What is the Giraffe Print Service?

The Giraffe Print Service is a Windows background service that automatically picks up print jobs from Elevated Signals and sends them to your configured printers. Once installed, it runs silently in the background, even when no one is logged in to the computer.

Perfect for:

Shared workstations where users log in and out
Dedicated print stations that need to run 24/7
Environments where the Giraffe desktop app can't stay open

⚠️ Important: Only run one of the Giraffe desktop app or the Giraffe Print Service at a time — not both. Running both simultaneously will cause duplicate print jobs. If you install the Print Service, you should close and can safely uninstall the desktop app.

Requirements

Before you begin, make sure you have:

Windows 10/11 recommended
Node.js 18 or higher — Download here
Administrator access to install the Windows service
Network access to reach the Elevated Signals API

💡 Tip: You can check your Node.js version by opening Command Prompt and running node --version

Installation

Download Giraffe-Service-Setup-latest.exe
Run the installer as Administrator
Follow the prompts to complete installation
The installer will automatically:
- Install the service files
- Register the Windows service
- Open the configuration prompt

Getting Started

After installation, you'll need to log in and configure your printers.

Step 1: Log in to your account

Open Command Prompt and run:

giraffe-service login --domain dashboard

This opens your browser to complete the login. Once authenticated, you'll see a success message.

Step 2: View available printers

See which printers are configured in Elevated Signals:

giraffe-service list-printers

Step 3: Start the service

Start the service to start polling for print jobs:

giraffe-service start

Step 4: Verify everything is working

Check the service status:

giraffe-service status

You should see your enabled printers and connection status.

CLI Command Reference

Command	Description
`login [--domain <name>]`	Log in to your Elevated Signals account
`test-connection`	Test connectivity to the API
`show-config`	Display current configuration
`list-printers [--local]`	List available printers. Use `--local` to see system printers
`enable-printer <id>`	Enable a printer for automatic job polling
`disable-printer <id>`	Disable a printer
`status`	Show service status and configuration
`logs [--lines <count>]`	View service logs (default: 50 lines)
`install`	Install the Windows service
`uninstall`	Remove the Windows service
`start`	Start the service
`stop`	Stop the service

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the service start automatically after a reboot?

Yes! Once installed, the service is configured to start automatically when Windows starts.

If the service is not starting automatically after a reboot, you can verify and configure it using the Windows Services manager:

1. Open the Start menu and search for Services

2. Find Giraffe Print Service in the list. Check the Startup Type column — it should say Automatic.

3. If it doesn't say Automatic, right-click the service → Properties, then set Startup type to Automatic and click OK.

How do I change the polling interval?

The service checks for new print jobs every 15 seconds by default. If you need faster printing, you can reduce this interval:

Stop the service:
```
giraffe-service stop
```

Open the config file in Notepad:

notepad C:\ProgramData\Giraffe\config.json

Find the "pollingIntervalMs" value and change it. For example, to check every 3 seconds:
```
"pollingIntervalMs": 3000
```
Save the file and start the service:
```
giraffe-service start
```

⚠️ Note: Setting the interval below 3000ms (3 seconds) is not recommended as it may increase API load.

Giraffe Print Service for Windows