Show status of printers and other printer information using the terminal in Linux
ID: 290
Category: Cups Common UNIX Printing System
Added: 30th of October 2021
Updated On: Tutorial updated and rechecked on 17th of December 2025
Views: 4,289
Related Tips & Tutorials
➔
Start, Stop and Restart the Cups print Server in Linux using the terminal
There are a few options you can use to check the status of your printers in Linux.
You can use the printers option in your desktop environment or by accessing CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System) through your webbrowser at the following URL http://127.0.0.1:631
Another way is to use the lpstat and lpr commands in the terminal. The longer you use Linux, the more you will turn to using the terminal for probing of hardware and other basic operations.
To check what printers are in your network enter the following command
lpstat -e
Output
Deskjet-D1500-series
HP_ENVY_6000_series_C65AC5
To check the current status of all printers in your network
lpstat -p
Output
printer Deskjet-D1500-series disabled since Mon 26 Jul 2021 15:30:16 BST - Unplugged or turned off
printer HP_ENVY_6000_series_C65AC5_ is idle. enabled since Sat 30 Oct 2021 03:08:08 BST
To display your default printer
lpstat -d
Output
system default destination: HP_ENVY_6000_series_C65AC5_
To print a file from the default printer, enter the following command.
lp filename.ext
