ShipStation Connect - Linux Support

Shipstation is great but I just ran into a big problem. I use Ubuntu Linux and Shipconnect is not supported on Linux, so none of my printers are showing up on Ubuntu ver 22.04

However I noticed that the same problem does not exist on an earlier version of Ubuntu.

So shipconnect is not really needed to print from Ubuntu but I can't figure out why it wont from the latest version of Ubuntu.

Is Connect supported on Ubuntu?

I'd love to stop using a Windows based system for something as simple as creating shipping labels.

Hey there @ezreply, 

While you may be able to run connect using ubuntu, that would be out of the scope of our support teams ability to assist in troubleshooting. 

I know that may not be an ideal answer, but just wanted to be up front about that ability. 

Happy Shipping! 🙂 

please support linux/raspberry pi!!

Here's a belated thing, but I've been able to print on linux with a bit of a trick.

On Ubuntu, you can share your printer in CUPS with other computers on your network. So as long as there's ONE Windows PC available on your network to share to, and that computer is running ShipStation Connect, you can add that printer as your ShipStation connect printer. You can even connect multiple "printers" to a single Windows PC in this way, just set for your own account your one printer as your "default". So the printer's in your office, hooked to your pc, but is simply being printed to you in a roundabout manner- SHipstation -> Windows PC - > Ubuntu computer.

I have a linux mint PC and a rollo printer AND an old windows PC we use for warehousing but not shipping, but there isn't even a noticeable delay when I print labels, having just shared my printer with the windows PC, installed it as a networked printer, then marked it as shared on Shipstation Connect.  As long as someone doesn't turn off that pc, or if shipstation connect doesn't log me out, all works fine. Even printing and shipping via mobile still work fine.

I know it's a solution that requires having an old Windows PC/toaster somewhere, but say, for an office where you have a bunch of Linux pcs and one windows pc it can make things easier instead of dealng with Microsoft's shenanigans.

I would love to use linux instead of having to pay for a new windows license each time I need a simple scan and print station.

Hello @belmontleatherc!

Thanks for the great idea! Please keep sharing your thoughts—they help us improve.

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

+1 on this - we're having to run the overhead of a windows env just to connect printers. 

lmao we have mostly linux pcs with one windows pc in shipping thats always lagged out and everyone hates it. would love to have linux support so much. As a linux/dotnet dev, i'll literally build it for you guys if you toss me the connect code just so i dont have to deal with this windows pc anymore

It's hard to believe that in 2025 Linux support doesn't exist... but here we are.

Hello @stevensaero!

Thank you for your post in the community! We understand the need for Linux support. While it's not currently on our roadmap, our development team is aware of the request. If there are any updates, I’ll be sure to share them with the community!

We appreicate your persistance as well as patience! 

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

Going to try Wine on Linux Mint to see if ShipStation Connect with run in that environment. The only issue I see is I think Connect needs .NET libraries. Maybe someone else has tried this? 

+1 for Linux support 🙂

Another +1 for linux support.
This would be a huge benefit for many places that use old PC's, or just newer mini PC's for their shipping setup.

I'm using a low powered N100 mini PC and while windows 11 runs "ok" on it, any linux distro I've tried runs way smoother.

Another +1 for Linux support. C'mon Shipstation!

As Microsoft ending windows 10 support is likely impacting a lot of the workstations shippers use for their main shipping terminal, I would think now is likely a great time to prioritize support for shipstation connect on linux.

Please consider pushing this as a priority, I have plenty of viable hardware to use for shipping that won't be supported on windows and I'd rather not invest in a new computer simply to attach to a printer.  

Hi, I just wanted to boost this thread and also ask for ShipStation Connect to work on Linux. Windows 11 is terrible and won't work on many Windows 10 machines. And now there is no longer support for Windows 10.

I think SS would be surprised how many people are moving over to Linux this year.

Hello @tony11!

Thank you so much for supporting Linux integration! I’ve made sure our team is aware of the growing demand for Linux support.

Let’s gather even more feedback from the Community to highlight just how valuable this feature could be. Your idea is fantastic and incredibly valuable; hearing from others will help demonstrate its impact.

If any other members of the Community would benefit from this feature, please share your thoughts and explain how it would help your business—every bit of feedback makes a difference!

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

@CaraAdmin

Most label printers connect locally to a computer. Windows updates are frequent, and our machines apply updates when they are released, and reboot automatically. This is quite inconvenient when we go to print from another machine over Connect and the PC is no longer available. We need to go to the machine hosting that printer and log in for ShipStation Connect to run and receive print requests. The user who normally sits at that computer might not even be in the office at this time, so someone else needs to log in and leave the computer logged in until the user returns, which also could raise security concerns in some environments.

Linux can be installed on hardware deemed "obsolete" for Windows. It can also run on micro-PC hardware that is super inexpensive and just has a small flash drive. Hardware smaller than the label printer. I currently have a shared label printer connected to a ThinkPad Y40-80 that's 11 years old. It can't run Windows 11 and we know Windows 10 is being deprecated by Microsoft.

Connect basically seems like it was not really designed for larger operations since it does not run as a "service" in windows, and must be authenticated by a person (and authenticate using browser is flaky on some PCs). This is a poor design to begin with, but given that Linux patches are much less frequent, the hardware requirements are significantly less, this makes a good platform to host Connect. If it was written in such a way that the credentials can be easily stored and not require human intervention, that would be even better.

Hello @PPAK!

First, welcome to the Community! We’re so glad you’re here. This space is a fantastic resource for finding answers, sharing feedback, and suggesting new product features—we hope you find it both helpful and inspiring!

Thank you for your detailed feedback! I’ve shared this with our development team for review.

In the meantime, let’s gather more input from the Community about the need for Linux support. The more feedback we receive, the better we can demonstrate the value of this feature.

Happy Shipping!

-Cara

i would really appreciate linux support as well.  its much more cost effective to deploy multiple raspberry pi's as stations than multiple windows machines.

Still no Linux support? Is Ship Station going to pay for me to upgrade my NUC to a newer version that supports Windows 11 and a Windows 11 license? How about just letting us print directly from the website without any in the middle app?