What is the cups-browsed Service?
In Ubuntu (and many other Linux distributions), the printing system relies on CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System). As part of this system, a background daemon called cups-browsed runs continuously.
Its primary job is to listen for Bonjour/mDNS broadcasts on your local network. If anyone turns on a wireless printer on the same Wi-Fi network (or in the same corporate building), cups-browsed will automatically detect it and instantly add it to your Ubuntu printer list without asking. In a large office or university dorm, this can result in your print dialogue being completely overwhelmed by dozens of random printers belonging to other people. You can disable this automatic discovery.
How to Stop cups-browsed in Ubuntu
To prevent Ubuntu from automatically discovering and adding network printers, you must disable the cups-browsed systemd service.
- Open your Ubuntu Terminal (shortcut:
Ctrl + Alt + T). - First, stop the service if it is currently running:
sudo systemctl stop cups-browsed- Next, disable the service so it does not start again when you reboot your computer:
sudo systemctl disable cups-browsed- (Optional but Recommended): Mask the service to guarantee that no other application can accidentally wake it up:
sudo systemctl mask cups-browsedWill this break my ability to print?
No. Disabling cups-browsed only stops the automatic network discovery of new printers. You can still print to any printers you have already installed, and you can still manually add a new network printer by navigating to Settings > Printers and explicitly typing in its IP address.