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Once the plugin is installed and registered, printing a receipt takes three API calls: list the available printers, build a PrintJobRequest with the sections you want, and call print_thermal_printer(). This guide walks through each step and finishes with a complete, copy-pasteable working example using the builder helpers.
1

List available printers

Call list_thermal_printers() to discover printers the OS knows about. On desktop this queries CUPS (Linux/macOS) or the Windows spooler; on Android it returns discovered Bluetooth and USB devices.
import { list_thermal_printers, type PrinterInfo } from "tauri-plugin-thermal-printer";

try {
  const printers: PrinterInfo[] = await list_thermal_printers();
  console.log("Available printers:", printers);
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Could not list printers:", error);
}
Each entry in the returned array is a PrinterInfo object:
[
  {
    "name": "TM-T20II",
    "interface_type": "USB",
    "identifier": "usb://EPSON/TM-T20II",
    "status": "IDLE"
  },
  {
    "name": "Star TSP143III",
    "interface_type": "NETWORK",
    "identifier": "192.168.1.100:9100",
    "status": "IDLE"
  }
]
FieldTypeDescription
namestringHuman-readable printer name
interface_typestringConnection type, e.g. "USB", "NETWORK"
identifierstringUnique identifier — URI for desktop, MAC address for Android Bluetooth
statusstringCurrent status, e.g. "IDLE", "BUSY"
On Android, pass the identifier (MAC address such as "AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF") as the printer field in your PrintJobRequest. The printer must be paired in the Android Bluetooth settings beforehand.
2

Build a print job

A PrintJobRequest has four fields: the target printer name, an optional paper size, a CodePage encoding configuration, and an array of sections. Sections are typed union variants — each one maps to a distinct ESC/POS element.
import {
  type PrintJobRequest,
  ENCODE,
} from "tauri-plugin-thermal-printer";

const job: PrintJobRequest = {
  printer: "TM-T20II",       // name from list_thermal_printers()
  paper_size: "Mm80",         // 80mm — 48 chars/line (default)
  options: {
    code_page: 0,             // ESC t n value sent to the printer
    encode: ENCODE.ACCENT_REMOVER,
    use_gbk: false,
  },
  sections: [
    { "Title":    { "text": "MY COFFEE SHOP" } },
    { "Text":     { "text": "Date: 2026-01-15 09:30" } },
    { "Line":     { "character": "=" } },
    { "Text":     { "text": "1x Americano         $2.50" } },
    { "Text":     { "text": "2x Croissant         $7.00" } },
    { "Line":     { "character": "-" } },
    { "Text":     { "text": "Total: $9.50", "styles": { "bold": true } } },
    { "Feed":     { "feed_type": "lines", "value": 2 } },
    { "Cut":      { "mode": "partial", "feed": 0 } },
  ],
};
Use the exported builder helpers (title(), text(), line(), cut(), etc.) instead of writing raw object literals. They are shorter, fully typed, and carry sensible defaults. See Step 4 for the same receipt written with builders.
3

Send the print job

Pass the PrintJobRequest to print_thermal_printer(). The function returns Promise<void> and throws a descriptive string on failure — always wrap it in try/catch.
import { print_thermal_printer, type PrintJobRequest } from "tauri-plugin-thermal-printer";

try {
  await print_thermal_printer(job);
  console.log("Print job sent successfully!");
} catch (error) {
  // error is a string, for example:
  // "Printer not specified"
  // "Barcode data cannot be empty"
  // "QR data length 5000 exceeds maximum 4296 for error correction level 'M'"
  // "column_widths sum (45) must equal paper chars_per_line (48)"
  console.error("Print failed:", error);
}
4

Test the printer

Before building a full print job, use test_thermal_printer() to send a built-in diagnostic printout. Pass a TestPrintRequest that wraps a minimal PrintJobRequest plus flags for which test sections to include.
import {
  test_thermal_printer,
  type TestPrintRequest,
  ENCODE,
} from "tauri-plugin-thermal-printer";

try {
  await test_thermal_printer({
    printer_info: {
      printer: "TM-T20II",
      paper_size: "Mm80",
      options: {
        code_page: 6,
        encode: ENCODE.WINDOWS_1252,
        use_gbk: false,
      },
      sections: [], // sections are ignored; the plugin generates its own test content
    },
    include_text: true,
    include_text_styles: true,
    include_alignment: true,
    include_columns: true,
    include_separators: true,
    include_barcode: true,
    include_qr: true,
    include_beep: true,
    cut_paper: true,
    test_feed: true,
  } as TestPrintRequest);

  console.log("Test print completed.");
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Test print failed:", error);
}
All fields after printer_info are optional. Most diagnostic flags (include_text, include_text_styles, include_alignment, include_columns, include_separators, include_barcode, include_qr, include_beep, cut_paper, test_feed) default to true on the server side; flags for less-common tests (include_barcode_types, include_image, test_cash_drawer, test_all_fonts, test_invert, test_rotate) default to false. You can start with just the printer config and override individual flags as needed.

​
Full Example with Builder Helpers

The builder helpers produce the same PrintSections objects as raw literals but are more concise and provide full TypeScript autocomplete. The receipt below is functionally identical to the raw-object example in Step 2. 
import {
  print_thermal_printer,
  type PrintJobRequest,
  title,
  text,
  line,
  feed,
  cut,
  ENCODE,
  TEXT_ALIGN,
  TEXT_SIZE,
} from "tauri-plugin-thermal-printer";

const job: PrintJobRequest = {
  printer: "TM-T20II",
  paper_size: "Mm80",
  options: {
    code_page: 0,
    encode: ENCODE.ACCENT_REMOVER,
    use_gbk: false,
  },
  sections: [
    title("MY COFFEE SHOP"),
    text("Date: 2026-01-15 09:30"),
    line("="),
    text("1x Americano         $2.50"),
    text("2x Croissant         $7.00"),
    line("-"),
    text("Total: $9.50", { bold: true, size: TEXT_SIZE.DOUBLE, align: TEXT_ALIGN.RIGHT }),
    feed(2),
    cut(),
  ],
};

try {
  await print_thermal_printer(job);
  console.log("Receipt printed!");
} catch (error) {
  console.error("Print failed:", error);
}

​
Builder reference (quick lookup)

HelperDescriptionKey defaults
title(text, styles?){ Title: ... } — double-size, centered—
subtitle(text, styles?){ Subtitle: ... } — bold, taller—
text(text, styles?){ Text: ... } — normal text—
line(character?){ Line: ... } — full-width separator"-"
feed(value, type?){ Feed: ... } — advance paper"lines"
cut(mode?, feedLines?){ Cut: ... } — cut paper"partial", 4 lines
qr(data, options?){ Qr: ... } — QR codesize 6, correction "M", model 2
barcode(data, type?, options?){ Barcode: ... } — barcode"CODE128", width 3, height 80, "below"
beep(times?, duration?){ Beep: ... } — audible beep1 beep, duration 3
drawer(pin?, pulse_time?){ Drawer: ... } — cash drawerpin 2, 120 ms
table(columns, body, options?){ Table: ... } — columnar tabletruncate: true

​
Next Steps

Section Types

Explore all 16 section types — Title, Subtitle, Text, Table, QR, Barcode, Image, and more — with full field references.

Android Guide

Learn how Bluetooth pairing works, how to get the MAC address from list_thermal_printers(), and how to handle Android-specific edge cases.

API Reference

Full TypeScript API reference for print_thermal_printer, list_thermal_printers, test_thermal_printer, and every exported type and constant.

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