cupsadmin/CLAUDE.md

cupsadmin

A native replacement for the CUPS web interface (http://localhost:631) that Apple removed in macOS 27. cupsd, lpadmin, lpstat, lpoptions and IPP Everywhere queues still work; only the browser admin pages are gone. Two front ends share one library:

• CupsKit (Sources/CupsKit) — IPP client, PPD parser, CUPS tool wrappers, read-back checks. Pure logic: returns values or throws, never prints.
• cupsadmin (Sources/cupsadmin) — the CLI, a thin layer over CupsKit.
• CUPS Admin.app (Sources/CUPSAdminApp) — the SwiftUI app. The target is CUPSAdminApp, not CUPSAdmin: APFS is case-insensitive, so Sources/CUPSAdmin is the same folder as Sources/cupsadmin and the two executables would collide in .build/.

Private maintainer notes, if present, are in CLAUDE.local.md (gitignored).

Architecture

• Reads are IPP with a small hand-written encoder/decoder (RFC 8010, CupsKit/IPP): CUPS-Get-Printers, Get-Printer-Attributes, Get-Jobs, Get-Job-Attributes, Cancel-Job, CUPS-Get-Default. This gives typed data (state reasons, *-default, *-supported, job state) instead of localized lpstat text.
• Transport is the Unix socket /private/var/run/cupsd, not TCP 631. On macOS 27 launchd socket-activates cupsd only on that socket; cupsd binds port 631 itself while running and exits after about a minute idle, so TCP fails whenever it's asleep. URLSession can't use AF_UNIX, so UnixSocketHTTP.swift speaks minimal HTTP/1.1 over POSIX sockets. PPDs are fetched the same way (GET /printers/<queue>.ppd).
• Writes shell out through CupsTools: lpadmin, cupsenable/cupsdisable, cupsaccept/cupsreject, cancel, lp, lpmove, lpinfo. lpadmin already handles _lpadmin authorization and IPP Everywhere PPD generation.
• Queue defaults are written with lpadmin -p <queue> -o key=value (into the queue's PPD / printers.conf, for every user) — never lpoptions. ~/.cups/lpoptions is only read, to point out a per-user override.
• PPD options keep their *OpenGroup, UI type and *ParamCustom type/range. Custom values are written as Custom.<value> and quoted when they contain spaces (unquoted, lpadmin silently truncates).
• Quick actions are vendor-neutral. QuickActions.swift defines the actions; what each writes comes from Resources/driver-profiles.json (embedded in code — the CLI is a single binary), matched on the PPD's *Manufacturer/*NickName, vendor profiles first and generic (standard PPD keywords, IPP Everywhere *-default attributes) last. A pair is used only if that queue supports the keyword and value; otherwise the action is unavailable with the reason. cupsadmin ppdreport <queue> shows a driver's keywords and which actions its profile enables.

Build and test

swift build                          # debug build of everything
.build/debug/cupsadmin printers      # run the CLI
./test.sh                            # Swift Testing via the Command Line Tools (see flags inside)
./build.sh --build-only              # universal CLI + app bundle, ad-hoc signed, no identities needed
./build.sh --screenshots             # regenerate docs/screenshots/app-jobs.png from temporary demo queues
./build.sh                           # release: sign, payload-free PKG, notarize, staple, spctl

• Only the Command Line Tools are required. Universal builds are per-triple (swift build -c release --triple arm64-apple-macosx14.0 and x86_64-…) plus lipo; --arch arm64 --arch x86_64 needs full Xcode.
• Package: tools-version 6.0, Swift 5 language mode, macOS 14 minimum.
• build.sh reads CODESIGN_APP_IDENTITY, CODESIGN_PKG_IDENTITY, NOTARY_PROFILE (and optional CODESIGN_TEAM_ID) from the environment or an untracked build.env. Never hard-code identities.
• The PKG is payload-free (pkgbuild --nopayload --scripts; pkg/postinstall copies the binary), because any payload's "." entry would reset an existing /usr/local/bin's ownership.
• The app icon master is Icon/AppIcon-1024.png; build.sh generates AppIcon.icns from it. Don't redraw it.
• Live tests are opt-in and write to queues: CUPSKIT_LIVE_QUEUE=<queue>, CUPSKIT_LIVE_JOBS=<a>,<b>, CUPSKIT_LIVE_QUICK=<ricoh>,<generic>. Use throwaway queues (e.g. lpd://127.0.0.1/…, paused) and delete them afterwards; the live tests restore what they change. Offline tests use vendor PPDs from /Library/Printers/PPDs and skip when they aren't installed.

Conventions

• US spelling everywhere — code, UI, CLI output, docs (color, canceled, gray).
• No third-party dependencies. No Xcode project.
• CLI status lines on every exit path: started HH:MM:SS, exactly one OK: … or ERROR: …, and finished HH:MM:SS (total N min) — on stderr, so tables on stdout pipe cleanly. Exit 0 success, 1 runtime error or not applied, 2 usage error. Existing command output is a contract: don't change it casually. Scripts (build.sh, test.sh) print the same started/finished lines.
• Read back after every write. Re-query cupsd and compare; a change that didn't take is reported (NOT APPLIED, non-zero exit, or a red X with the reason) — never silent.
• App feedback: every action updates the bottom status line with its timing ("Set 3 options on Office in 0.4 s", "ERROR: …") and logs the same through os_log (subsystem edu.wku.cupsadmin.app). Failures show the tool output and, for permission errors, the _lpadmin fix. The exact command is visible before it runs. Destructive actions confirm and name the object.
• Secrets: passcode/password options written as queue defaults land in a world-readable PPD — warn, and mask them in displayed commands. Never commit build.env, dist/, notary output or CLAUDE.local.md.
• Native SwiftUI and macOS idioms only: NavigationSplitView, sortable/resizable Table, Form with .formStyle(.grouped), standard sheets, alerts and confirmation dialogs, SF Symbols, system fonts, semantic colors (.primary, .secondary, .green/.blue/.red state dots), ContentUnavailableView empty states. No custom chrome, no web-style cards, no emoji. Must look right in light and dark mode. Tables and text are selectable and copyable.