OctoPrint Blog

octoprint.org · Company blog · on HN since 2013

The blog of OctoPrint, an open source web interface for controlling 3D printers, written by its maintainer Gina Häußge.

What HN saysHN commenters recommend OctoPrint as an excellent, snappy tool for controlling and monitoring 3D printers, including older models like the Ender 3, and often run it on a Raspberry Pi.
25HN people shared it
16linked it in comments
9stories submitted
568story points
6 months agolast shared
2013people per year2026

Most-shared posts

  1. 1
    OctoPrint: Snappy web interface for your 3D printer
    17 people · 514 points · first shared 2013 · 108 comments on HN
  2. 2
    More manipulation of OctoPrint's anonymous usage stats
    2 people · 7 points · first shared 2024 · 2 comments on HN
  3. 3
    Download
    2 people · first shared 2019
  4. 4
    OctoPrint's anonymous usage stats were manipulated
    1 people · 43 points · first shared 2024 · 11 comments on HN
  5. 5
    We need to talk about funding
    1 people · 2 points · first shared 2023 · discussion on HN
  6. 6
    OctoPrint 1.4.1 Stable Released
    1 people · 2 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
  7. 7
    Support octoprint
    1 people · first shared 2026

What HN people wrote when they linked it

leipert · 2021-01-23
Octoprint is pretty amazing if you want to control a 3D printer: https://octoprint.org/
booli · 2017-01-17
One of my favourite project is by Gina Häußge, creator and maintainer of OctoPrint. "OctoPrint is the snappy web interface for your 3D printer that allows you to control and monitor all aspects of your printer and print jobs, right from within any browser on your network."[0] https://www.patreon.com/foosel Disclaimer: I work closely with Gina on (open source) plugins for OctoPrint. [0] http://octoprint.org
luqtas · 2025-09-17
can't you use something like this? https://octoprint.org/ i have no idea if it works with modern ones but my "old" Ender 3 plays nice with it
obscurette · 2023-09-28
- Two LibreELEC (https://libreelec.tv/) mediaplayers in house (yes, one is not enough in my big family). - One for hosting low usage applications at home network (Unifi controller and some more). - Octoprint (https://octoprint.org) connected to the 3d-printer. - One on my desk for hardware hacking – mostly as just a PC with GPIO. - Some wireless Raspberry Pi Zeros as security cameras.
camhenlin · 2019-06-24
I use one to control a 3D printer with https://octoprint.org and another to integrate some smart home devices that are not homekit compatible with my homekit setup, using https://homebridge.io.
ericb · 2019-02-09
Anytime. Good luck! If you need advice, feel free to ping me. My three tips are: 1-Make sure you get a good Z calibration before the first layer (run the calibration a few times). 2-Wipe with Isopropyl alcohol between prints, and 3-If you ever start getting adhesion issues, wipe with Acetone. Oh, also, get octoprint and install it on a raspberry pi. You can run and monitor your printer remotely that way. Really easy, and so handy. https://octoprint.org/
rocktronica · 2017-07-26
I have three Pis currently "deployed": 1) Internet radio w/ an amplifier in a cigar box. It was a gift for my gf and only plays the station she listened to in college. https://github.com/rocktronica/curpi 2) Timed camera and GIF maker for my cat feeder. https://github.com/rocktronica/feedergif 3) OctoPrint server for my 3D printer http://octoprint.org/ [edit: formatting]
Vendan · 2014-05-10
Free, open source alternative: http://octoprint.org/ Has most of the same features, and is working on slicing as well
mercuryrising · 2013-10-26
How does this compare to Octoprint[0]? What makes PrintToPeer different? [0] - http://octoprint.org/
Turing_Machine · 2021-12-27
I use FreeCAD, which is FOSS and available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. You'll also need "slicer" software, which takes the 3D model and slices it into layers and generates the actual tool control program (this is in a language called "G-code", which is more or less standardized across CNC tools). For that I use Ultimaker Cura, also FOSS and available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. A typical workflow is this: 1) Design part in FreeCAD. Save as a FreeCAD model (so you can edit it later) and also export it as an STL file (a standard 3D model format) 2) Load STL into Cura. Here you can control things like layer height, how much of the interior of the model is hollow (for most models you don't want to waste filament by printing it solid, though you can do that if you choose), what kind of infill pattern is used, etc. The defaults work well most of the time. Though Ultimaker makes their own printers, Cura also has printer profiles for many other common devices, including Ender. Cura generates the G-code file that controls the physical printer. 3) Put the G-code file on the printer (on a micro SD card, in my case) and print. Many people like a package called Octoprint, which works with a Raspberry Pi to give you remote printer control and monitoring capabilities. I haven't made that step yet, but plan to do that soon. https://www.freecadweb.org/ https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura https://octoprint.org/
tghw · 2019-06-25
I have a bunch doing different things: One is running our sprinklers with OpenSprinklerPi https://opensprinkler.com/product/opensprinkler-pi/ One is running VolumeIO to splay music on the speakers in our house as a Spotify Connect device https://volumio.org/ One controls our whole house humidifier via a relay and a combination of weather and thermostat information. One has been turned into a precision/TSD/regularity rally computer for my vintage car. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regularity_rally One runs my 3D printer using OctoPrint https://octoprint.org/download/ And I use one as a race car telemetry system using a 9-dof sensor and a GPS module (with brake, throttle, and steering inputs to come). For most of these projects, they're complete overkill in terms of hardware, but with integrated wifi and bluetooth, and a host of GPIO pins, they make developing projects like this dead simple. And at $35, the amount of time they save is well worth it over bare metal hardware.
TaylorAlexander · 2019-06-24
With the Raspberry Pi: I've made a four wheel drive robot called Rover that uses brushless motors and 3d printed planetary gears. It's all CC0 open source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwCkX6bLY3E&t=4s https://github.com/tlalexander/rover_control https://reboot.love/t/rover-and-skittles-cad-design-files-here/171 https://imgur.com/a/GqXD2Zj I've made a smaller classroom style robot named Skittles that also uses brushless + planetary and is open source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2-zIUY_kww I taught a robotics class using the robot Skittles, and the students did a great job picking up Raspberry Pi. There's a lot of tutorials on the web they found to do their work! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pql6ZbPVog I've made a "fake Philips Hue" light out of a SK6812 RGBW LED strip to go with my existing Philips Hue system. That uses this github project: https://github.com/diyhue/diyHue I made a humidity controlled chamber for mushroom cultivation: https://github.com/tlalexander/humidity_controller I've made an RTK GPS system using two raspberry pis and two $75 GPS receivers to make a GPS system that so far looks to be accurate to within a few centimeters (when you have clear sky). http://rtkexplorer.com/how-to/posts-getting-started/ I replaced our dodgy bluetooth audio sink on our stereo with an Airplay node using this software: https://github.com/mikebrady/shairport-sync I've added a wireless front end to some of my 3D printers using…
chandlermayo767 · 2019-06-24
I use it to control my 3D printer: https://octoprint.org/
eddythompson80 · 2026-05-13
The creator has a patreon[1]. I did a one-time payment too because early on it really changed how I used my 3D printer and thought it deserved some support. [1] https://octoprint.org/support-octoprint/
gregmac · 2021-03-30
It's a standardized piece of kit at a great price point with broad and long-term availability around the world. There's simply not anything that hits all those points in the x86 world. It's a good target if you want to provide something very close to a "turn-key appliance" without actually selling your own hardware: You can provide an image that a user writes to a microSD card, plugs in, and it just works. For example: HomeAssistant [1] for home automation, OctoPi [2] 3D printer software, OpenElec [3] media center, RetroPi [4] game console emulator, Volumio [4] music player, and lots more [5]. [1] https://www.home-assistant.io/installation [2] https://octoprint.org/download/ [3] https://openelec.tv/ [4] https://retropie.org.uk/ [5] https://volumio.org/ [6] https://github.com/thibmaek/awesome-raspberry-pi
glaslong · 2019-06-24
So many things! 1. Home Assistant for tying together all the various brands of smart home devices https://www.home-assistant.io/ 2. OctoPrint for managing a 3D printer (also has a home assistant integration) https://octoprint.org/ 3. Magic Mirror that shows me news, weather, commute time estimate, etc https://magicmirror.builders/ 4. PiHole for blocking all ads on my home network https://pi-hole.net/ 5. The brains of a toy i hacked apart for a friend's robot fight https://www.facebook.com/RobotRiotCompetition/ 6. PyPortal Twitter feed on my desk https://www.adafruit.com/product/4116 7. Server for various weekend web projects

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