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

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: Python 3.10+, uv and Bambu Studio.

git clone https://github.com/danielefinocchiaro/unofficial-bambu-mcp
cd unofficial-bambu-mcp && uv sync

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 -- uv run --directory /path/to/unofficial-bambu-mcp 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": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/unofficial-bambu-mcp", "unofficial-bambu-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

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

[mcp_servers.bambu]
command = "uv"
args = ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/unofficial-bambu-mcp", "unofficial-bambu-mcp"]

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

{ "servers": { "bambu": { "type": "stdio", "command": "uv",
  "args": ["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)

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

• A package on PyPI (uvx unofficial-bambu-mcp)
• 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.