GetPrinterAttributes

GetPrinterAttributes is an operation defined by the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) used to query a printer’s attributes. It allows a client to obtain information about a printer’s capabilities, status, and configuration, enabling applications to tailor job submission and user interfaces accordingly. In practice, it is commonly exposed by IPP-enabled printers and print servers such as those used in UNIX-like systems, macOS, and Windows environments that support IPP.

Operation and transport

GetPrinterAttributes is carried over IPP, typically via HTTP or HTTPS to the printer’s URI. A request includes operation attributes such as attributes-charset and attributes-natural-language, and the target printer URI. A optional attribute, requested-attributes, can be supplied to limit the set of attributes returned. The server responds with a printer-attributes group that lists various printer metadata and capabilities.

Typical attributes returned

Response attributes commonly include printer-name, printer-state, and printer-state-reasons, along with capability sets such as document-format-supported, color-supported, sides-supported, and media-supported. Other attributes may describe duplexing,-resolution options, ink or toner information, and supported compression or job-control features. The exact set depends on the IPP version and the printer’s implementation.

Use cases and behavior

GetPrinterAttributes is used by clients to discover what a printer can do before submitting jobs, to populate user interfaces, and for system management tasks. If access is restricted, the operation may require authentication and can return appropriate error statuses. In some deployments, the operation may be invoked by standards-conforming APIs or by printer-management tools.

See also

Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), RFC 2911, and related IPP attribute definitions and operations. Implementations include IPP-enabled printers, CUPS, and other print servers.