$ Linux Command

Administration

lpc

Line printer control; manage printer queues in CUPS/LPD.

printerqueuelpdcupscontrol

Additional Notes

lpc is a printer control command that provides an interactive interface for managing printer queues. It can start, stop, enable, disable, and check the status of print queues on a CUPS or LPD printing system.

While largely a legacy command from the Berkeley LPD system, lpc is still available in CUPS for backward compatibility. Most functionality is now available through lpadmin, lpstat, and cupsenable/cupsdisable.

Syntax

lpc [command [arguments]]

When run without arguments, lpc enters interactive mode.

Interactive Commands

  • status [printer]: Show the current status of a printer queue.
  • start [printer]: Start a printer queue.
  • stop [printer]: Stop a printer queue (no new jobs accepted).
  • enable [printer]: Enable the queue so it can accept jobs.
  • disable [printer]: Disable the queue so it does not accept jobs.
  • restart [printer]: Stop and restart the printer queue.
  • down [printer] [message]: Take the queue down with a status message.
  • up [printer]: Bring the queue back up.
  • topq printer job-id: Move a job to the top of the queue.
  • clean [printer]: Remove temporary files.
  • help [command]: Show help.
  • exit or quit: Leave interactive mode.

Parameters

  • options: Flags that change how lpc behaves.
  • target: Optional file, device, interface, user, service, or command target when the command supports one.

Examples

lpc status all

Show the status of all printer queues.

lpc status OfficePrinter

Show the status of a specific printer.

lpc stop OfficePrinter

Stop the printer queue; jobs remain in the queue but are not processed.

lpc disable OfficePrinter

Prevent the queue from accepting new jobs.

lpc start OfficePrinter

Restart processing jobs in the queue.

lpc topq OfficePrinter 42

Move job ID 42 to the top of the queue.

lpc

Enter interactive mode for multiple commands.

Practical Notes

  • lpc is part of CUPS for LPD compatibility but many tasks are better done with cupsenable, cupsdisable, lpstat, and lpadmin.
  • stop pauses queue processing but does not affect job acceptance; disable stops job acceptance.
  • Some LPD-only features of lpc may not work with CUPS backends.