Kitchen Display
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Stations and routing

Split tickets across grill, fryer, and expo — assign items or categories to stations, add routing rules, and let the default station catch the rest.

Updated July 4, 2026

Stations live in the KDS section's Stations tab. Each station gets a name and a color, and you decide what cooks where by assigning menu items or whole categories to it.

How an item finds its station

When an order lands, each item is routed in a strict order: routing rules win first, then a direct item assignment, then the item's category assignment, and anything still unclaimed goes to your default station. As long as you've set a default station, nothing falls through the cracks — it's the catch-all. (With no default station set, unmapped items just aren't tracked on any station, so make sure you have one.)

  • Routing rules go beyond simple assignment: send matching items to a station, or skip a station for matching items. (There's also a distribute-across-stations rule type, but today it behaves like send-to-a-station — true load balancing across stations is on the roadmap.)
  • The Expo flag marks a station as the expo. Items aren't *routed* to the expo — instead, the expo view shows the whole order converging from every station, so someone can plate and quality-check the complete order before it goes out.
  • The default station flag marks your catch-all. Keep exactly one.
Note: Start simple: one default station is a complete setup for a small line. Add stations when tickets genuinely split across cooks — not before.
Set up the kitchen tabletWork the orders queue
Frequently asked questions

Questions about kitchen stations

Practical answers about kitchen stations in KitchenRush.

How does KitchenRush choose the station for an order item?

When an order lands, each item is routed in a strict order: routing rules win first, then a direct item assignment, then the item's category assignment, and anything still unclaimed goes to your default station. As long as you've set a default station, nothing falls through the cracks — it's the catch-all. (With no default station set, unmapped items just aren't tracked on any station, so make sure you have one.)

What is the difference between an expo station and a default station?

The Expo flag marks a station as the expo. Items aren't routed to the expo — instead, the expo view shows the whole order converging from every station, so someone can plate and quality-check the complete order before it goes out.

The default station flag marks your catch-all. Keep exactly one.