SpoolSmith
Copy a working Windows printer into a file, driver included, and set it up on the next PC
after reviewing exactly what will change.
SpoolSmith is a signed command-line tool and desktop app for the printer setup IT support keeps
repeating. Copy one printer or a whole PC's worth, double-click the file on the next PC, check
the plan, and confirm once.
Download for Windows ·
Documentation ·
Product site ·
Release notes
Copy a printer
In the desktop app: on the PC that already prints, select printers on This PC and
choose Copy 1 printer... (or Copy N printers... for a .zip set). On the next PC,
double-click the file, check the steps on the apply sheet, and confirm.
On the command line, in an administrator PowerShell:
# On the PC that already prints
.\spoolsmith.exe copy "Accounting" --out accounting.ssb
# On the PC that needs it
.\spoolsmith.exe apply accounting.ssb --dry-run # preview: changes nothing
.\spoolsmith.exe apply accounting.ssb # same plan, one confirmation
The copy carries the driver whenever it can be exported. apply checks that the printer
still reports the same model; if it isn't answering, setup falls back to the saved settings
and says so first. Re-running is safe: matching settings are left alone.
→ Full walkthrough: whole-PC sets,
USB and WSD printers, driver trust, and rolling one reviewed plan out to many PCs.
What else it does
| |
|---|
| Set up by address | Let Windows set up an IPP printer and find its own driver, or pick an installed driver yourself. Guide → |
| Saved setups | Keep printers as .ssb files to add, update, check or remove on any PC, and move the whole library as one .zip. Guide → |
| Change address | Printer moved or the subnet was renumbered? Re-point the queue; users keep the printer they already pick. Guide → |
| Intune packaging | Turn a printer file into a reviewable Win32 app and .intunewin. Local only; it never signs in to a tenant. Guide → |
| Discovery | Scan a subnet and see what each printer reports. Guide → |
Built to be boring
- You see every step before Windows changes. Drivers, ports, queues and any trusted-publisher change are all in the plan you confirm.
- No guessing. A printer reporting a different identity stops setup; it never becomes an install.
- Downloads nothing itself, asks for no credentials. Drivers come from the printer file, what's installed, or Windows' own driver search.
- Plain files. A
.ssb is a zip; a set is a zip of .ssb files. Neither contains commands.
Install
Every release has the same two
signed programs, spoolsmith-gui.exe and spoolsmith.exe, as a portable ZIP (no install,
no admin) or an MSI (Program Files, Start Menu, silent install for deployment tools).
Check what you downloaded:
Get-AuthenticodeSignature .\spoolsmith.exe | Format-List Status, SignerCertificate # Status: Valid
Requirements: Windows x64. Supported printers are RAW TCP 9100 by IP or hostname, verified
WSD, IPP through Windows automatic setup, and USB. See
Safety and limits for exactly what's
supported and what's been verified on real hardware.
Upgrading from v1.0 or earlier? Bare JSON profiles are no longer read. Recreate them by
copying the installed printer or with profile capture.
Details.
Documentation
Deployment details: MSI installer · Code signing ·
Intune deployment reference · Desktop/CLI parity
Building and contributing
Requires Go 1.24+. The detection core is OS-independent and tested anywhere; changing printers
is Windows-only.
go build ./...
go test ./...
go build -ldflags="-H windowsgui" -o dist/spoolsmith-gui.exe ./cmd/spoolsmith-gui # desktop, on Windows
Desktop UI tests (test/gui, FlaUI) need a Windows desktop session:
dotnet test test/gui/SpoolSmithGui.Tests, or the manual Desktop validation workflow.
SPOOLSMITH_CAPTURE_SITE_SHOTS=1 regenerates the site's screenshots from the running app. The
engineering record (specs, the review log with every defect found and fixed, and hardware
runbooks) is in docs/development/.
Bugs and ideas: open an issue.
License
MIT. See LICENSE.
