Device Hub connects USB peripherals in a venue to the platform. A small agent runs on a computer on site and holds an outbound connection to Appmint; any device signed into your organization can then send jobs to that hardware.
It exists because a browser tab cannot print to a thermal printer or open a cash drawer. Something local has to hold the connection.
What this means in practice
The screen and the hardware do not have to be together. A phone on the floor can print to the kitchen printer; a tablet at the door can open the drawer at the counter. Jobs are routed through the platform to the hub.
One agent serves the whole venue. Peripherals attach to the hub box rather than to individual stations, so tablets and phones do not each need their own hardware.
Hardware belongs to the venue, not to a device. A tablet leaving range does not take the printer with it, and any staff device can use any connected peripheral.
Peripherals are commodity. The agent speaks common protocols — ESC/POS for printers, HID or CDC serial for scanners, keyboard-wedge for NFC readers — so hardware you already own generally works without vendor-specific drivers.
Both connection models are supported. Shared hardware runs through the hub; hardware paired directly to one device — a Bluetooth scanner or a card reader someone carries — bypasses it. See connecting devices.
What it connects
| Hardware | Used for |
|---|---|
| Thermal and receipt printers | Receipts, checks, kitchen tickets, event badges |
| Cash drawers | Opening on settlement |
| Barcode and QR scanners | Ticket scanning, product lookup, stock counts |
| NFC readers | Staff card sign-in, access credentials |
| Serial devices | Scales and other serial-attached equipment |
How it works
Tablet or console ──► Appmint cloud ──► Device Hub (your box) ──► USB hardwareThe hub opens a long-lived connection outbound to the platform and keeps it open. Commands are pushed down it; events — a scan, a drawer opening — flow back up and are fanned out to whichever screens are subscribed.
Because the connection is made outbound from your venue, nothing needs to be exposed to the internet and no firewall rules or port forwarding are required.
What it runs on
Anything with USB and a network connection from roughly the last decade. It is a small, idle background service — a couple of gigabytes of memory and a little disk is plenty.
| Class | Notes |
|---|---|
| Mini PC | Recommended for permanent installs — solid storage, real power supply, runs indefinitely |
| A computer you already own | The cheapest option. If it boots and has USB, it works |
| Single-board computer | Inexpensive, but memory cards wear out under constant writes — boot from an SSD |
It installs as a background service that starts automatically on boot, on Linux, macOS or Windows.
Setup
1. Install it on the box that will stay in the venue.
2. Pair it with your organization using a hub name and key generated for it.
3. Attach hardware over USB.
4. Assign devices in the console — which printer is the kitchen, which is the front counter.
Once configured, staff devices do not connect to hardware directly. They send a job to the platform and the hub carries it out, so a tablet that walks out of range does not take the printer with it.
Shared versus paired hardware
Both models are supported, and the distinction matters:
- Shared — hardware attached to the hub, reachable by everyone. A till printer several tablets send to.
- Paired — hardware connected directly to one device over Bluetooth, belonging to whoever is holding it. A mobile scanner or a card reader on a roaming server.
Appmint Mobile supports both.