Print My Bridge

A secure bridge application for remote printing

Built with Tauri, Rust, and modern web technologies

🚀 Overview

Print My Bridge is a desktop application that creates a secure HTTP bridge for remote printing. It allows you to send print jobs to local printers through a REST API with authentication and rate limiting.

✨ Features

• 🖨️ Remote Printing: Send print jobs to local printers via HTTP API
• 🔐 Secure Authentication: Token-based API authentication
• 🚦 Rate Limiting: Configurable request rate limiting
• 🎯 Cross-Platform: Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• ⚙️ Configurable: Flexible configuration options
• 🔄 Auto-Start: Optional system startup integration
• 📱 System Tray: Minimize to system tray support
• 🌐 CORS Support: Configurable cross-origin resource sharing

📋 Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10+, macOS 10.13+, or Linux
• Rust: 1.70+ (for development)
• Node.js: 16+ (for development)

🔧 Installation

Pre-built Binaries

Download the latest release for your platform from the Releases page:

• Windows: Print My Bridge_x.x.x_x64_en-US.msi
• macOS: Print My Bridge.app (Universal binary)
• Linux: print-my-bridge_x.x.x_amd64.deb

Build from Source

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/print-my-bridge.git
   cd print-my-bridge

2. Install Rust and Tauri CLI:

   curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
   cargo install tauri-cli

3. Build the application:

   cd src-tauri
   cargo tauri build

⚙️ Configuration

The application uses a TOML configuration file located at:

• Windows: %APPDATA%/print-my-bridge/print-my-bridge.toml
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/print-my-bridge/print-my-bridge.toml
• Linux: ~/.config/print-my-bridge/print-my-bridge.toml

Configuration Options

# Server configuration
host = "127.0.0.1"
port = 8765
max_file_size_mb = 10
rate_limit_per_minute = 60

# Application settings
auto_start = false
minimize_to_tray = true

# Security settings
allowed_origins = ["*"]
allowed_file_types = [".pdf", ".txt", ".doc", ".docx"]
default_printer = ""

🔑 API Authentication

1. Generate a token through the application UI
2. Include the token in your API requests:

   curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
        -F "[email protected]" \
        http://localhost:8765/api/print

📡 API Endpoints

Health Check

GET /health

Response:

{
  "status": "ok",
  "service": "print-my-bridge",
  "version": "0.1.0"
}

List Printers

GET /api/printers
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN

Response:

{
  "printers": [
    {
      "name": "HP LaserJet Pro",
      "is_default": true,
      "status": "ready"
    }
  ]
}

Print Document

POST /api/print
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN
Content-Type: multipart/form-data

Parameters:

• file: Document file (required)
• printer: Printer name (optional, uses default if not specified)
• copies: Number of copies (optional, default: 1)

Example:

curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -F "[email protected]" \
  -F "printer=HP LaserJet Pro" \
  -F "copies=2" \
  http://localhost:8765/api/print

Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Document sent to printer successfully",
  "job_id": "12345"
}

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

print-my-bridge/ ├── src-tauri/ # Rust backend │ ├── src/ │ │ ├── api/ # HTTP API routes │ │ ├── config/ # Configuration management │ │ ├── gui/ # Tauri commands │ │ ├── printer/ # Printer integration │ │ └── main.rs # Application entry point │ └── tauri.conf.json # Tauri configuration ├── ui/ # Frontend UI │ ├── index.html │ ├── script.js │ └── style.css └── README.md

Development Setup

1. Install dependencies:

   cd src-tauri
   cargo build

2. Run in development mode:

   cargo tauri dev

3. Run tests:

   cargo test

Building for Different Platforms

macOS

# Intel (x86_64)
cargo tauri build --target x86_64-apple-darwin

# Apple Silicon (M1/M2)
cargo tauri build --target aarch64-apple-darwin

# Universal binary
cargo tauri build --target universal-apple-darwin

Windows

rustup target add x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
cargo tauri build --target x86_64-pc-windows-msvc

Linux

rustup target add x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
cargo tauri build --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu

Build Script

Use the included build script for all platforms:

./build-all.sh

🔒 Security

• Token Authentication: All API endpoints (except /health) require a valid bearer token
• Rate Limiting: Configurable request rate limiting to prevent abuse
• CORS Protection: Configurable allowed origins
• File Type Validation: Restrict allowed file types for printing
• Local Network Only: Server binds to localhost by default

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Bridge Not Running

• Check if the application is running in the system tray
• Verify the configuration file exists and is valid
• Check if the configured port is available

Connection Refused

• Ensure the application is running
• Verify the correct host and port in configuration
• Check firewall settings

Print Job Fails

• Verify the printer is connected and online
• Check if the file type is allowed in configuration
• Ensure the file size doesn't exceed the limit

CORS Issues

• Update allowed_origins in configuration
• Use specific origins instead of * for production

Debug Mode

Run the application from terminal to see detailed logs:

cd src-tauri
cargo run

Logs

Application logs can be found at:

• Windows: %APPDATA%/print-my-bridge/logs/
• macOS: ~/Library/Logs/print-my-bridge/
• Linux: ~/.local/share/print-my-bridge/logs/

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
3. Commit your changes: git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'
4. Push to the branch: git push origin feature/amazing-feature
5. Open a Pull Request

Development Guidelines

• Follow Rust coding conventions
• Add tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Ensure cross-platform compatibility

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Tauri - For the amazing desktop app framework
• Warp - For the HTTP server framework
• Tokio - For async runtime
• Serde - For serialization

📞 Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

1. Check the Issues page
2. Create a new issue with detailed information
3. Include logs and configuration details

🔄 Changelog

v0.1.0 (Initial Release)

• Basic printing functionality
• Token-based authentication
• Rate limiting
• Cross-platform support
• System tray integration
• Configuration management

---