@bun-win32/prntvpt

Zero-dependency, zero-overhead Win32 Prntvpt bindings for Bun on Windows.

Overview

@bun-win32/prntvpt exposes the prntvpt.dll exports — the Print Ticket / Print Schema API — using Bun's FFI. It provides a single class, Prntvpt, which lazily binds native symbols on first use. You can optionally preload a subset or all symbols up-front via Preload().

The Print Ticket API is the modern, XML Print Schema way to inspect and manipulate print settings: query a printer's full PrintCapabilities, convert between the legacy DEVMODE blob and a Print Ticket, and merge + validate delta tickets against the live driver. No more shelling out to PowerShell or hand-rolling DEVMODE structs.

The bindings are strongly typed for a smooth DX in TypeScript.

Features

• Bun-first ergonomics on Windows 10/11.
• Direct FFI to prntvpt.dll (Print Ticket providers, PrintCapabilities, DEVMODE ⇄ Print Ticket conversion, merge & validate, schema-version query).
• All 11 documented prntvpt.h functions plus the standard Dll* COM-server entries.
• In-source docs in structs/Prntvpt.ts with links to Microsoft Docs.
• Lazy binding on first call; optional eager preload (Prntvpt.Preload()).
• No wrapper overhead; calls map 1:1 to native APIs.
• Strongly-typed Win32 aliases plus the EPrintTicketScope / EDefaultDevmodeType enums and the Print Ticket HRESULT constants (see types/Prntvpt.ts).

Requirements

• Bun runtime
• Windows 10 or later

Installation

bun add @bun-win32/prntvpt

Quick Start

import Prntvpt from '@bun-win32/prntvpt';
import Shlwapi from '@bun-win32/shlwapi';
import Ole32 from '@bun-win32/ole32';

Ole32.CoInitialize(null);

const printer = Buffer.from('Microsoft Print to PDF\0', 'utf16le');

// Highest Print Schema version this queue supports.
const maxVer = Buffer.alloc(4);
Prntvpt.PTQuerySchemaVersionSupport(printer.ptr!, maxVer.ptr!);
console.log('Print Schema version:', maxVer.readUInt32LE(0));

// Open a provider and pull the driver's PrintCapabilities XML.
const phProvider = Buffer.alloc(8);
Prntvpt.PTOpenProvider(printer.ptr!, maxVer.readUInt32LE(0) || 1, phProvider.ptr!);
const hProvider = phProvider.readBigUInt64LE(0);

// IStream* tokens are opaque bigints; SHCreateMemStream gives us one.
const caps = BigInt(Shlwapi.SHCreateMemStream(null, 0));
const hr = Prntvpt.PTGetPrintCapabilities(hProvider, 0n, caps, null);
console.log('PTGetPrintCapabilities → 0x' + (hr >>> 0).toString(16));

Prntvpt.PTCloseProvider(hProvider);

[!NOTE] AI agents: see AI.md for the package binding contract and source-navigation guidance. It explains how to use the package without scanning the entire implementation.

Examples

Run the included examples:

bun run example:print-capabilities-report
bun run example:print-ticket-studio

• print-capabilities-report — a thorough diagnostic: enumerates the printer roster, then for the default printer queries its Print Schema version and decodes the full driver-authored PrintCapabilities (and Win10 1703+ PrintDeviceCapabilities) document into aligned Feature / Option / ParameterDef tables, with every HRESULT decoded by name.
• print-ticket-studio — a live, animated round-trip: takes the default printer's real DEVMODE, converts it to a Print Ticket and X-rays the syntax-highlighted Print Schema XML, forges a delta ticket that flips the page to Landscape, merges + validates it (decoding the S_PT_CONFLICT_RESOLVED / S_PT_NO_CONFLICT verdict), then converts the merged ticket back into a fresh driver-allocated DEVMODE read out with ReadProcessMemory and freed with PTReleaseMemory.

Notes

• COM IStream* parameters are opaque bigint tokens. Create one with Shlwapi.SHCreateMemStream (or ole32); read produced XML back by invoking the stream's vtable (Seek + Read).
• Call Ole32.CoInitialize (or CoInitializeEx) before using a Print Ticket provider.
• PTConvertPrintTicketToDevMode returns a DEVMODE the driver allocated. It comes back as a bigint address — read it with ReadProcessMemory and release it with PTReleaseMemory.
• PTOpenProvider handles are thread-affine: open, use, and close on the same thread.
• Either rely on lazy binding or call Prntvpt.Preload().
• Windows only. Bun runtime required.
• SAL types & naming: nullability is in the type — Optional<T> (formally optional, SAL _*opt_) and Nullable<T> (plain [in]/[out] the docs say can be NULL), the null sentinel derived from T (null for pointers LP*/P*, 0n for handles/by-value addresses); direction is in the parameter name — _out (_Out_), _in_out (_Inout_), _In_ bare. See AI.md and the repo AGENTS.md.