Show Print History Mac: View & Manage Past Print Jobs

To show print history on a Mac, open System Settings > Printers & Scanners, select your printer, and click Print Queue. In the queue window, click the Printer menu and choose Show Last Printed Documents (or Show Print History in older macOS versions). This reveals a list of recent print jobs, including the document name, date, and status.

How to Show Print History in macOS Ventura and Later

Apple changed the name of the print queue window and the history toggle several times across macOS versions. Here’s the current path for macOS Ventura (13) through macOS Sonoma (14) and Sequoia (15):

1. Open System Settings (from the Apple menu or Spotlight).
2. Scroll down and click Printers & Scanners.
3. Select the printer you want to inspect from the list on the right.
4. Click the Print Queue… button.
5. In the queue window, look at the top menu bar and click Printer.
6. Select Show Last Printed Documents. This toggles a history section below the active queue.

If you don’t see the Printer menu, make sure the queue window is active (click it once). The menu bar changes to show printer-specific options when the queue is frontmost.

How to Show Print History in macOS Monterey and Earlier

In macOS Monterey (12) and earlier, the steps are slightly different:

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click Printers & Scanners.
3. Select your printer, then click Open Print Queue.
4. In the queue window, click the Printer menu and choose Show Print History.

Older versions also had a Jobs tab in the queue window that listed completed and failed jobs. If you don’t see that tab, use the menu bar method above.

What You Can See in the Print History List

Once enabled, the history pane shows a table with these columns:

• Document – the file name of the printed item.
• Status – Completed, Failed, Canceled, or Paused.
• Date – the date and time the job was sent.
• Pages – the number of pages (if the printer reports it).
• Owner – the user account that submitted the job.

The history is stored per printer. If you have multiple printers, you must check each one separately.

Why Can’t I See My Print History?

Several common reasons explain why the history appears empty or doesn’t show past jobs:

• The history toggle is off. By default, macOS keeps only the current queue visible. You must manually enable “Show Last Printed Documents” each time you open the queue (the setting does not persist in some versions).
• The printer was restarted or the Mac was rebooted. macOS stores print history in memory and in a temporary spool folder. A reboot or printer power cycle can clear the list.
• You’re looking at the wrong printer. If you have multiple printers, the history is tied to each printer’s queue.
• The job was sent via AirPrint or a mobile device. Those jobs may not appear in the Mac’s queue if the printer itself manages the job.
• macOS only keeps a limited number. There is no official limit, but the list can be truncated after many jobs or after system updates.

How to Clear or Delete Print History on a Mac

To remove individual entries, select the job in the history list and press Delete on your keyboard. To clear the entire history, click the Printer menu and choose Clear Print History (or Clear Last Printed Documents). This action cannot be undone.

If you want to completely remove all traces of a print job, you also need to clear the printer’s own memory (if it has a hard drive) and any logs stored in macOS. The system log, which records system events, may contain entries about print jobs. To view those, open Console (in /Applications/Utilities) and search for “printer” or the document name.

Where Is the Print History Stored?

macOS stores print job data in the spool directory at /var/spool/cups/ (for CUPS-based printing) and job history in /var/spool/cups/ as well. However, that folder is not accessible through Finder by default – you need root access via Terminal. The visible history in the Print Queue window is a user-friendly view of recent jobs that macOS keeps in memory and in a preference file.

If you need to recover a print job file (for example, to reprint a document you no longer have), you can sometimes find it in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.print.PrintCenter/Data/ or in the CUPS spool directory, but these files are not guaranteed to be readable and may be deleted automatically.

Print History vs. CUPS Web Interface

Macs also include a hidden web-based interface for the CUPS printing system. To access it, open Safari and go to localhost:631. You’ll see a page with tabs for “Jobs” and “Printers.” Clicking on a printer shows a list of all jobs, including completed ones. This interface sometimes shows more detail than the Print Queue window, such as job size and exact timestamps.

Note: In recent macOS versions, the CUPS web interface is disabled by default. You can enable it by running cupsctl WebInterface=yes in Terminal, but this is not recommended for security reasons unless you are on a trusted network.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does macOS automatically save print history?

No, not by default. The history list is empty until you enable “Show Last Printed Documents.” Even then, the list is temporary and can be cleared by restarting the Mac or the printer.

Can I recover a print job I accidentally deleted?

If you delete a job from the history list, it’s gone from that view. The actual data may still exist in the CUPS spool until overwritten, but recovering it is difficult and requires Terminal commands. Your best bet is to check if the original document still exists on your Mac.

Why does my print history show “Failed” for a job that printed fine?

This can happen if the printer reported an error after the job was sent, or if the Mac lost connection to the printer before the job completed. Sometimes the status updates late. Check the printer’s own display for the real status.

Can I see print history from other users on the same Mac?

No, the Print Queue window shows only the current user’s jobs. To see other users’ print jobs, you need administrator access and the CUPS web interface (localhost:631) or the CUPS command-line tools.

Is there a way to export print history to a file?

There is no built-in export button. You can take a screenshot of the history list, or use the CUPS web interface to copy the job list manually. For advanced users, the lpstat -W completed command in Terminal prints a list of completed jobs to the screen.

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