Pre-release (1.1.0-beta.1). It works inside Cura 5.13.0 against a simulated Bambu printer, but it has not yet been tested on real Bambu hardware. Watch your first print, and please report how it goes.
Source-available · Non-commercial. Licensed under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0. Free for personal, hobby and other non-commercial use; commercial use needs my separate permission. Provided as is, with no warranty and no liability. This plugin starts jobs on a real machine: watch your first print.
Required Notice: Copyright Matthew Armstrong (https://github.com/The-Dorkknight)
A plugin for UltiMaker Cura that sends prints straight to a Bambu Lab printer on your local network. Slice in Cura, click Print over LAN, and the job uploads to the printer's SD card and starts. No Bambu cloud, no Bambu Connect, no Bambu Studio, and nothing extra to install: it uses Python's standard library and the community-documented LAN protocol.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Bambu Lab or UltiMaker.
Contents
- What you need
- Install
- Set up a printer
- Printing
- Your Cura printer profile
- Security and your network
- Troubleshooting
- Known limitations
- How it works · Changelog · Third-party notices · Security policy · Contributing
What you need
- UltiMaker Cura 5.x (tested on 5.13.0).
- A Bambu Lab printer on the same network as your computer, with an SD card inserted.
- The printer's IP address and access code, both on its network / LAN screen.
- Depending on the firmware:
| Firmware | What to turn on |
|---|---|
| Older firmware, before Bambu's Authorization Control: A1 / A1 mini before 01.05.00.00, P1P / P1S before 01.08.02.00, X1 series before 01.08.03.00 | Nothing else. The access code is enough. If it won't connect, turn on LAN-only mode. |
| Newer firmware (and H2D, P2 series always) | LAN-only mode, then Developer Mode (it appears in the same menu). Without it, the printer ignores print commands from other software. |
You don't need to know which you have: Test connection reads the model and firmware and tells you. If you're on older firmware and want to stay there, keep automatic updates off on the printer.
Install
- Download
BambuLAN-<version>.curapackagefrom the Releases page. - Open Cura and drag the file onto the Cura window.
- Restart Cura when it asks.
| System | Manual install folder (if drag and drop doesn't work) |
|---|---|
| Linux Mint / Ubuntu / Debian (AppImage) | ~/.local/share/cura/<version>/plugins/ |
| Linux (Flatpak) | ~/.var/app/com.ultimaker.cura/data/cura/<version>/plugins/ |
| macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/cura/<version>/plugins/ |
| Windows | %APPDATA%\cura\<version>\plugins\ |
Copy the whole BambuLAN folder there. Help → Show Configuration Folder opens the right place on any system.
Set up a printer
- In Cura, select (or add) the printer you use for your Bambu machine.
- Open Extensions → Bambu LAN → Set up this printer…
- The first time, read the notice in the red box and tick I understand and agree. Save stays greyed out until you do.
- Click Find printers on network and pick yours, or type the IP address from the printer's screen.
- Type the access code (8 characters, from the same screen). Tick Show access code to check it.
- Leave Serial number empty; it's read automatically.
- Click Test connection. A green report means everything works:
Serial: 01P00A123456789 (read from certificate)
Certificate: verified against Bambu Lab CA
MQTT: logged in
Model: A1, firmware 01.04.02.00
Firmware predates Authorization Control (01.05.00.00) — no Developer Mode needed.
State: IDLE
SD card: present
FTPS: logged in
- Choose the print options:
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Start printing after upload | Untick to only copy the file to the SD card and start it from the printer's screen. |
| Filament source | External spool, or the AMS slot to print from. |
| Build plate | Auto lets the printer decide; otherwise pick the plate you have fitted. |
| Bed levelling / Flow calibration / Timelapse | Passed to the printer; levelling and flow only work if your start G-code supports them (see profile). |
- Click Save.
Settings are stored per Cura printer, so several Bambu printers each get their own. Remove deletes the settings for the selected Cura printer.
Printing
With the configured printer selected, slice as usual. The main button changes to Print over LAN; the arrow next to it still offers Save to Disk.
Click it. A progress message shows Connecting → Uploading → Starting print, then confirms when the printer reports it has started:
Before uploading, the plugin checks that the printer isn't already busy and has an SD card. If anything fails, the message says which step and why.
Extensions → Bambu LAN → About shows the version, copyright and licence.
Your Cura printer profile
The printer runs exactly the G-code Cura produces, so the profile matters:
- Machine size and origin: set the bed size for your model (for example A1: 256 × 256 × 256 mm), origin not at centre, G-code flavour Marlin.
-
Start / End G-code: copy the machine start and end G-code from Bambu Studio for your model (Printer settings → Machine G-code) and replace its
[placeholders]with Cura's{settings}, for example[nozzle_temperature_initial_layer]→{material_print_temperature_layer_0}and[bed_temperature_initial_layer_single]→{material_bed_temperature_layer_0}. - The Bed levelling and Flow calibration options only take effect if that start G-code contains Bambu's
M1002 judge_flagchecks, as Bambu Studio's does.
Start with a small test print and stay nearby.
Troubleshooting
| Message or problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| No Print over LAN button | Select the Cura printer you set up; the button only appears for configured printers. Check you accepted the notice and clicked Save. |
| No answer from … on port 8883 | Wrong IP, printer off, or on a different network. Check the IP on the printer's screen. |
| refused the connection on port 8883 | The printer isn't accepting LAN connections. Turn on LAN-only mode. |
| Printer refused login: wrong access code / not authorised | Re-type the access code. On newer firmware also turn on Developer Mode. |
| certificate isn't signed by Bambu Lab's CA | Unusual firmware or something between you and the printer. On a network you trust, tick Skip certificate check. |
| Certificate check failed … Is the serial number right? | Clear the Serial number box so it's read automatically. |
| The printer is busy (RUNNING) | Wait for the current job to finish or cancel it on the printer. |
| No SD card in the printer | Insert a card; LAN printing stores the job on it. |
| Printer refused the job (…) | The reason from the printer is shown. Send it in a bug report with the model and firmware from Test connection. |
| Sent … the printer hasn't confirmed yet | The file was sent but no confirmation arrived within 25 s. Check the printer's screen. |
| Find printers finds nothing | Your firewall may block the printer's broadcasts (UDP 2021), or the printer is on another subnet. Type the IP instead. |
| Print starts but prints wrongly | That's the Cura profile, not the transfer. See Your Cura printer profile. |
Cura's log (Help → Show Configuration Folder → cura.log) has more detail; lines start with Bambu LAN.
Known limitations
- Not yet tested on a real printer. The protocol code is tested against a simulated Bambu printer that enforces the real behaviour (TLS, login, FTPS session reuse, per-model file paths). The plugin was also run inside a real Cura 5.13.0 on Linux: menus, setup dialog, Test connection and Print over LAN all worked end to end against that simulated A1. Windows and macOS have not been tried. Please report how it goes on your machine.
- The screenshots come from a headless test machine without 3D graphics, so Cura's build-plate view is blank in them.
- Single-plate, single-colour jobs. Multi-colour AMS mapping (one filament per slot) isn't supported.
- No camera view, live progress or pause/cancel from Cura. Use the printer's screen.
- Needs an SD card in the printer.
Photos
Source code: The-Dorkknight/cura-bambu-lan on GitHub
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