Ricoh / PFU SP-1130N network scanner for macOS

An unofficial macOS bridge for the SP-1130N document scanner's network interface. It makes the scanner appear as a local eSCL/AirScan device, so it can be used from Image Capture, Preview, VueScan, and other macOS scanning apps.

The official macOS driver supports USB but not the scanner's LAN interface. This project implements the LAN protocol and translates it to the eSCL protocol already understood by macOS.

Supported Macs and test status

The package contains one universal2 executable with both macOS processor architectures:

Mac	Executable included	Physical scan tested
Apple Silicon (arm64)	Yes	Yes, with an SP-1130N on macOS 26
Intel (x86_64)	Yes	Not yet; Intel testers are wanted

GitHub CI builds and inspects both architectures, but that only proves that the Intel executable is present and starts correctly. It does not replace a real scan on Intel hardware. Intel support should therefore be considered provisional until somebody reports a successful physical scan.

The build targets modern macOS (10.15 or newer), but only macOS 26 has been tested with physical hardware. “Universal” means Intel plus Apple Silicon; it does not mean every historical Mac. PowerPC Macs and macOS versions older than 10.15 are not supported.

Related SP-series scanner models are also unverified. Do not assume that protocol similarity makes them safe to use.

See the detailed compatibility matrix.

Install

1. Download SP1130N-LAN-eSCL-*.pkg from Releases.
2. In Finder, right-click the package and choose Open. A normal double-click may be blocked by Gatekeeper.
3. Confirm the warning and enter an administrator password. If macOS still blocks it, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and use Open Anyway for this package.
4. Put paper in the ADF and wait up to two minutes for first discovery.
5. Open Image Capture and select Ricoh SP-1130N under Shared.

The release package has no runtime dependencies: no Homebrew, Python, Xcode, vendor driver, VM, or files from the machine that built it. It discovers the scanner on the Mac's active IPv4 networks and stores only the discovered address in its local configuration.

Important: unsigned and not notarized

The package does not have an Apple Developer ID Installer signature and has not been submitted to Apple's notarization service. The project currently has no Apple-issued Developer ID certificate.

Consequences for users:

• macOS cannot automatically verify the publisher.
• Gatekeeper may block a normal double-click and show “Apple could not verify this package” or a similar warning.
• Installation requires the explicit right-click Open or Privacy & Security → Open Anyway flow described above.
• The package still requests an administrator password because it installs a system LaunchDaemon.

That warning means “publisher not verified by Apple”; it is not, by itself, proof that the package is malicious. Conversely, manually opening it is not a security guarantee. Review the source and verify the release checksum before installing. A normal warning-free double-click installation would require the maintainer to obtain an Apple Developer ID, sign the package, submit it for notarization, and staple the notarization result.

What works

• Network-connected Ricoh/PFU SP-1130N on TCP port 16888
• ADF scanning at 300 dpi in colour
• A4 JPEG output
• Multi-page batches
• Duplex and software simplex (the hardware always captures both sides)
• Automatic scanner discovery and rediscovery
• Image Capture, Preview, VueScan, and eSCL/AirScan clients
• Local-only service: the bridge is not advertised to other computers

Current limitations

• SP-1130N is the only hardware model verified on a real scanner.
• The network interface is supported; this project is not a USB driver.
• The scanner has an ADF, not a flatbed.
• The validated profile is A4, colour, 300 dpi, JPEG.
• The installer is unsigned and therefore requires the right-click Open flow on current macOS releases.

How it works

Image Capture / VueScan
         │  eSCL/AirScan on 127.0.0.1:9400
         ▼
  sp1130n-escl bridge
         │  PFU PaperStream FCL on TCP/16888
         ▼
 Ricoh/PFU SP-1130N

The LaunchDaemon runs a universal standalone executable. It advertises _uscan._tcp only on the loopback interface, preventing duplicate devices or cross-Mac interference. Scanner discovery probes local IPv4 subnets with retries long enough to tolerate ordinary Wi-Fi packet loss, then persists the result for fast later starts.

No proprietary vendor binaries, firmware, or driver files are included. The implementation was written from observed protocol behaviour and analysis of official drivers. Technical details are in docs/protocol.md.

Troubleshooting

Check that the scanner is powered on and reachable:

nc -vz SCANNER_IP 16888

Inspect the bridge:

sudo launchctl print system/com.sp1130n.escl
tail -50 /var/log/sp1130n-escl.log
curl http://127.0.0.1:9400/eSCL/ScannerCapabilities

The configuration is stored at:

/Library/Application Support/sp1130n-escl/scanner.conf

If automatic discovery cannot distinguish the scanner from another device listening on TCP/16888, set host= to the scanner's address and restart:

sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.sp1130n.escl

Uninstall from a cloned source tree:

sudo packaging/uninstall.sh

When opening an issue, attach the bridge log and redact hostnames, usernames, and public IP addresses.

Build from source

Runtime users need no dependencies. Building requires macOS, Python, and PyInstaller:

python3 -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -r requirements-build.txt
make check
make package

scripts/build-binary.sh creates a universal2 standalone executable. scripts/build-pkg.sh refuses to package it unless both arm64 and x86_64 architectures are present. GitHub Actions runs the same tests and build.

Security and privacy

• The service binds to 127.0.0.1; it is not a LAN-accessible web server.
• Only the scanner connection leaves the Mac, to TCP/16888 on the local LAN.
• There is no analytics, telemetry, update checker, or cloud service.
• The daemon runs as root because it is installed system-wide. Review the small LaunchDaemon and packaging scripts before installing.
• Reverse-engineered protocol software can damage hardware if commands are wrong. This release restricts normal use to the scan path tested on actual hardware. Use experimental tools at your own risk.

Please report security issues using SECURITY.md, not a public issue.

Legal

This is an independent community project. Ricoh, PFU, PaperStream, SP-1130N, macOS, and AirScan are trademarks of their respective owners. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Ricoh, PFU, or Apple.

Source code is released under the MIT License.