HP Instant Ink CLI Tool

I happened to want this for my workflow so here it is, a command-line tool written in Rust to query HP printers for Instant Ink subscription status, page counts, and ink levels using the printer's XML API endpoint.

Features

• Async HTTP requests for fast performance
• Multiple output formats: Table (default) and JSON
• Robust XML parsing with fallback support for different HP printer models
• Configuration system with persistent settings in ~/.config/hp-instant-ink/
• URL normalization - just specify hostname/IP, no need for full XML path
• Verbose logging for debugging
• Configurable timeouts
• Pretty JSON output option
• Cross-platform compatibility

Prerequisites

• Rust 1.70+

Installation

Method 1: Quick Install (Recommended)

# Clone and install in one go
git clone https://github.com/your-username/hp-instant-ink-cli.git
cd hp-instant-ink-cli
./install.sh

This will:

• Build the project in release mode
• Install the binary to /usr/local/bin/hp-instant-ink-cli
• Make it available system-wide

Method 2: Using Make

# Install to /usr/local/bin (default)
make install

# Install to custom directory
INSTALL_DIR=/usr/bin make install

# Uninstall
make uninstall

Method 3: Manual Build

# Build release version
cargo build --release

# Manually copy to your PATH
sudo cp target/release/hp-instant-ink-cli /usr/local/bin/

# Or install via Cargo
cargo install --path .

Uninstallation

# Using the uninstall script
./uninstall.sh

# Using Make
make uninstall

# Or manually remove
sudo rm /usr/local/bin/hp-instant-ink-cli

Usage

Quick Start

# Set default printer (run once)
hp-instant-ink-cli config --set-printer 192.168.1.13

# Then just run without arguments
hp-instant-ink-cli

# Or specify printer directly
hp-instant-ink-cli --printer 192.168.1.13

Configuration Management

# Set default printer
hp-instant-ink-cli config --set-printer 192.168.1.13

# Set default format
hp-instant-ink-cli config --set-format json

# Set default timeout
hp-instant-ink-cli config --set-timeout 30

# Show current configuration
hp-instant-ink-cli config --show

# Reset to defaults
hp-instant-ink-cli config --reset

Direct binary usage

# Basic usage with IP (auto-adds /DevMgmt/ProductUsageDyn.xml)
hp-instant-ink-cli --printer 192.168.1.13

# JSON output
hp-instant-ink-cli --printer printer.local --format json

# With debugging
hp-instant-ink-cli --printer printer.local --verbose

Command Line Options

Main Commands

• --printer <HOST>: Printer hostname/IP (auto-adds /DevMgmt/ProductUsageDyn.xml)
• --format <FORMAT>: Output format - table (default) or json
• --pretty: Pretty-print JSON output (only used with --format json)
• --timeout <TIMEOUT>: Request timeout in seconds (default: 10)
• --verbose: Enable verbose logging
• --help: Show help information

Configuration Commands

• config --set-printer <HOST>: Set default printer
• config --set-format <FORMAT>: Set default output format
• config --set-timeout <SECONDS>: Set default timeout
• config --show: Show current configuration
• config --reset: Reset configuration to defaults

Output Examples

Table format (default)

╭──────────────────────┬──────────────────────────╮
│ Metric               │ Value                    │
├──────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ Subscription Pages   │ 727                      │
│ Total Pages          │ 3489                     │
│ Colour Ink Remaining │ 87%                      │
│ Black Ink Remaining  │ 49%                      │
│ Last Updated         │ 2025-07-19 12:54:11 CEST │
╰──────────────────────┴──────────────────────────╯

JSON format

{
  "timestamp": "2025-07-19T10:54:20.850043501Z",
  "pages_printed": 3489,
  "subscription_impressions": 727,
  "colour_ink_level": 87,
  "black_ink_level": 49
}

Finding Your Printer

Your HP printer's IP address or hostname is all you need. The tool automatically adds the XML endpoint path.

To find your printer:

1. Check your printer's network settings display
2. Use your router's admin interface
3. Use network discovery tools like nmap
4. Look for printers on your network: nmap -p 80 192.168.1.0/24

Examples:

• 192.168.1.100 (tool converts to http://192.168.1.100/DevMgmt/ProductUsageDyn.xml)
• hp-printer.local (tool converts to http://hp-printer.local/DevMgmt/ProductUsageDyn.xml)
• http://192.168.1.100 (tool adds /DevMgmt/ProductUsageDyn.xml)

Configuration

The tool stores configuration in ~/.config/hp-instant-ink/config.json:

{
  "default_printer": "http://192.168.1.13/DevMgmt/ProductUsageDyn.xml",
  "timeout": 10,
  "format": "table",
  "pretty_json": false
}

Supported HP Printer Models

This tool works with HP printers that support the Instant Ink service and expose the ProductUsageDyn.xml endpoint. This includes most modern HP inkjet printers with network connectivity.