On macOS 27 Golden Gate, the CUPS pages at localhost:631 stay locked. The first page loads, every link inside says the web interface is disabled, and the old fix, cupsctl WebInterface=yes, now stops with an error.
On macOS Tahoe or Sequoia, that same command still works. On macOS 27, Printers & Scanners and a few Terminal commands do the jobs the web pages used to do.
In this guide
On Tahoe or Sequoia? Run the old command
On macOS 26 Tahoe and macOS 15 Sequoia, the CUPS web pages are off until you switch them on. A browser that can't connect to localhost:631, or a page saying the web interface is disabled, needs just one line.
Open Terminal and run:
cupsctl WebInterface=yesThen load http://localhost:631 again and the full set of pages is back. Owners still on Tahoe and Sequoia report it working as before. To switch the pages off later, run the same command with no in place of yes.
What changed in macOS 27
On macOS 27 the same line comes back with "cupsctl: Cannot set WebInterface directly." The print server still answers, which is why the opening page loads, but any link you click lands on the disabled notice.
Editing the settings file by hand and restarting the print service changed nothing for one owner. Owners who filed bug reports with Apple had them closed as working as designed, and the 27.0 release in September kept the pages shut.
Nothing in the macOS 27.2 notes (October 26) touches CUPS, and Macs skipped 27.1 altogether. Plan for the pages staying off and use the routes that follow.
1. Do everyday jobs in Printers & Scanners
Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Printers & Scanners in the sidebar. You set the default printer and the default paper size on that screen.
Click a printer in the list to change its name, location or driver, open its print queue, or check its options and supply levels. Apple's Printers & Scanners guide lists every setting on that screen.
Control-click a printer to remove it, make it the default, or reset the whole printing system. If the web pages only ever did these jobs for you, you're done.
2. See every printer and job in Terminal
The CUPS commands behind the old web pages are still part of macOS 27. Open Terminal and run:
lpstat -tYou get the full picture in one go: each printer's queue name, whether it's accepting jobs, and every job still waiting to print.
Copy the queue name exactly as it appears. CUPS doesn't allow spaces in printer names, so yours may use underscores, and the commands in the next steps use PrinterName where yours goes.
3. Clear stuck jobs and restart a stopped printer
To empty one printer's queue and start the printer again:
cancel -a PrinterName
cupsenable PrinterNameThe first line cancels every job on that printer, and the second starts a printer that stopped itself after an error. The cupsenable command may ask for your Mac password, depending on how printing is set up.
4. Change a printer's default settings
List what your printer offers first:
lpoptions -p PrinterName -lEach line is one setting, with its choices and the current one marked by a star. To change a default for all users of the Mac, pass one of those choices to lpadmin, such as lpadmin -p PrinterName -o PageSize=A4 for A4 paper.
I'd use lpadmin rather than lpoptions for defaults. Settings saved with lpoptions apply to the lp and lpr commands, while lpadmin changes the printer's own defaults on this Mac.
5. Use a replacement app, with care
If you look after a lot of printers, an app can stand in for the web pages. One owner uses CUPS Admin, a free open-source app made to replace the pages macOS 27 shut, and said it works fine for queues, jobs and default settings.
It comes from an independent developer, not from Apple. Another helper that asked for an admin password before its code was public worried an owner, so check who made any printing app and what it installs before you enter your password.
Leave the configuration files alone
It's tempting to edit the files under /etc/cups by hand. One owner did just that, restarted the print service, and saw no change at all.
The CUPS documentation warns that its printer list files shouldn't be edited directly, so a hand edit can break a queue that works today. Stick with lpadmin, which writes those files for you.
Printer stopped printing after the update?
This page is about managing printers. If a printer stopped printing altogether after the upgrade, our macOS 27 printer page starts with Rosetta, which some older printer drivers still need.
For jobs that sit in the queue and never print, the Mac printing page goes step by step. If Terminal keeps asking to install the command line tools, the command line tools page has two owner fixes.
Can I turn the CUPS web interface back on in macOS 27?
Not with cupsctl. It returns "Cannot set WebInterface directly" on macOS 27, and owners who reported it to Apple were told it works as designed.
Why won't localhost:631 open on my Mac?
On Tahoe and Sequoia, the web pages are off until you run cupsctl WebInterface=yes in Terminal. On macOS 27, the first page loads but the rest stay disabled.
Did macOS 27.2 bring the web pages back?
Not that Apple has said. The 27.2 notes don't mention CUPS or printing, and no owner has reported the pages coming back since it arrived.
Does macOS 27 still use CUPS for printing?
Yes. macOS 27 ships CUPS 2.3.4, the same version as Sequoia, and lpstat, cancel, cupsenable, lpoptions and lpadmin all still work. Only the web pages are shut.
The Short Version
- On Tahoe or Sequoia, run
cupsctl WebInterface=yesand reload localhost:631. - On macOS 27, cupsctl can't turn the pages on, and bug reports came back as designed.
- Printers & Scanners handles default printer, paper size, queues and supplies.
- Run
lpstat -tto see every printer and job. - Use
cancel -aandcupsenablefor a stuck queue. - Use
lpoptions -lto list settings andlpadmin -oto set defaults. - Don't edit the files in /etc/cups by hand.
Checked November 8, 2026.
Sorry, but Terminal commands are no substitute for all the options in the web front end — in terms of usability, if nothing else.
Apple needs to explain why they have done this (no doubt “for security”), and offer a GUI replacement.
In CUPS admin, only on web, I was able to set my cash drawer to open when the Star receipt printer printed. The receipt printer works but will not trigger cash drawer to open.
Hi Amanda, Star now documents a Terminal fix specifically for macOS 27.
Run
lpstat -pto find your Star printer’s queue name. ReplaceQueueNamebelow with that exact name, then run:Enter your Mac administrator password if asked. The password will not show as you type.
Check the setting with:
The
CashDrawerSettingline should have a*before1OpenDrawer1. Then print a test receipt to check that the drawer opens.If it opens for a test receipt but not through your till software, the app may be overriding the printer default. Check its cash drawer setting or contact the software provider.
These steps are from Star’s “How to Enable a Cash Drawer on macOS 27 and Later”, published on 22 October.
I use terminal because I don’t want web fetching garbage “drivers” or apps for basic HP (JetDirect 2026)
For this reason and others this mbp will remain on Sonoma
Is there no spiffy github project providing a cups web replacement??
Hi max, there is one now: CUPS Admin, a free, open-source Mac app made to replace the CUPS web pages Apple shut in macOS 27. Search for cupsadmin on GitHub. Kurt Fattic built it at Western Kentucky University for about 1,000 Macs, so it is not from Apple, and its installer is signed and notarized.
It lists every queue with its jobs, can hold, move or cancel those jobs, and sets default options the way the old Set Default Options page did. It makes each change with the usual commands, such as
lpadmin, then reads it back. It also adds acupsadmincommand for Terminal, which can create a queue from a printer’s address. Its notes say the app doesn’t cover every old page yet.It needs macOS 14 or later, so it runs on Sonoma too. On Sonoma itself,
cupsctl WebInterface=yesin Terminal still switches the old pages at localhost:631 back on.