CUPS for Openwrt/LEDE

If you want to install cups on your openwrt/openwrt-LEDE router to share a usb printer over network or to enable airprint on your usb/network printer follow these steps. If you follow these step you will be able to print via an iOS device, Android, macOS, Linux and Windows.

Step 1

Find the "Platform" of your router on the openwrt. https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/start

You will also need to know if your openwrt router run an LEDE version or not.

Step 2

Follow those steps if your router is not on a LEDE firmware (Openwrt 15 or less) or go to step 3. https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/cups.server

If your router run an LEDE firmware follow these steps to compile the cups package. For these steps you must have a Linux computer.

If you're lucky maybe the cups package is already build for your platform here: https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/packages.old

or here for the newer version: https://github.com/syb999/openwrt-musl-cups https://github.com/syb999/openwrt-uclibc-cups

Do the following steps on a Linux computer (I recommend a debian base Linux like Ubuntu) to compile the packages. Check the dependencies for openwrt and cups before try to compile: https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-developer/quickstart-build-images https://github.com/apple/cups/blob/master/INSTALL.md

git clone https://github.com/lede-project/source

cd source

echo "src-git cups https://github.com/TheMMcOfficial/lede-cups.git" >> feeds.conf.default

make sure to have all the dependencies install to compile the package

./scripts/feeds update -a

./scripts/feeds install -a

make menuconfig

(set the target system to your router "Platform" and set Network->Printing->cups as "M")

make

This step will take some time so go grab a cofee!

If you try to compile with the root user you will get errors. To be able to compile you have to type this command:

export FORCE_UNSAFE_CONFIGURE=1

copy the following packages on the router with the scp command:

you will find these packages there:

/source/bin/packages/PLATFORM/cups/

cups_VERSION_PLATFORM.ipk

libcupscgi_VERSION-PLATFORM.ipk

libcupsmime_VERSION_PLATFORM.ipk

libcupsppdc_VERSION_PLATFORM.ipk

you will find this package here:

/source/bin/packages/PLATFORM/packages

libpng_VERSION_PLATFORM.ipk

libcups_VERSION_PLATFORM.ipk

you can also update the libjpg if you want

/source/bin/packages/PLATFORM/base

libusb-1.0_VERSION_PLATFORM.ipk

zlib_VERSION_PLATFORM.ipk

scp Package [email protected]:/DESTINATION/PACKAGENAME

If your router's ip is not 192.168.1.1 change it! if you got an usb device mount on your router, upload the package on the usb device

Step 3

install the packages with:

if your router doen't run an LEDE version just run:

opkg install cups

If you got the compiled version of cups (LEDE) run this:

opkg install **package.ipk**

You can install multiple packages at the same time.

You need to install avahi-demon too.

opkg install avahi-daemon

Step 4

Configure cups.

chmod 700 /usr/lib/cups/backend/usb

Change the config of cups to be able to modify the config of cups over your network!

vi /etc/cups/cupsd.conf

#######################################################################
#                                                                      #
# This is the CUPS configuration file.  If you are familiar with       #
# Apache or any of the other popular web servers, we've followed the   #
# same format.  Any configuration variable used here has the same      #
# semantics as the corresponding variable in Apache.  If we need       #
# different functionality then a different name is used to avoid       #
# confusion...                                                         #
#                                                                      #
########################################################################


AccessLog syslog
ErrorLog syslog
LogLevel info
PageLog syslog
PreserveJobHistory No
PreserveJobFiles No
AutoPurgeJobs Yes
MaxJobs 25
MaxPrinterHistory 10
#Printcap /etc/printcap
#PrintcapFormat BSD
RequestRoot /var/cups
#RemoteRoot remroot
#User nobody
#Group nobody
# root permissions required to make cups work with the usb backend
User root
Group root
RIPCache auto
TempDir /var/cups
Port 631
HostNameLookups On
KeepAlive On
# No: "BrowseOrder" "BrowseAllow" "BrowseRemoteProtocols"
Browsing Yes
BrowsingWebIF Yes
BrowseLocalProtocols DNSSD
DefaultShared Yes
WebInterface Yes
Listen /var/run/cups/cups.sock

ServerAlias *

<Location />
Order Allow,Deny
Allow From 127.0.0.1
Allow From 192.168.1.0/24
</Location>

<Location /admin>
AuthType Basic
AuthClass System
Order Allow,Deny
Allow From 127.0.0.1
Allow From 192.168.1.0/24
</Location>

restart cups

/etc/init.d/cupsd restart

Step 5

Configure the printer in cups.

Go to http://192.168.1.1:631

Add your printer. If your printer is plug via USB you should see it on the screen. If your printer is a network printer you will have to configure it manualy. You will choose the prococol compatible with your printer. Personaly I have configure mine with the socket protocol.

You can search for the ppd of your printer but airprint may have trouble.

Note the printer name and description of the printer because you will need it for configuring airprint

Step 6

Configure airprint!

create the following file

vi /etc/avahi/services/AirPrint-YOUR_PRINTER.service

And paste this. Replace all the "YOUR_PRINTER" by the name gave in the cups configuration.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding='UTF-8'?>
<!DOCTYPE service-group SYSTEM "avahi-service.dtd">
<service-group>
<name replace-wildcards="yes">AirPrint YOUR_PRINTER @ %h</name>
<service>
       <type>_ipp._tcp</type>
       <!-- This is key for AirPrint -->
       <subtype>_universal._sub._ipp._tcp</subtype>
       <port>631</port>
       <!-- These are copied from the txt portion of the above output -->
       <txt-record>txtvers=1</txt-record>
       <txt-record>qtotal=1</txt-record>
       <txt-record>rp=printers/YOUR_PRINTER</txt-record>
       <txt-record>ty=I make the printer Go</txt-record>
       <!-- This is visible in iPhone UI -->
       <txt-record>note=I am an AirPrint Printer</txt-record>
       <txt-record>product=(GPL Ghostscript)</txt-record>
       <txt-record>printer-state=3</txt-record>
       <txt-record>printer-type=0x3006</txt-record>
       <txt-record>Binary=T</txt-record>
       <txt-record>Transparent=T</txt-record>
       <txt-record>URF=DM3</txt-record>
       <txt-record>pdl=application/octet-stream,application/pdf,application/postscript,application/vnd.cups-raster,image/gif,image/jpeg,image/png,image/tiff,image/urf,text/html,text/plain,application/vnd.adobe-reader-postscript,application/vnd.cups-pdf</txt-record>
</service>
</service-group>

restart avahi

/etc/init.d/avahi-daemon restart

I don't know if the last two file are required but I have create them.

vi /usr/share/cups/mime/airprint.convs

more airprint.convs
#
# "$Id: $"
#
# AirPrint
# Updated list with minimal set 25 Sept
image/urf application/pdf 100 pdftoraster
#
# End of "$Id: $".
#

/usr/share/cups/mime/airprint.types

airprint.types
#
# "$Id: $"
#
# AirPrint type
image/urf urf string(0,UNIRAST<00>)
#
# End of "$Id: $".
#

To make cups and avahi-demon start at boot

/etc/init.d/cupsd enable

/etc/init.d/avahi-daemon enable

Optional step

To put the spool on the usb

mkdir /mnt/shares/cups_spool

Change the spool config in /etc/cups/cupsd.conf

RequestRoot /mnt/shares/cups_spool

TempDir /mnt/shares/cups_spool

restart cups

/etc/init.d/cupsd restart

To debug avahi/airprint

opkg install avahi-utils

avahi-browse --terminate --resolve _ipp._tcp

avahi-browse -rt _universal._sub._ipp._tcp

Sources:

https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-developer/quickstart-build-images

https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/cups.server

http://mattie47.com/getting-cups-working-on-openwrt/

https://github.com/Gr4ffy/lede-cups

http://openrouter.info/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1856

https://forum.lede-project.org/t/compile-lede-with-error/2195/3

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=114904

https://github.com/syb999/openwrt-musl-cups