CloudPrint Developer Platform
Use Developer Platform when your product must connect to CloudPrint accounts owned by different customers. A customer installs your application once; your backend then uses the stable App Installation to obtain short-lived access without asking for consent before every print.
Choose this model only for customer-owned accounts
Use ordinary API Credentials when one backend prints only for its own CloudPrint account. Use Developer Platform when the same SaaS, ERP, WMS or connector serves independent customers who already own their CloudPrint accounts and must approve access. If your product creates CloudPrint accounts for customers, use Partner Platform instead.
Understand the ownership model
A Developer Account owns a Developer Application. The application can have one App Installation in each customer CloudPrint Account. The customer remains the account owner and approves the requested permissions. Keep using your own tenant identifier to identify the customer in your product; do not replace it with a CloudPrint account ID.
Follow the complete path
Create a Developer Account, register an Application, add an RS256 public key and direct the customer to the CloudPrint installation page. After the callback, verify state, store installation_id against your tenant, sign a one-time application assertion and exchange it for an Installation Access Token. Send that token to the shared Print API.
Keep application and installation credentials separate
The private key authenticates the Developer Application. It does not authorize calls to /api/v1/*. The Installation Access Token authorizes one CloudPrint Account with only the permissions approved for that installation. Generate a new assertion for each exchange, cache the resulting short-lived token until shortly before expiry and never log either credential.
Store stable identifiers
Persist your tenant ID, application_id, installation_id, CloudPrint account_id, effective permissions and installation state. The stable binding is installation_id; access tokens are temporary runtime credentials. A new token does not create a new installation and does not require another consent screen.
Plan lifecycle handling
Treat suspended and revoked installations differently. Suspension temporarily blocks token issuance and API access; revocation is terminal and a later connection receives a new installation ID. Permission reductions take effect immediately. Updated permissions must be visible to the account owner and cannot silently exceed the approved set.
Production checklist
- Use an outbound agent connection; do not expose printer ports to the internet.
- Store the stable printer identity instead of relying only on a display name.
- Validate document format, page size and orientation before creating the job.
- Handle terminal status, retry policy and duplicate-print protection explicitly.