I am trying to use Bambu Studio via CLI (Flatpak on Linux) to slice STL files automatically for my pricing tool.
The problem:
When I pass my presets (printer.json, process.json, filament.json) using --uptodate-settings and --uptodate-filaments, the CLI ignores them and always falls back to defaults.
Only Bambu Studio 3MF files (with embedded presets) work correctly, because they already include printer/process/filament. This requires to open bambu studio, load the files and save them with all parameters set.
I also tried the documented flags:
–load_settings
–load_filaments
–load_printers
but the CLI gives “Invalid option” with the Flatpak build.
This seems identical to GitHub Issue #2889:
Questions:
Is there any way to make STL/STEP slicing work with external presets via CLI?
Do I need to use AppImage instead of Flatpak?
Is this limitation known, and will it be fixed in future builds?
For my business use case (3D printing service), it is critical to get real slicer values (grams and time) also for Fusion360 STL files, not only for Bambu Studio 3MF.
I have paid a lot of money to let this be developed and already a few month time into it…
I have no idea what this sentence is supposed to mean, but you are likely to keep waiting. Bambu’s busy chasing whales with helio and smartphone natives with handy - CLI features are like the absolute 180 of all that. You may want to check if a similar thing can be accomplished with orcaslicer or prusaslicer, all three share similar code origins. If you are working with stl/obj files instead of 3mf, i can say with experience that openscad can do some really interesting batch processing, including rendering.
Thanks for your feedback @Bullocks. Let me clarify what I meant:
I am running a commercial 3D printing service, and I’ve already invested both money (hired a developer) and several months of time into building a custom price calculator. For this to work, I absolutely need reliable CLI support to slice STL/STEP files with my own printer/process/filament presets – not just 3MF from Bambu Studio.
The problem right now is that with the Flatpak CLI, presets are ignored (filament_id=unknown, weight = 0 g, wrong time). That makes it impossible to use for my use case.
I know OrcaSlicer/PrusaSlicer share the same code base, and I’m already looking into them as a fallback. But since I am using only Bambu P1S machines in production, the natural choice would be Bambu Studio CLI – if it can apply external presets correctly.
So my concrete question is:
Has anyone managed to run Bambu Studio CLI (AppImage, Flatpak, or other builds) with STL/STEP input and external presets (printer, process, filament)?
Any confirmation, workaround, or pointer would be really helpful.
From the documentation it actually looks like it should be possible to load external presets (–load_settings, --load_filaments, --load_printers). That’s why I am still wondering if this is a Flatpak limitation or simply not implemented yet, because in practice the CLI always falls back to defaults when slicing STL/STEP.
I understand that Bambu is not really interested in people extending their software for external services. But this is exactly the confusing part for me:
In the official Bambu Studio documentation (GitHub Wiki: Command Line Usage) it clearly says that there are three ways to apply settings:
Directly from CLI parameters (highest priority)
Using --load_settings / --load_filaments / --load_printers
From the embedded presets in 3MF (lowest priority)
So officially it should be possible to slice an STL/STEP file with external presets via CLI.
In practice, however (at least with the Flatpak build), these flags don’t exist or don’t work. That’s why only Bambu 3MF files (with embedded presets) give correct results, while STL/STEP always fall back to defaults (filament_id=unknown, 0 grams, wrong time).
I just want to clarify:
Is this a known limitation of the Flatpak/AppImage builds? Or is the documentation outdated / not implemented?
Because for my use case (automating slicing for a 3D printing service), it’s critical to know whether CLI with presets is officially supported or not.
I also tried the AppImage build of Bambu Studio to see if it would solve the CLI preset issue.
But even with AppImage I run into the same problem:
When running in CLI mode on a headless server, Bambu Studio always tries to connect to a display (Wayland/X11).
Error:
Wayland: Failed to connect to display
glfwInit return error, code 65544
This means the CLI is not really headless – it still requires a graphical environment to run. On a normal server without display this fails completely.
Question: Is there any official way to run Bambu Studio CLI fully headless (without X11/Wayland)? Or is this simply not supported at the moment?
For my use case (automating slicing for a 3D printing service), headless CLI is critical. Right now the AppImage and Flatpak builds both fail without a display, which makes them unusable for automation.
Has anyone managed to run Bambu Studio CLI (AppImage, Flatpak, or other builds) with STL/STEP input and external presets (printer, process, filament)?