2024 Hacktoberfest has begun, and I decided to dive into some open-source contributions! One project that caught my eye was the Scanner Server. It offers a web interface for using scanners, which seemed pretty interesting.

I was eager to contribute but quickly realized I didn’t have a scanner to test it with 😅. Fortunately, Linux’s SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) software comes to the rescue! It includes a feature that lets you select a test scanner model. With this, you always have a virtual scanner called “test” available. While it only scans a black image, it behaves just like a real scanner for all practical purposes.

Here’s how to enable the test scanner:

  • Open the SANE configuration file:
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sudo vim /etc/sane.d/dll.conf
  • Search for the word test in Vim:
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/test

This will take you to a line that looks like #test. Simply remove the # in front of test to enable it.

And that’s it! No need to restart any services—your virtual scanner is ready to go.