Google Cloud Print on Ubuntu 16.04

As I wanted to be able to easily print from my phone and chromebook, Google Cloud Print was the solution.

Here are the simple steps that I used:

1. sudo apt install google-cloud-print-connector
2. gcp-cups-connector-util init
• It will require you to enter a code at https://www.google.com/device to create the OAuth credentials
• save the created config file somewhere safe
3. gcp-cups-connector -config-filename gcp-cups-connector.config.json

Don't forget to install Cloud Print by Google LLC on your smart phone!

Installing Google Cloud Print Connector in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

As I wanted to be able to print from my phone, I thought the easiest way would be to install Google Cloud Print. Here are the various attempts that I made.

Attempt 1: apt-get

My first attempt was to simply run:

• sudo apt-get install cloudprint

However, when running it and giving it your user/application pass, it fails with this message:

• UnboundLocalError: local variable 'auth_response' referenced before assignment

I believe it is because it (v0.5) is trying to hit an api/url that no longer exists.

Cleanup:

• sudo apt-get remove cloudprint

Attempt 2: Compile with gccgo

I then found this wiki about installing a newer version: https://github.com/google/cloud-print-connector/wiki/Build-from-source

So I then installed:

• go: sudo apt-get install gccgo-go 
• dev packages: sudo apt-get install build-essential libcups2-dev libavahi-client-dev git bzr

Set your gopath:

• export GOPATH=$HOME/workspace/gocode

I then attempted to compile the source:

• go get github.com/google/cloud-print-connector/... 

However I was greeted with two errors:

• error: unknown field ‘KeepAlive’ in ‘net.Dialer’
• error: reference to undefined field or method ‘Timeout’

It turns out that the go version that apt-get installs is outdated:

• go version xgcc (Ubuntu 4.9.3-0ubuntu4) 4.9.3 linux/amd64
• which is not greater than or equal to version 1.5.2

Cleanup:

• sudo apt-get remove gcc-go

Attempt 3: The correct way

You will still need the dev packages and gopath from attempt 2:

• sudo apt-get install build-essential libcups2-dev libavahi-client-dev git bzr
• export GOPATH=$HOME/workspace/gocode

Additionally, we will need an updated version of go:

• Download: https://storage.googleapis.com/golang/go1.8.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz or check for a more recent version: https://golang.org/dl/
• Extract to /usr/local: sudo tar -C /usr/local -xvf go*.linux-amd64.tar.gz 
• Add to path: export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

Now we compile again:

• go get github.com/google/cloud-print-connector/...

The command should complete with no output.

Configuring

$GOPATH/bin/gcp-connector-util init

Running

$GOPATH/bin/gcp-cups-connector