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Printer Control

Bambuddy provides control over various printer settings and features directly from the web interface.


Start prints directly from any printer card — no need to navigate to File Manager first.

A green Print button appears on each printer card when the printer is idle:

  1. Click the Print button at the bottom of the printer card
  2. A file upload modal opens — select a .gcode or .gcode.3mf file
  3. The file is automatically uploaded to your library
  4. The Print Modal opens with the printer pre-selected
  5. Configure filament mapping and print options, then click Print

The printer selector is hidden since the target printer is already known.

Drag & Drop

Drag a sliced file directly onto any printer card to start printing:

  1. Drag a .gcode or .gcode.3mf file from your computer onto a printer card
  2. A green "Drop to print" overlay appears (or red "Printer busy" if unavailable)
  3. Drop the file — it uploads to your library automatically
  4. The Print Modal opens with the printer pre-selected
  5. Configure and print

Accepted File Types

Only sliced files (.gcode and .gcode.3mf) are accepted for drag-and-drop printing. Other file types will show an error. Use the File Manager to upload non-printable files.

Printer Compatibility Check

Both flows automatically check if the file was sliced for a compatible printer model. If the file's sliced_for_model metadata doesn't match the target printer, you'll see an error and the file is removed from the library.

Permission Required

Requires the Printer Control permission (printers:control).


Printer Information

View detailed printer information from the three-dot menu on any printer card.

Click Printer Information to see:

Field Description
Model Printer model name
Status Connection status (online/offline)
State Current state (idle, printing, paused, etc.)
IP Address Network address (copyable)
Serial Number Hardware serial (copyable)
WiFi Signal Signal strength with quality indicator
Firmware Current firmware version
Developer Mode Whether LAN developer mode is enabled
Nozzle Count Number of nozzles
SD Card Whether an SD card is inserted
Auto-Archive Whether auto-archiving is enabled
Print Hours Total accumulated print hours
Location Configured printer location
Added Date the printer was added

Control active print jobs directly from the printer card:

Stop Print

Cancel the current print job:

  1. Locate the Stop button () on the printer card during printing
  2. Click to stop the print
  3. Confirm in the modal dialog
  4. Print is cancelled and printer returns to idle

Permanent Action

Stopping a print cannot be undone. The print must be restarted from the beginning.

Pause / Resume

Temporarily pause and resume printing:

Button State Action
Pause Printing Pauses the print, filament retracts
Resume Paused Resumes printing from where it stopped

To pause/resume:

  1. Click the Pause button during an active print
  2. Confirm in the modal dialog
  3. Printer pauses and displays "Paused" status
  4. Click Resume to continue printing

When to Pause

Use pause to inspect the print, remove debris, or insert objects for encapsulation.

Clear HMS Errors

Dismiss stale HMS errors directly from the HMS error modal:

  1. Click the HMS indicator on the printer card to open the error modal
  2. Review the listed errors
  3. Click Clear Errors to dismiss them

The clear command sends clean_print_error via MQTT and immediately removes errors from the UI. This is useful after print cancellation or transient events that leave print_error values behind.

Permission Required

Requires the Printer Control permission (printers:control).

Clear Plate

When a print finishes or fails and there are queued prints waiting, a "Clear Plate & Start Next" button appears on the printer card. Clicking it confirms that the build plate has been cleared, allowing the queue scheduler to start the next print.

Permission Required

Requires the Clear Plate permission (printers:clear_plate). This is a separate, more granular permission than printers:control, allowing admins to grant plate-clearing ability without full printer control access.

Confirmation Modals

All print control actions require confirmation to prevent accidental clicks:

  • Stop: "Are you sure you want to stop this print?"
  • Pause: "Are you sure you want to pause this print?"
  • Resume: "Are you sure you want to resume this print?"

Toast notifications provide feedback after each action.


Bulk Actions

Select multiple printer cards and apply actions to all of them at once — ideal for print farms and multi-printer setups.

Entering Selection Mode

  1. Click the Select button () in the printer page header toolbar
  2. Printer cards now show checkboxes — click cards to select/deselect
  3. A floating toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen

Selection Shortcuts

The floating toolbar provides quick ways to select printers:

Button Description
Select All Select all visible printers
Select by State Dropdown to select all printers in a specific state (Printing, Paused, Finished, Idle, Error, Offline)
Select by Location Dropdown to select all printers at a specific location (only visible when printers have locations assigned)

When viewing printers grouped by location, each location header also shows a "Select All" link to select that group.

Available Bulk Actions

Action Description Confirmation
Stop Cancel active prints on selected printers
Pause Pause active prints on selected printers
Resume Resume paused prints on selected printers
Clear Notifications Clear HMS errors on selected printers
Clear Bed Clear print bed on selected printers (may trigger queued jobs)

Each action button is smart-enabled — it only activates when at least one selected printer is in the appropriate state. For example, "Stop" is only clickable when a selected printer is printing or paused.

Permissions

  • Stop, Pause, Resume, Clear Notifications require the Printer Control permission (printers:control)
  • Clear Bed requires the Clear Plate permission (printers:clear_plate)

Exiting Selection Mode

  • Press Escape on your keyboard
  • Click the X button on the floating toolbar

Skip Objects

Skip individual objects during a print without stopping the entire job.

How It Works

When a print starts, Bambuddy extracts object information from the 3MF file. You can then skip any object that's failing or that you no longer need.

Using Skip Objects

  1. Click the Skip button (top-right of printer card) during printing
  2. A modal appears showing:
  3. Preview image with object ID markers overlaid in a grid
  4. Object list with large ID badges and names
  5. Info banner explaining to match IDs with your printer's display
  6. Click Skip next to any object you want to exclude
  7. The object will be marked as skipped and won't be printed

Skip Objects Modal

Element Description
Preview image Shows print with ID markers overlaid
ID badges Large numbered badges matching printer display
Object list Names with skip buttons
Skipped count Badge on button shows how many skipped

Object Display

Status Appearance
Active Green ID badge, Skip button visible
Skipped Red ID badge, strikethrough text, "Skipped" badge

Layer Requirement

Wait for Layer 2

Skip is only available after the first layer is printed. This is a printer limitation - the printer needs to establish object positions before allowing skips.

A warning message appears in the modal when on layer 0 or 1.

Requirements

For skip objects to work properly:

  1. Enable Exclude Objects in your slicer (Bambu Studio / OrcaSlicer)
  2. Go to OtherExclude objects
  3. This ensures each object gets a unique ID
  4. Objects must be properly separated in the slicer
  5. Clone/array objects may share IDs unless exclude is enabled
  6. Print must have 2 or more objects

Matching Object IDs

The printer's display shows object IDs on the build plate visualization. Match these numbers with the IDs shown in Bambuddy's modal to identify which object is which.

When to Skip

Use skip objects when:

  • An object is failing but others are printing fine
  • You want to cancel part of a multi-object print
  • A support structure or test piece is no longer needed

Cannot Undo

Skipping an object is permanent for the current print. The object cannot be un-skipped once marked.


Chamber Control

For enclosed printers (X1 series, H2 series), control the chamber environment:

Chamber Temperature

  • View current chamber temperature
  • Set target temperature (if supported)
  • Monitor heating/cooling status

Chamber Light

Toggle the internal chamber LED directly from the printer card.

Location: Light button next to the camera button at the bottom of the printer card.

State Appearance
On Yellow background, filled bulb icon with rays
Off Gray background, outline bulb icon

To toggle:

  1. Click the light button at the bottom of the printer card
  2. Light state changes immediately (optimistic update)
  3. Toast notification confirms the change

H2D Dual Lights

On H2D printers with dual chamber lights, both lights are controlled together.


Change print speed presets on-the-fly during active prints without leaving the printer card.

Speed Badge

A compact badge with a gauge icon appears in the controls row, next to the fan status badges. It displays the current speed percentage at a glance.

State Appearance
Active print Colored badge showing current speed % — click to open speed menu
No active print Dimmed/disabled badge — visible but not interactive

Speed Presets

Click the speed badge to open a dropdown menu with four presets:

Preset Speed Mode Description
Silent 50% 1 Quieter operation, reduced vibration
Standard 100% 2 Default slicer speed
Sport 124% 3 Faster printing with good quality
Ludicrous 166% 4 Maximum speed

How to Change Speed

  1. Locate the speed badge ( with percentage) in the controls row during an active print
  2. Click the badge to open the speed dropdown
  3. Select a preset — the command is sent immediately via MQTT
  4. The badge updates to reflect the new speed

When to Adjust Speed

  • Use Silent for night prints or noise-sensitive environments
  • Use Sport or Ludicrous for simple geometry where quality impact is minimal
  • Drop to Standard for detailed sections or overhangs

Permission Required

Requires the Printer Control permission (printers:control).


Airduct Mode (P2S / X2D / H2*)

Switch the chamber airduct between Cooling and Heating modes from the printer card. Available only on P2S, X2D, H2D, H2C, and H2S — printers without an active airduct don't show the badge.

Airduct Badge

A compact badge appears in the controls row, immediately to the left of the print speed badge.

Mode Icon Color When to Use
Cooling sky blue PLA / PETG / TPU — filters and cools chamber air
Heating orange ABS / ASA / PC / PA — circulates and heats chamber air, closes top exhaust flap

Click the badge to open a dropdown and pick the mode. The command is sent via MQTT (set_airduct) and the badge updates immediately on confirmation.


Move Build Plate (Z-Jog)

Move the build plate up or down directly from the printer card — useful for inspecting the plate through the camera after a print finishes, or for small manual positioning.

Bed-Jog Badge

A compact Bed badge appears in the controls row, between the print-speed badge and the Stop / Pause buttons. Click it to open a small popover containing:

  • ↑ / ↓ buttons that move the plate by the selected step
  • A step selector1 / 10 / 50 mm

The badge is automatically disabled while a print is running.

Not-Homed Warning (Studio-style)

After a print completes, the Z axis is usually no longer referenced. The first time you click up/down in a session, Bambuddy shows a warning modal matching the Bambu Studio / printer-touchscreen flow:

Action What it does
Home Z Sends G28 Z and dismisses the dialog — click the jog again once homing completes
Move anyway Bypasses soft endstops (M211 S0) for this move, performs the jog, then re-enables endstops (M211 S1). The "already warned" flag is remembered for the rest of the browser session, so subsequent jogs go through without the dialog
Cancel Closes the dialog, no command is sent

Bypassing soft endstops

The Move anyway option disables axis soft limits for a single move. Keep the step small (1 – 10 mm) until the plate is in a safe position — the printer firmware will still refuse moves that would physically crash the gantry, but it's on you to make sure the commanded distance is reasonable.

Permissions

Both the jog and home actions require printers:control. With authentication enabled, anonymous and read-only users see the buttons greyed out.

Under the Hood

Endpoint G-code Sent
POST /printers/{id}/bed-jog?distance=N G91 / G1 ZN F600 / G90
POST /printers/{id}/bed-jog?distance=N&force=true M211 S0 / G91 / G1 ZN F600 / G90 / M211 S1
POST /printers/{id}/home-axes?axes=z G28 Z
POST /printers/{id}/home-axes?axes=xy G28 X Y
POST /printers/{id}/home-axes?axes=all G28

The distance parameter is validated server-side to be non-zero and within ±200 mm.


SD Card & Door Status Badges

The top status row of every printer card now shows two compact icon-only badges so you can see drive and enclosure state at a glance.

Badge Green Red / Yellow Notes
SD Card inserted red when missing All printers
Door closed yellow when open X1 / P1S / P2S / X2D / H2 series only

Door state is detected from the right MQTT field per printer family (X1: home_flag bit 23, others: stat bit 23) and pushed live via WebSocket — no waiting for the next status poll.


Force Refresh

The printer card kebab menu has a Force Refresh entry that triggers an MQTT pushall request, asking the printer to re-broadcast its full status. Useful when a value looks stale and you don't want to fully reconnect (which would tear down the existing MQTT/FTP session).


Fan Status

Monitor cooling fan speeds in real time directly from the printer card.

Real-Time Fan Status

The Controls section displays compact fan badges showing real-time speeds:

Fan Icon Color Description
Part Cooling Cyan Cools printed layers (0-100%)
Auxiliary Blue Chamber airflow (0-100%)
Chamber Green Exhausts hot air from enclosure (0-100%)

Badges are always visible with dynamic coloring:

  • Active (colored icon + text): Fan is running, shows current speed %
  • Inactive (gray icon + text): Fan is off, shows 0%

Display Only

Fan badges show the current speed reported by the printer. Fan speeds are controlled by the slicer profile and printer firmware — they cannot be adjusted through BambuBuddy.


:material-nozzle: Dual Nozzle Support

For dual-nozzle printers (H2D, etc.):

Nozzle Status

View both nozzles:

  • Current temperature
  • Target temperature
  • Heating status

Nozzle Selection

See which nozzle is active during printing.


Power Controls

Control printer power state:

Power Switch

If a smart plug is configured:

  • Power On - Turn printer on
  • Power Off - Turn printer off
  • Status - View current power state

Smart plug setup

Auto Power Off

Configure automatic shutdown:

  1. Enable Auto Power Off in settings
  2. Set Cooldown Temperature threshold
  3. Set Cooldown Time delay
  4. Printer powers off after print completes and cools

During an active print, you can adjust:

Setting Adjustable?
Print speed preset
Part cooling fan
Chamber light
Pause/Resume
Cancel

Limited Changes

Not all settings can be changed mid-print. Temperature and layer settings are locked.


Tips

Chamber Management

For ABS/ASA, keep the chamber warm. Open doors for PLA to prevent heat creep.

AI Detection Value

AI detection has saved countless prints. The small time cost is worth the protection.

Regular Calibration

Run bed leveling from the printer's touchscreen after major moves or every few weeks for best first layers.