Bambu Studio (unofficial)

unofficial-bambu-mcp

Unofficial community project. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or supported by Bambu Lab. "Bambu Lab", "Bambu Studio", "Bambu Connect" and "Bambu Handy" are trademarks of their respective owners.

An MCP server that lets an AI assistant (Claude Code, Claude Desktop or any MCP client) build, edit, slice, check and calibrate Bambu Studio projects, using the official Bambu Studio you already have installed, and read your printer's status on the local network.

You talk, it does the slicer work:

• "New P1S project: a 20 mm cube and the text 'DANI' in white on a black 2 mm tag."
• "Open ~/Downloads/Gnome 3 Color.3mf, add a plate with two more gnomes, then convert it for the A1 mini."
• "I have eSUN PLA Basic in AMS slot 2: make a preset for it and the test prints to calibrate it."
• "Before I start this 20-hour plate: which parts are likely to come off?"
• "A pin came off at layer 4 and I skipped it: make me a project to reprint just that pin, with a brim."
• "How is the print going? Which spool is it feeding from?"

_{A real session, sped up: every tool call, result and image comes from the server through MCP; only the requests are written for the demo (scripts/make_demo.py).}

What it can do

Area	What you can do
Projects	Create a project, or open any .3mf saved by Bambu Studio (2.x and older 1.6/1.7 files) or downloaded from MakerWorld / Printables: painted colors, modifiers, per-object settings, instances and plates are kept. Save without ever overwriting.
Printers	All 14 Bambu Lab printers of Bambu Studio 2.8, tested end to end (project, arrange, slice, print file): A1 mini, A1, A2L, P1P, P1S, P2S, X1, X1 Carbon, X1E, H2S and the two-nozzle H2D, H2D Pro, H2C and X2D (filaments go to a nozzle automatically, as Bambu Studio does). Switch printer and objects are re-arranged for the new bed. New projects use the build plate you picked in Bambu Studio for that printer.
Filaments	AMS slots with preset and color, your own user presets included. use_ams_filaments takes what is loaded in the AMS right now.
Plates & objects	Import STL, OBJ, 3MF; boxes, cylinders, cones, spheres and text (with a base in another color). Move, rotate, scale, mirror, lay flat, auto orient (least support, enough on the bed), duplicate, fill the plate with copies, split into objects or parts, merge objects into one, mesh boolean (holes, unions, intersections) with painted colors kept, filament per object or part, per-object settings, closed-solid check. Object ids stay the same while you work.
Arranging	arrange by the real outline seen from above, brim and brim ears included, so shapes nest (Bambu Studio's own arrange uses convex hulls). Gap, rotation steps, one material per plate, calibration corner, align to Y, prime tower corner kept free; one plate, chosen objects or all; "put them in N plates" evenly or as few as possible, and if they do not fit nothing moves and it says what is left over.
Cutting	cut_object on any plane, with connectors like Bambu Studio's Cut tool: a plug (peg and hole with clearance), dowels (holes in both pieces and separate pins) or a dovetail; round, square or hexagonal, straight or tapered, placed automatically or where you say, made shallower where a piece is thin. The pieces are laid out to print: the peg always points up.
Modifiers	Box or round parts: modifiers with their own settings ("the top 5 mm at 100 % infill"), negative parts (holes for magnets and screws), support blockers and enforcers.
Settings	Read or change any Bambu Studio setting, per filament slot when it applies, with a warning when a value cannot apply (e.g. a textured-plate temperature on a smooth plate).
Presets	Save the project's changes as Bambu Studio user presets: filament (save_filament_preset), process and printer; or change one of your presets directly (edit_preset), list, rename and delete them, with a backup copy each time. Values are checked and written the way Bambu Studio does (one per nozzle variant where it applies), and changes are stamped for Bambu Studio's cloud sync. Presets that are in your Bambu cloud can only be deleted from Bambu Studio: the answer says how.
Text & logos	add_relief: text or an SVG logo on any face of an object, raised (in another color if you like) or engraved, following curved surfaces too (the surface under it is measured on a fine grid and the shape is wrapped on it, keeping its size along the surface). add_shape('svg'): a logo as an object, on a base in another color. SVG paths, shapes, transforms, fill rules and strokes are read.
Measuring	measure_object: size and place, each part's volume and surface, the area on the bed, the clearance between the pieces of a print-in-place model, walls thinner than the nozzle line (where and at which height), and the cross-section at any height: how long and thick a bar is, how wide a hole is. measure_between: the gap between two objects or parts, centers, overlap. Dense meshes are measured on a copy within 0.005 mm (2.4 M triangles in about 9 s).
Height ranges & plates	set_height_range: settings for a band of an object's height, like Bambu Studio's Height range modifier: 100 % infill at the bottom, finer layers where the details are (variable layer height), another filament for a band (color by height). Variable layer heights and ranges in opened files are kept. set_plate_settings: build plate, print sequence (by object), first-layer filament order, spiral vase and prime tower place per plate.
Painting	paint_object: colors, supports (or no supports), seams and fuzzy skin on a height band and/or the faces looking one way (top, sides, overhangs...), with sharp edges. Checked on the sliced G-code: a color band changes filament at its edges, painted supports appear where painted.
Purge volumes	get_purge_volumes / set_purge_volumes: the purge between each pair of slots and the multiplier, as in Bambu Studio's dialog; the values in opened files are kept.
Slicing	Bambu Studio command line: time, grams and cost per filament, filament changes, pauses, layers and warnings per plate. Empty plates are skipped.
Previews	Images of a plate (iso or top, zoom, painted colors, object labels) and of any sliced layer, so the assistant checks its own work.
Print risks	check_print_risks: tall and narrow parts, parts standing on a tiny or narrow footing without a brim, filaments not meant for the build plate, tall parts sharing a long plate, a full brim on a print-in-place model whose joints it would weld.
Brim ears	add_brim_ears: small round brims only on the thin tips (fingers, toes) of print-in-place and articulated models, placed automatically away from joint gaps and other pieces, or where you say. Bambu Studio's Painted brim, checked on the sliced first layer.
Reprints	reprint_objects: a new project with only the parts that failed, same settings, with a brim.
Calibration	Temperature tower, flow rate test (pass 1 and 2), pressure advance tower, max volumetric speed test, retraction test, VFA test (wall speeds), first-layer test, for any filament. Save the result as a Bambu Studio filament preset: a new filament gets its own id, like Bambu Studio's Create Filament, so you can pick it for an AMS slot; updating it later keeps that id.
Layer actions	Pause at a height (magnets, nuts), filament change at a height, or any G-code at a height.
Printing	send_to_printer makes the print file of a plate and opens it in Bambu Studio (or Bambu Connect) ready to print: you check the AMS mapping and press Print.
Developer Mode (LAN farms)	For printers in LAN-only mode with Developer Mode, where Bambu firmware accepts commands from other programs: send_to_printer(via='lan') uploads the plate and starts the print, skip_objects skips parts of the running print, ams_load / ams_unload move filament. Each asks first: the first call sends nothing and gives a code to confirm with. In normal cloud mode the printer refuses them and the answer says so.
Printer status	printer_status (read only, local network): state, progress, temperatures, AMS trays with humidity, skipped objects, and warnings (unknown spool being fed, sport speed on a long print, a reading that looks old).
Camera & SD card	printer_camera: a picture of the plate right now, so the assistant sees how the print is going. printer_files / download_printer_file: timelapses (with their last frame) and past print files. delete_printer_files: free space on the SD card, only after you confirm the exact list. Works in cloud mode.

All 87 tools with their parameters: docs/TOOLS.md.

Tested on

Real hardware: macOS, Bambu Studio 2.8.2, a P1S with two AMS units, in normal cloud mode:

• every tool through a real MCP client, on projects made from scratch and on MakerWorld / Printables downloads (painted 6-color models, multi-part assemblies, 3-plate projects, files from Bambu Studio 1.6 and 1.7);
• printed: temperature towers and flow tests for two third-party filaments (eSUN PLA Basic black and white), whose presets were made and tuned through the server; the print hand-off to Bambu Studio; live status during prints.

The pressure advance tower, the max volumetric speed test and the retraction test are checked by slicing (the G-code is inspected) but have not been printed yet.

Windows and Linux: on every change to main, CI installs Bambu Studio 2.8.2 (the portable zip on Windows, the AppImage on Debian 13) and runs the whole test suite, slicing and print files included, plus a smoke run. Unit tests run on Windows, macOS and Linux with Python 3.10 and 3.13. On Linux the AppImage takes FFmpeg 7 and WebKitGTK 4.1 from the system (Debian 13, Ubuntu 24.10 or newer); set BAMBU_STUDIO_EXE if Bambu Studio is somewhere else.

Printers: all 14 Bambu Lab printers of Bambu Studio 2.8 go through the MCP from a new project to a print file (A1 mini, A1, A2L, P1P, P1S, P2S, X1, X1 Carbon, X1E, H2S, H2C, H2D, H2D Pro, X2D); only the P1S has printed. The Developer Mode tools were checked against a printer in cloud mode (refused, with the right answer) but never started a print on one in Developer Mode.

Printing and your printer

Bambu firmware (2025 and later) accepts commands from other programs only when the printer is in LAN-only mode with Developer Mode on, which turns off the cloud and Bambu Handy. In normal cloud mode it refuses them, so this server:

• reads the printer status (allowed in cloud mode), with the LAN access code Bambu Studio already saved;
• hands the print over to Bambu Studio or Bambu Connect, where you press Print;
• does not start prints, set AMS slots or skip objects in cloud mode: you do that in Bambu Studio, Bambu Handy or on the printer. For printers in LAN-only mode with Developer Mode (print farms) it can, always after you confirm with the code it gives (see the Developer Mode row above).

More in docs/printing.md.

Quick start

Requirements: uv and Bambu Studio. The package comes from PyPI: uvx downloads it the first time (and Python 3.10+ if you do not have it), so there is nothing to clone or install by hand.

It is a standard MCP server (stdio), so any MCP client that runs local servers can use it. It was developed and tested with Claude Code; the other clients below take the same command in their own config file.

Claude Code

claude mcp add bambu -- uvx unofficial-bambu-mcp

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json), Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json), Windsurf (~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json), Gemini CLI (~/.gemini/settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "bambu": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["unofficial-bambu-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

OpenAI Codex CLI (~/.codex/config.toml):

[mcp_servers.bambu]
command = "uvx"
args = ["unofficial-bambu-mcp"]

VS Code (GitHub Copilot agent mode, .vscode/mcp.json):

{ "servers": { "bambu": { "type": "stdio", "command": "uvx", "args": ["unofficial-bambu-mcp"] } } }

• If a desktop app cannot find uvx (spawn uvx ENOENT), put its full path as the command: which uvx prints it.
• uvx keeps the version it downloaded: write unofficial-bambu-mcp@latest instead to get new releases.
• From a clone (for development): uv run --directory /path/to/unofficial-bambu-mcp unofficial-bambu-mcp.
• The ChatGPT app only connects to remote MCP servers, and this one has to run on the computer with Bambu Studio.

Then ask: "What version of Bambu Studio do I have, and which printers can you use?"

Configuration (optional)

Variable	Default	Meaning
UBMCP_DIR	~/Documents/unofficial-bambu-mcp	Where projects, sliced files and print files are saved
BAMBU_STUDIO_EXE	auto-detected	Path of the Bambu Studio executable
BAMBU_STUDIO_DATA	auto-detected	Bambu Studio data folder (with system/ and user/)
BAMBU_STUDIO_RESOURCES	auto-detected	Bambu Studio resources folder (with profiles/), for unusual Linux installs
UBMCP_PRESET_BACKUPS	~/.config/unofficial-bambu-mcp/preset-backups	Where a copy of a user preset goes before it is changed, renamed or deleted
BAMBU_PRINTER_SERIAL, BAMBU_PRINTER_ACCESS_CODE, BAMBU_PRINTER_IP	from Bambu Studio	Printer for printer_status, if you do not want it read from Bambu Studio

How it works

Bambu Studio has no plugin or scripting API. This server works on the project file (.3mf, the format Bambu Studio saves) and calls the Bambu Studio command line to slice. Presets are read from your installation and flattened the way the app does. Details in docs/how-it-works.md.

• In sync with the app. open_in_bambu_studio shows a project in the app; if you change it there and save, the server re-reads it on the next command (and tells you if both sides changed).
• Safe with your files. Nothing is ever overwritten: saving adds -2, -3... and opened files are read as a copy. Changing, renaming or deleting one of your presets keeps a backup copy first.
• Light. numpy, shapely, manifold3d, fonttools and Pillow. No Bambu profile is shipped with this repository: presets come from your installation (the server only carries default values for settings that presets leave out).
• Your printer, your call. The LAN access code is read from Bambu Studio when needed and never copied anywhere. See SECURITY.md.

Guides

• Calibrating a filament, step by step, with what to look at on each test print
• Printing and printer status
• Troubleshooting
• How it works
• Driving a closed slicer from an AI assistant: a technical write-up of the design and the tests

Limitations

• Two-nozzle printers (H2D, H2C, X2D): filaments go to a nozzle automatically, as in Bambu Studio's default; choosing the nozzle of each filament by hand is not there yet.
• The printer camera works with P1 and A1 printers (X1 and H2 stream over RTSP, not supported yet).
• First-layer tests do not keep painted colors.
• Bambu Studio re-slices a project when it opens it; to see a plate sliced and ready to print in the app, use send_to_printer.

Roadmap

• Mesh simplification and repair; the nozzle of each filament on two-nozzle printers; X1/H2 camera
• A live bridge inside the slicer, to be proposed to OrcaSlicer and Bambu Studio

Contributing and support

Bug reports, ideas and pull requests: GitHub Issues. Include your OS, Bambu Studio version, printer and, if you can, the .3mf that fails. See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Author: Daniele Finocchiaro — danielefinocchiaro.com. If it saves you prints and time: buy me a coffee.

License

MIT for this code. Bambu Studio profiles are read from your installation and are not redistributed.