Skip to content

Quick Start

Get started with Printernizer in 5 minutes! This guide covers the essentials to get you monitoring your 3D printers.

Prerequisites

  • Printernizer installed and running (Installation Guide)
  • At least one Bambu Lab A1 or Prusa Core One printer on your network
  • Printer IP address (or enable auto-discovery)

Step 1: Access Printernizer

Open your web browser and navigate to:

http://localhost:8000

You should see the Printernizer dashboard with: - Sidebar navigation - Printer list (empty initially) - Status overview

Step 2: Add Your First Printer

Printernizer can automatically discover printers on your network:

  1. Click "Discover Printers" button on the dashboard
  2. Wait for the scan to complete (10-30 seconds)
  3. Review discovered printers
  4. Click "Add" for each printer you want to manage

Supported discovery: - Bambu Lab A1: SSDP discovery - Prusa Core One: mDNS (Bonjour) discovery

Option B: Manual Addition

If auto-discovery doesn't work or you prefer manual setup:

  1. Click "Add Printer" button
  2. Fill in the form:
  3. Name: Friendly name (e.g., "Main Bambu Lab")
  4. Type: Select "Bambu Lab A1" or "Prusa Core One"
  5. IP Address: Printer's IP address
  6. Serial Number: (Bambu Lab only) Found in printer settings
  7. Access Code: (Bambu Lab only) LAN access code from printer
  8. API Key: (Prusa only) From PrusaLink settings
  9. Click "Add Printer"

Finding printer credentials:

Bambu Lab A1: - Go to printer touchscreen → Settings → Network - Enable "LAN Mode" - Note the "Access Code" - Serial number is on the back of the printer

Prusa Core One: - Access PrusaLink web interface - Go to Settings → API - Generate or copy API key

Step 3: Verify Connection

After adding a printer:

  1. Check the Printers page
  2. Verify printer status shows "Connected" (green indicator)
  3. Check that temperature readings appear
  4. Confirm the printer name and details are correct

Troubleshooting connection issues: - Verify printer is powered on and connected to network - Check firewall settings - Ensure Printernizer and printer are on same network/subnet - For Bambu Lab: Verify LAN Mode is enabled - For Prusa: Verify PrusaLink is running

Step 4: Monitor a Print Job

Start a print job on your printer (from SD card, USB, or slicer):

  1. Go to Jobs page in Printernizer
  2. Watch as the job appears automatically
  3. Monitor real-time progress:
  4. Layer count
  5. Progress percentage
  6. Time remaining
  7. Temperatures

Job tracking features: - Live WebSocket updates (no page refresh needed) - Historical job tracking - Success/failure statistics - Print time estimates

Step 5: Explore File Management

View Printer Files

  1. Click Files in the sidebar
  2. Browse files on your printer's storage
  3. Filter by printer or file type

Download Files

  1. Find the file you want to download
  2. Click the Download icon
  3. File downloads to Printernizer's storage
  4. View download status and progress

File features: - Unified view of all printer files - 3D preview thumbnails (STL, 3MF, GCODE, BGCODE) - One-click downloads - Status indicators

Step 6: Configure Settings (Optional)

Customize Printernizer to your needs:

  1. Click Settings in the sidebar
  2. Explore available options:
  3. Auto-download: Enable automatic file downloads after print completion
  4. Business tracking: Mark jobs as business or private
  5. Notifications: Configure alerts
  6. Thresholds: Set temperature and progress alerts

See Configuration Guide for all settings.

Next Steps

Now that you're up and running:

Learn More Features

Customize Your Setup

Integrate with Other Tools

Common Tasks

Check Printer Status

curl http://localhost:8000/api/v1/printers

Get Active Jobs

curl http://localhost:8000/api/v1/jobs?status=in_progress

Download a File

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/v1/files/download \\
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \\
  -d '{"printer_id": "abc123", "file_path": "/models/test.3mf"}'

See API Reference for all endpoints.

Tips & Tricks

Dashboard Customization

  • Rearrange printer cards by dragging
  • Click printer name to expand details
  • Use filters to show specific printer types

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Ctrl/Cmd + K: Quick search
  • Ctrl/Cmd + /: Open command palette
  • R: Refresh current page

Mobile Access

Printernizer is fully responsive: - Access from phone or tablet - Same features as desktop - Touch-friendly interface

Multiple Printers

  • Add as many printers as you need
  • Mix Bambu Lab and Prusa printers
  • View all printers in unified dashboard
  • Filter and sort by various criteria

Troubleshooting

Printer won't connect

  1. Verify printer IP address is correct
  2. Check network connectivity: ping <printer-ip>
  3. For Bambu Lab: Ensure LAN Mode is enabled
  4. For Prusa: Verify PrusaLink is running
  5. Check firewall settings

Jobs not appearing

  1. Ensure printer is connected (green status)
  2. Verify job is actually running on printer
  3. Check WebSocket connection (browser console)
  4. Refresh the page

Files not showing

  1. Verify printer is connected
  2. Check that printer has files on storage
  3. Try manual refresh
  4. Check browser console for errors

See Troubleshooting Guide for more help.

Getting Help

Congratulations! You're now ready to use Printernizer. Explore the documentation to learn about advanced features and customization options.