ShipStation Connect - Linux Support

[rjeffries]

Would like to see ShipStation Connect supported on Linux. This would allow the app to run on a low cost device such as a raspberry pi and make it much easier to keep service up.

[PPAK]

@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.

[CaraAdmin]

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

[quiksilverj]

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.