Installing the print agent

A network printer is reached through the print agent — a small program that runs on a Windows PC in your store, takes each receipt from Swann Retail, and sends it to the printer. (A USB printer plugged into the register computer doesn’t need this — see Receipt printers & devices.)

This page is for whoever sets up the store PC. It runs as a Windows Service, so once it’s installed it starts on its own with the PC and reconnects by itself if the connection drops.

Before you start

You’ll need:

• A Windows PC on the same network as the printer (see Setting up your store network), left switched on.
• The printer already added to your location and reachable on the network — your setup takes care of the printer itself.
• A one-time agent token. The owner creates it in Settings → Devices → Provision agent. It’s shown once, so copy it before closing the dialog.

Install it

1. Put the agent on the PC. Copy the retail-print-agent.exe file onto the PC — for example on a USB stick — rather than downloading it through a browser. (A plain file copy avoids the Windows “protected your PC” warning.)

2. Add the configuration. Create a file at %ProgramData%\RetailPrintAgent\config.json with your backend address and the token from above:

   { "backendUrl": "wss://app.retail.swannapps.com/retail/print/agent", "agentToken": "your-token-here" }

3. Test the printer (optional, and no internet needed). In an admin PowerShell, point it at the printer’s network address — it kicks the cash drawer if the PC can reach the printer:

   retail-print-agent --self-test 192.168.0.50

4. Install and start the service (admin PowerShell):

   retail-print-agent install
   retail-print-agent start

That’s it — the agent now runs in the background and starts automatically whenever the PC boots.

Keep the PC awake

A PC that goes to sleep or hibernate can’t receive or print anything until it wakes — the whole machine pauses, the print agent included. Pin a till PC to never sleep while it’s plugged in (admin PowerShell, once):

powercfg /change standby-timeout-ac 0
powercfg /change hibernate-timeout-ac 0

The screen turning off on its own is fine — only the machine sleeping is the problem. For extra safety in a busy store, install the agent on two PCs: if one is asleep, a receipt prints from the other.

If Windows blocks it

Windows Defender or SmartScreen sometimes flags a clean program like this as a false alarm — it’s the normal behaviour for a small background service, not a real threat. If it happens:

• Copy the file across instead of downloading it (this avoids the SmartScreen warning). If it still warns, run Unblock-File -Path .\retail-print-agent.exe.
• Add a Defender exclusion for the install and configuration folders, then re-run the install.

Check it’s working

Open Settings → Devices. The agent should show online and that it can reach the printer, and the banner tells you whether anything can currently print at that location. Run a Test cash drawer from a till’s Station screen to confirm a real print reaches the hardware.

The reach the printer result is a live reachability check, not a stored setting — the same signal shown on a till’s Station screen. On this Devices list each agent reads Reachable or Unreachable (or Unknown until the first check finishes). If it shows Unknown right after the page opens, the check just hasn’t run yet — give it a moment, or press Probe now to re-run it on demand rather than waiting for the next automatic check. On a till’s Station screen the same check reads Yes or No, with Checking… while it runs, and has its own Probe now button.

Next

Once the agent is online, make sure the network around it is laid out and locked down:

• Setting up your store network — how the router, printer, and tablet connect.
• Securing your store network — keep the printer reachable only from the print agent.