Set the Linux Default Paper Size with paperconfig

You will set the default paper size used by programs that read libpaper's configuration, then verify the value without guessing from a graphical printer setting. This guide uses paperconfig from libpaper-utils 1.1.29build1, as installed on this machine.

Allow about ten minutes. You need a shell and, for the system-wide example, an account permitted to write /etc/papersize. The examples change a configuration file, so record the existing value before you begin. The test using PAPERCONF is suitable for a user-owned temporary file and does not need elevated privileges.

1. Check the installed command

Start with read-only checks. These commands do not need sudo:

$ command -v paperconfig
/usr/sbin/paperconfig
$ dpkg-query -W -f='${Package} ${Version}\n' libpaper-utils
libpaper-utils 1.1.29build1
$ paperconfig --version
paperconfig version 1.0 by Yves Arrouye <[email protected]>

The option names are --paper for a named non-interactive selection and --force to force the interactive selection. --help and --version only report information.

2. Record the current system value

Read the current file before changing it:

$ sudo cat /etc/papersize
letter

The output is host-specific. On this machine the value is letter. The file contains the system-wide default, and libpaper uses letter as a fallback if the file does not exist. The paper name is case-insensitive to libpaper, although other programs may be less forgiving.

If you cannot use sudo, you can still test the command safely in step 4. Do not create a replacement file somewhere else and assume system programs will read it.

3. Set the system-wide paper size

Choose a paper name supported by your applications. Common names include a4, a3, a5, b5, letter, legal, executive, note and 11x17. Set A4 with elevated privileges:

$ sudo paperconfig --paper A4

This writes the selected name to the configured paper file. On the standard installation that is /etc/papersize, so the command normally requires root permission. The installed command accepts the mixed-case input above and writes the normalised value:

$ cat /etc/papersize
a4

$ sudo find /etc/libpaper.d -maxdepth 1 -type f -printf '%f\n' 2>/dev/null

The directory may be empty, and other packages may add scripts. The scripts are run with run-parts, so their filenames must meet that tool's naming rules.

4. Test a selection without touching /etc

For a dry run, point PAPERCONF at a file you own. paperconfig rewrites that file with the chosen system paper value:

$ test_file=$(mktemp /tmp/paperconfig-test.XXXXXX)
$ printf '%s\n' letter > "$test_file"
$ PAPERCONF="$test_file" paperconfig --paper A4
$ cat "$test_file"
a4

The temporary file is only a test target. Remove it after inspection with the exact path printed by mktemp:

$ rm -- "$test_file"

The PAPERCONF environment variable is a full path, not a directory. It is useful when testing a deployment or a script, but it does not permanently redirect other processes after the shell exits.

5. Verify the value applications will read

Use paperconf to ask libpaper for the effective value:

$ paperconf
a4

This reads the configuration used by libpaper. A program can still override it with its own settings. The libpaper lookup also honours the PAPERSIZE environment variable before the configuration file, so a shell or service environment can make paperconf report something different from /etc/papersize:

$ PAPERSIZE=letter paperconf
letter

That override is temporary for this command. If a service gives an unexpected result, inspect its environment and unit configuration before changing the system default.

6. Handle invalid names and recover

An invalid name is rejected. In this installed version, the command prints an error and returns status 3; it leaves the target file unchanged:

$ PAPERCONF="$test_file" paperconfig --paper definitely-not-a-paper
paperconfig: "definitely-not-a-paper" is not a known paper name
$ printf 'status: %s\n' "$?"
status: 3

Do not script against the exact wording of the diagnostic. Check for a zero exit status and verify the resulting value. If a system-wide change was wrong, restore the value you recorded in step 2 by choosing that value explicitly:

$ sudo paperconfig --paper letter
$ paperconf
letter

That recovery also runs the change hooks when the value changes. It is safer than editing /etc/papersize by hand because it uses the command's normal notification path.

7. Use interactive selection only when it helps

Run the interactive picker with elevated privileges when you want to choose from the available prompts:

$ sudo paperconfig --force

--force deliberately asks for a selection even when the current paper name is already valid. That is useful when correcting an old choice, but it can be a distraction in automation. For scripts and repeatable provisioning, prefer --paper NAME, check its status, and verify with paperconf.

Do not combine a paper name with --force; the synopsis treats them as alternative modes. Also avoid running the interactive form from a non-interactive service, where it can wait for input or fail without a useful operator present.