CUPS & devfs ruleset

freezr · Oct 13, 2026

Hi guys,

The documentation around CUPS and devfs is not enough dumb-proof.

CUPS on FreeBSD

How to install and use CUPS on FreeBSD

docs.freebsd.org

Code:

cupsd_enable="YES"
devfs_system_ruleset="system"

However when I try to start the second:

Code:

doas service devfs start
/etc/rc.d/devfs: WARNING: devfs_set_ruleset: you must specify a ruleset number
/etc/rc.d/devfs: WARNING: devfs_apply_ruleset: you must specify a ruleset

Maybe instead of a word I must use a code, but I couldn't find any clear explanation about code meaning, or default codes:

Eventually it works even without setting devfs_system_ruleset="system"; maybe this section of the documentation must be updated or reviewed.

Thanks...

Andriy · Oct 22, 2026

freezr, did you follow the article to the letter?
That is, did you update /etc/devfs.rules as prescribed?

freezr · Oct 23, 2026

Andriy I followed the instructions step by step.

Andriy · Oct 24, 2026

freezr, paste content of your /etc/devfs.rules, so that we both can be sure.

Andriy · Oct 24, 2026

Also, run this command, just in case: grep -E -R '\<system=' /etc

freezr · Oct 27, 2026

Andriy said:
Also, run this command, just in case: grep -E -R '\<system=' /etc

I will.

freezr · Tuesday at 3:45 AM

Andriy

Here you go...

Code:

cat /etc/devfs.rules
cat: /etc/devfs.rules: No such file or directory

ls /etc/ | grep devfs
devfs.conf

doas grep -E -R '\<system=' /etc
[nothing]

…

T-Daemon · Tuesday at 10:28 AM

freezr said:
The documentation around CUPS and devfs is not enough dumb-proof.

CUPS on FreeBSD

How to install and use CUPS on FreeBSD

docs.freebsd.org

That document is outdated, actually you don't need to configure and enable any devfs rulesets. Cups in working with a pre-configured, automatically installed /usr/local/etc/devd/cups.conf. The only user action is to add the users to the "cups" group:

Rich (BB code):

# Allow members of group cups to access generic USB printer devices

notify 100 {
    match "system"        "USB";
    match "subsystem"    "INTERFACE";
    match "type"        "ATTACH";
    match "intclass"    "0x07";
    match "intsubclass"    "0x01";
    match "intprotocol"    "(0x01|0x02|0x03)";
    action "chgrp cups /dev/$cdev; chmod g+rw /dev/$cdev";
};

After plugging in a USB printer (note the "cups" owner and group):

Rich (BB code):

% usbconfig
ugen0.2: <SCX-3400 Series Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd> at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON (2mA)

% ls  -l  /dev/ugen0.2
lrwxr-xr-x  1 root wheel 9 Nov 10 11:45 /dev/ugen0.2 -> usb/0.2.0

% ls  -l  /dev/usb/0.2.0
crw-rw----  1 cups cups 0x90 Nov 10 11:45 /dev/usb/0.2.0

As for the devfs warning, no wonder service devfs start complains about

freezr said:
/etc/rc.d/devfs: WARNING: devfs_set_ruleset: you must specify a ruleset number

There is no devfs.rules file:

freezr said:
cat /etc/devfs.rules
cat: /etc/devfs.rules: No such file or directory

Andriy · Tuesday at 1:01 PM

freezr said:

That should be mine reaction, not yours. You said that you followed the instructions when I asked you about devfs.rules.

freezr · Tuesday at 3:31 PM

Andriy said:
That should be mine reaction, not yours. You said that you followed the instructions when I asked you about devfs.rules.

But I also stated that is not enough dumb proof. I'll double checked the instruction again and see if I missed something...