mcp-printer

Let Claude print documents on any USB or network printer.

A generic MCP server that exposes a printing tool to Claude (and any other MCP client). It works with network printers through the standard IPP / AirPrint / Mopria protocol and with locally installed printers through the platform print stack — the Windows spooler on Windows and CUPS (lp) on Linux/macOS. No vendor-specific driver code.

When Claude needs to put something on paper — a PDF you point it at, a note it just wrote, a shopping list — it can call print_document and the job goes straight to your printer.

What it exposes

Backends are auto-detected and degrade gracefully — the same server runs on any OS and lights up whatever printers it can reach:

• IPP (_ipp._tcp mDNS) — driverless network printers (anything AirPrint/Mopria capable). Cross-platform; the tiny IPP wire protocol is implemented in-package, no extra tooling needed.
• Windows — printers installed in Windows (USB and network), driven via PowerShell. Text prints natively; other file types are handed to the app registered to print them.
• CUPS (lp) — printers configured in CUPS on Linux and macOS (USB and network), with full option support (copies, duplex, color, media).

Install

pip install mcp-printer

git clone https://github.com/AminHA1248/mcp-printer
cd mcp-printer
python -m venv .venv
# Windows:  .venv\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux:  source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

Platform prerequisites:

• Windows: nothing extra — the spooler and PowerShell ship with Windows. Install the printer's normal Windows driver so it appears in Printers & scanners.
• Linux: CUPS with the queue configured (lp/lpstat, usually via the cups package).
• macOS: nothing extra — CUPS is built in; add the printer in System Settings.
• Network printers: just be on the same LAN/subnet; mDNS handles discovery.

Connect it to Claude

Claude Desktop — one-click extension (easiest)

Download mcp-printer-<version>.mcpb from the latest release and open it via Settings → Extensions → Install extension…. Requires Python 3.10+ with pip install mcp-printer (the extension tells you if it's missing). Details: docs/EXTENSION.md.

Claude Desktop — manual config

Edit claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "printer": {
      "command": "mcp-printer"
    }
  }
}

If mcp-printer isn't found (its Scripts/bin dir isn't on Claude's PATH), use the full path to the launcher — e.g. C:\Users\you\...\Scripts\mcp-printer.exe on Windows or /path/to/venv/bin/mcp-printer on macOS/Linux — or python -m mcp_printer.server.

Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add printer -- mcp-printer

Restart the client, then ask Claude: "List my printers" or "Print this report double-sided."

How you actually run it

You normally don't launch anything yourself — Claude Desktop/Code starts the mcp-printer server in the background (per the config above) and calls its tools when you ask. Running mcp-printer by hand just starts the MCP server, which waits silently for JSON-RPC on stdin; it is not an interactive shell.

To test the hardware without Claude, use the bundled CLI, test_print.py:

# from the project folder, using the venv's Python
python test_print.py --list                # discover printers
python test_print.py                       # print a small text test page
python test_print.py --printer "<id>" --file report.pdf --duplex long-edge --copies 2

Configuration (env vars)

print_document options

printer_id (from list_printers; auto-selects the system default or only printer), file_path or text (one of the two), copies (1–99), duplex (auto/off/long-edge/short-edge), color_mode (auto/color/monochrome), media (paper size keyword, e.g. iso_a4_210x297mm, na_letter_8.5x11in).

Notes & limitations

• IPP covers most printers sold in the last ~decade. The document is sent as-is (with a MIME hint from the file extension), so stick to formats printers understand natively: PDF, JPEG, plain text. PNG and others depend on the model.
• The Windows backend prints text reliably; for other file types it uses the shell PrintTo verb, which needs an installed app that registers a print handler for that extension. For PDFs on a bare Windows install, prefer the IPP backend (network printers) instead. Duplex/color/media are driver preferences on Windows and are not overridden per-job.
• HTTPS IPP devices use self-signed certs, so TLS verification is disabled for them (typical for LAN printers); prefer a trusted network.
• This server performs local hardware I/O only — it does not send anything to the cloud.

Privacy Policy

mcp-printer runs entirely on your machine and collects no data — no telemetry, no analytics, no network transmission of your documents beyond the printer you select. Full policy: PRIVACY.md.

License

MIT