides a unique integer identifying the printer. It is used when only an IP address and integer are provided for identifying a print queue.

printer-type (type2 enum)

The "printer-type" status attribute specifies printer type and capability bits for the printer or class. The default value is computed from internal state information and the PPD file for the printer. The following bits are defined:

Bit Description
0x00000001 Is a printer class.
0x00000002 Is a remote destination.
0x00000004 Can print in black.
0x00000008 Can print in color.
0x00000010 Can print on both sides of the page in hardware.
0x00000020 Can staple output.
0x00000040 Can do fast copies in hardware.
0x00000080 Can do fast copy collation in hardware.
0x00000100 Can punch output.
0x00000200 Can cover output.
0x00000400 Can bind output.
0x00000800 Can sort output.
0x00001000 Can handle media up to US-Legal/A4.
0x00002000 Can handle media from US-Legal/A4 to ISO-C/A2.
0x00004000 Can handle media larger than ISO-C/A2.
0x00008000 Can handle user-defined media sizes.
0x00010000 Is an implicit (server-generated) class.
0x00020000 Is the a default printer on the network.
0x00040000 Is a facsimile device.
0x00080000 Is rejecting jobs.
0x00100000 Delete this queue.
0x00200000 Queue is not shared.
0x00400000 Queue requires authentication.
0x00800000 Queue supports CUPS command files.
0x01000000 Queue was automatically discovered and added.
0x02000000 Queue is a scanner with no printing capabilities.
0x04000000 Queue is a printer with scanning capabilities.
0x08000000 Queue is a printer with 3D capabilities.

printer-type-mask (type2 enum)CUPS 1.1

The "printer-type-mask" attribute is used to choose printers or classes with the CUPS-Get-Printers and CUPS-Get-Classes operations. The bits are defined identically to the printer-type attribute and default to all 1's.

requesting-user-name-allowed (1setof name(127))CUPS 1.1

The "requesting-user-name-allowed" attribute lists all of the users that are allowed to access a printer or class. Either this attribute or the "requesting-user-name-denied" attribute will be defined, but not both.

requesting-user-name-denied (1setof name(127))CUPS 1.1

The "requesting-user-name-denied" attribute lists all of the users that are not allowed to access a printer or class. Either this attribute or the "requesting-user-name-allowed" attribute will be defined, but not both.

Printer Class Attributes

Printer class attributes are placed in the printer-attributes-tag group.

member-names (1setof name(127))

The "member-names" attribute specifies the "printer-name" attributes for each the member printer and class. Each name corresponds to the same element of the "member-uris" attribute.

member-uris (1setof uri)

The "member-uris" attribute specifies the "printer-uri-supported" values for each member printer and class. Each URI corresponds to the same element of the "member-names" attribute.