Proxy Node Raw · USB printing over Wi-Fi

Your printer. Your network.
One local API.

Put a supported USB receipt printer on your local network. Proxy Node Raw is a bare XIAO ESP32S3 board with Nodeware installed and print-tested before it ships. Connect over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and print through the local API or compatible ESC/POS software. No internet connection or subscription is required for local printing.

$39.00 for the programmed board. A suitable USB host/power cable is required; check the setup requirements before ordering.

Prices in USD. Shipping and applicable tax are additional.

Ordering unavailable.

See Proxy Node RawGet notifiedRead the setup guide

Check compatibility · See how setup works

I build POS software

Connect through the local API →

Read the print and status API. Simulator access is available by arrangement.

I run a restaurant

Check your printer and POS →

Start with your exact printer and POS. Your software must send raw ESC/POS to port 9100 or use the local API; a USB connector alone does not establish compatibility.

Illustration: Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32-S3 board with its flat black Wi-Fi antenna attached, USB-C port facing forwardIllustration
Illustration generated from the makers' product photos — not a photograph of a stocked unit.The node: a XIAO ESP32-S3 with its antenna fitted, preloaded with Proxy Nodes firmware.Everything shown is in the box.
POST http://proxynodes-pn-7f3a.local/print
{
  "type": "print",
  "id": "receipt-001",
  "endpoint": "receipt",
  "lines": [
    { "type": "text", "value": "Table 4", "bold": true },
    { "type": "cut" }
  ]
}
Example request · use your node's address and a fresh job ID
  • 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi
  • USB supported ESC/POS printers
  • Local printing without internet
  • No subscription for local printing

Who it is for

For developers and installers connecting receipt printers.

Raw is a small adapter for a supported printer and compatible software. Start with a single printer, the required power and cables, and a 2.4 GHz network.

01

Keep the USB printer

Connect a supported ESC/POS receipt printer to Raw instead of connecting it directly to the computer running your application. The node receives print jobs over your local network.

02

Connect your software

Developers can send structured receipts through the HTTP/JSON API. Existing software needs raw ESC/POS network printing support. Check the exact POS and printer combination before buying.

03

Print on your network

Print jobs travel directly to the node over your LAN. Local printing needs neither a cloud account nor a subscription. Use a trusted, restricted network you or your installer control.

How it works

Your software → Raw → your receipt printer.

Connect the printer and power, join your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, then configure compatible software to use the node. Your application sends jobs directly over the local network.

Your software

POS · KDS · kiosk

Calls one JSON API at proxynodes-pn-7f3a.local — or streams raw ESC/POS to :9100 like any network printer.

POST /print · JSON →

← GET /status · SSE /events

Illustration of Proxy Node Raw: a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 board with its flat Wi-Fi antenna fitted and its USB-C port facing forwardillustration

The node

Speaks JSON up, raw hardware bytes down. Nodeware 1.2.55 or later, tunable on your LAN over PUT /config — no reflash.

raw ESC/POS · USB →

← DLE EOT paper · cover · drawer

Peripherals

Supported USB hardware

  • · Receipt printer
  • · Cash drawer (via printer RJ12)
  • · Barcode scanner (via a powered USB hub)
  • · USB scale (via a powered USB hub)
  • · RS-232 devices — in development

If your POS supports raw ESC/POS network printing, configure the node’s :9100 port and test a receipt. This does not establish support for a POS that requires a specific printer identity. Raw drawer-pulse bytes are dropped on that port, so a POS that opens the till inside its print job needs POST /drawer/kick. Scanner and scale setups require a powered USB hub; the offered hub has not yet been qualified. Check compatibility before planning a multi-device setup.

There is a cloud layer — Stripe checkout, AI support chat, accounts and node claiming, unattended firmware updates, telemetry with per-device opt-out — and it is never in the print path. It updates firmware but never writes a node's settings. A node prints, reports status, and kicks the drawer with zero internet.

Hardware

Choose the hardware for your setup.

Raw is the bare Wi-Fi board, sold from stock when available. Station Hub is our enclosed Ethernet and dual-band design, offered separately as a paid presale. Check each product page for current availability.

Proxy Node Raw

Ordering unavailable

A bare XIAO ESP32S3 board with Nodeware installed and tested. Connect over 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and add the power and cables your supported setup needs.

From $39.

Configure your board →

Station Hub

Presale

Our own hardware for a station that needs more: Ethernet, 2.4 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi, and at least two powered USB-A ports, with the same local API.

Paid presale: the full price is charged at order, it ships in an estimated window, and you can cancel for a full refund before it ships. Delivery depends on completing FCC equipment authorization.

See the Station Hub presale →

For developers

Integrate supported peripherals through a local API. Explore the protocol and simulator, then test your application with a real node.

Developer resources →

For restaurants and installers

Put supported hardware on your local network with a small, preprogrammed adapter. Check your printer and POS compatibility before ordering.

Check compatibility →

Protocol emulation

Check the connection your POS actually supports.

Raw ESC/POS printing and printer discovery are different requirements. A POS that accepts port 9100 jobs may work through the node; a POS that requires a certified printer identity needs separate verification.

TCP :9100 · mDNS

Shipped

Raw printing; discovery profiles unverified

The node receives ESC/POS print jobs on port 9100 and reports supported printer status. It drops raw drawer-pulse commands; opening a cash drawer requires the local drawer API. Compatibility profiles (epson-tm-m30, epson-tm-m10, epson-tm-u220, epson-tm-t88, star-tsp100, custom) publish the model identity your POS looks for and re-advertise live, without a reboot — though no point-of-sale system has yet accepted one of those identities in front of us, which is why compatibility lists them as unverified.

HTTP · vendor protocols

In development

ePOS-XML endpoint emulation

An ePOS-Print XML endpoint on the node: parse the incoming job, translate it to raw ESC/POS for supported hardware. This is in development and is not a reason to buy Raw today. Star's CloudPRNT is not supported or planned.

Before you order

Check your printer model, POS version and connection method on the compatibility page. Nodes ship with a generic identity. Selecting a named profile changes discovery information; it does not establish certification or guarantee acceptance by your POS.

Optional account features

Manage updates without putting printing in the cloud.

Connect a node to your account to see when it last reported and manage firmware updates. These features need internet access. Local print jobs stay on your network and do not need an account.

Node · pn-7f3a

sends device status on a schedule

local printing continues when internet access is unavailable

Device status →

← Receipt acknowledged

Your account

  • · Fleet visibility at /account — last seen, firmware
  • · Claim a node using the code in your shipping email or packed claim slip
  • · Choose firmware update policy and timing
  • · Configure network and device settings locally; remote configuration is not supported

Point the heartbeat at your own server instead — GET/PUT /cloud configures the endpoint, and the wire contract is documented.

Developer resources

Read the API before you choose the hardware.

Explore print requests, status responses and event handling in the public documentation. The simulator and conformance tools are available by arrangement, with no public download.

Documented and testable

  • · Public documentation for local print, status and device APIs
  • · A simulator for core printing, status and events, including fault scenarios. Free of charge, obtained by arrangement
  • · 146 conformance specs that run identically against the twin or real hardware

Hardware and support

  • · Preprogrammed, supported hardware — Proxy Node Raw, sold through our own checkout
  • · Station Hub — our own Ethernet and dual-band hardware, sold as a paid presale
  • · The fleet console — per-node update policy, channels, maintenance windows and Update now, live on /account
  • · OEM and ISV projects — discuss integration, branding and licensing

We have not announced an open-source release of the firmware. The local protocol remains documented, and a print job never needs our servers. Read the Open Protocol stance →

Testing

What has been measured, and what it establishes.

These are recorded bench observations and software checks. Compatibility depends on the exact printer, firmware and wiring; review the compatibility page before ordering.

1,012 ms

Printer bind

Recorded in an earlier printer-and-scanner bench setup. The hub identity was not recorded; this is not qualification of the currently offered hub or a timing guarantee for your setup.

0.15 s

Drawer kick

Recorded drawer-kick timing on the bench. Drawer operation uses the local drawer API; drawer commands inside a raw port 9100 print job are dropped.

146

Conformance specs

One suite runs identically against the digital twin and a real node. "Works against the simulator" is a checkable claim, not a slogan.

67

Firmware test suites

Software checks cover drivers, HTTP routes and saved settings. These checks complement physical printer testing; they do not qualify a board, cable or hub combination.

2338

JS tests

Automated checks cover the protocol, simulator, tools and website. Shared schemas help keep the API and documentation consistent.

48

Columns, measured on paper

The default print width for 80 mm Font A — measured, not copied from a datasheet. Per-printer overrides are a PUT /config away, no reflash.

Where we are

Current software and future hardware.

Nodeware capabilities depend on supported hardware and wiring. Raw has 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and no Ethernet. Station Hub is a separate hardware project with paid presale terms; its ship window is published when orders open.

Current capabilities

  • Nodeware 1.2.55 on ESP32-S3 — print, cut, live paper/cover/drawer state over DLE EOT
  • Firmware updates over the air on the LAN — key-gated, bad images refused, one-call revert to factory, and an unbootable image rolled back by the bootloader
  • Single-printer USB printing is the starting setup; scanner and scale connections require a powered hub and compatibility checks
  • Cash-drawer control through the local API; raw print-job drawer commands are dropped
  • LAN peer discovery — GET /peers finds other nodes on the same local network
  • Accounts with claim codes — the code arrives by email when a board ships, and your fleet is at /account
  • Checkout for Proxy Node Raw, with optional accessories priced per board — open whenever the catalogue marks the board available
  • USB scale readings — GET /scale serves weight, unit and stability, and a scale that has gone to sleep says so instead of reading a confident zero
  • The fleet console on /account — per-node update policy, channel, maintenance window, pinned version, and Update now

In development

  • Power over Ethernet — the Ethernet link is proven on real hardware, but nothing here has yet been powered over the cable
  • RS-232 serial — the endpoint table and a conformance assertion exist; no build of that variant ever has
  • ePOS-XML emulation — CloudPRNT is not planned
  • Station Hub — our own board and enclosure, in design and sold as a paid presale

The full picture, including what's deliberately deferred: what's next.

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