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Deemwar Monads & Abstractions

Print from any browser, no print dialog

printproxy lets a web app print straight to the printer next to you, from an iPad, Chromebook, Android phone or desktop browser. A small agent sits beside the printer and prints only jobs signed by the site you paired it with.

28 ms print() → printed, loopback

1284 ms median, phone → relay in Germany, 290 ms RTT

ALPHA

How it works

Your page loads printproxy.js and calls print(). The job reaches printproxy-agent, a single binary on a computer next to the printer, by one of three routes. Every route speaks the same API (/v1/printers, /v1/jobs), and printproxy.connect() probes all the routes you configure at once and uses the first that answers, in the order same PC, LAN, relay.

iPad, Chromebook and Android cannot run the agent. Put the agent on another always-on box next to the printer: a PC, a Mac, or a Linux box such as a Raspberry Pi. Those devices then reach it through the relay (works today) or on the LAN once they trust the agent's CA.

Where it fits

When you need it

You don't need it if a person is happy to click the browser's print dialog on a desktop every time.

Integrate from your backend

The core API is three calls, each with Authorization: Bearer <print key>. Full runnable examples exist for JS, Python, PHP, Java and Go; ask for them when you join the alpha.

GET  /v1/printers                                -> {"printers":[{"name","driver","is_default","state"}]}
POST /v1/jobs {"kind","payload_b64","printer"?}  -> {"id","status":"queued",...}
GET  /v1/jobs/{id}?wait=25&after=<status>        -> long-poll until printed | failed | expired

Node 18+

const api = (m, p, b) => fetch(process.env.PRINTPROXY_URL + p, { method: m,
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.PRINTPROXY_KEY}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: b && JSON.stringify(b) }).then(r => r.json());
let job = await api("POST", "/v1/jobs", { kind: "pdf", payload_b64: pdf.toString("base64") });
while (!["printed", "failed", "expired"].includes(job.status))
  job = await api("GET", `/v1/jobs/${job.id}?wait=25&after=${job.status}`);

Python 3 (stdlib)

body = {"kind": "pdf", "payload_b64": base64.b64encode(pdf).decode()}
job = api("POST", "/v1/jobs", body)
while job["status"] not in ("printed", "failed", "expired"):
    job = api("GET", f"/v1/jobs/{job['id']}?wait=25&after={job['status']}")

PHP 8

$job = api('POST', '/v1/jobs', ['kind' => 'pdf', 'payload_b64' => base64_encode($pdf)]);
while (!in_array($job['status'], ['printed', 'failed', 'expired']))
    $job = api('GET', '/v1/jobs/' . rawurlencode($job['id']) . '?wait=25&after=' . $job['status']);

Receipt (ESC/POS) from the page (not yet tested on a physical printer)

const esc = "\x1b@" + "Table 4\n2 x Flat white   7.00\n\n\n" + "\x1dV\x00"; // init, text, cut
await printproxy.print(esc, { printer: "receipt", kind: "escpos" });

Label (ZPL) (not yet tested on a physical printer)

await printproxy.print("^XA^FO50,50^A0N,40,40^FDOrder 1042^FS^XZ", { printer: "zebra", kind: "zpl" });

Alpha tester guide

1. 1

   Get the agent

   on request

   Alpha builds are sent on request: macOS, Linux (including 64-bit and 32-bit Raspberry Pi) and Windows. Join the alpha and tell us which.

2. 2

   Start with a virtual printer

   config.toml

   Prove the path before any paper moves. A file printer writes each job to a new file:

   printproxy-agent default-config > config.toml
   # in config.toml:
   [[file_printers]]
   name = "pdf-file"
   dir = "/tmp/printproxy-out"
   
   printproxy-agent printers --config config.toml   # read-only list
   printproxy-agent run --config config.toml

3. 3

   Mint keys

   printproxy-relay gen-key

   Each key is printed once; the relay stores only its sha256. Keep one role = "admin" key for pairing (backend and console only) and give the web page a role = "print" key, which can list printers and print, nothing else.

   printproxy-relay gen-key --site clinic
   printproxy-relay default-config > relay.toml   # add the [[keys]] block
   printproxy-relay serve --config relay.toml

4. 4

   Pair by fingerprint + code

   once per agent

   The agent writes a single-use code (ABCD-EFGH, 10 minutes, burned after 5 wrong guesses) to <state_dir>/pairing_code and its fingerprint (3f9a-01bc-77de-5a20) to <state_dir>/fingerprint. Pair with both, then check the fingerprint in the answer matches the box.

   curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $PP_ADMIN_KEY" \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{"fingerprint":"3f9a-01bc-77de-5a20","code":"ABCD-EFGH"}' \
     https://<your-relay>/v1/pair

5. a name alone → 400 fingerprint_required · wrong code → pair_err, nothing bound
6. 5

   Open the console

   /console/

   The relay serves an admin console at /console/: printers per agent, jobs (in-flight ones update live), agents and pairing, API keys. Sign in with the admin key; it stays in that tab's sessionStorage. Use it on a trusted device, over HTTPS.

   
7. 6

   Print from your page

   printproxy.js 0.4.1

   <script src="https://<your-relay>/printproxy.js"></script>
   <script>
   const c = await printproxy.connect({
     local: { url: "http://localhost:8789",     apiKey: "ppl_…" },
     lan:   { url: "https://192.168.1.20:8790", apiKey: "ppl_…" },
     relay: { url: "https://<your-relay>",   apiKey: "pp_…" },
   });
   c.route;                                     // "local" | "lan" | "relay"
   const list = await printproxy.printers();
   await printproxy.print(pdfBlob, { printer: "pdf-file" });
   </script>

   Configure only the routes you use. The ppl_ key comes from printproxy-agent local-key --config config.toml. Set cors_origins to your web app's origin on the agent and the relay.

What it prints

Receipts and labels. Add the printer's address to the agent and send kind: "raw" with ESC/POS or ZPL bytes:

[[printers]]
name = "receipt"
addr = "192.168.1.50:9100"

Windows. PDF, images, text and markdown print through a bundled, unmodified SumatraPDF.exe shipped beside the agent. Windows printing is new in this alpha and has not yet been verified against a real Windows print queue; tell us what you see.

Troubleshooting

Security

• The agent only connects outbound; no port is opened for the relay route.
• Every job is signed (Ed25519) with the paired site's key and checked by the agent: signature, payload hash, expiry, replayed nonce.
• A job whose agent drops before confirming is marked failed, never re-sent.
• Print keys print; only admin keys pair or unpair.
• Unpaired agents keep their records; nothing is deleted.

Join the alpha

printproxy is in alpha and has no public price. A one-time licence, no subscription, is available on request for early sites and integrators. Leave your details and we will send an alpha build.

Email Company optional What do you print? prescriptions, receipts, labels, invoices… Which devices send the print? iPad, Chromebook, Android, desktop…

Website

Join the alpha

Sources: 28 ms is one take on a single Mac (phone simulator, relay and agent all local), 2026-10-16. 1284 ms is the median of three takes (1222, 1284, 1609 ms) from a phone simulator in India through a relay on a server in Germany to an agent back on the Mac, 290 ms round trip, 2026-10-16. Both used a file printer.