Print to Bambu over LAN without Bambu Cloud

Yes, and the setup is short. Turn on LAN Only mode on the printer, write down the access code and IP address it shows, and any tool on the same network can send it work. Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer both do this, and so does PrintStash: it uploads plain-text G-code from your library over the printer’s local FTPS connection, starts that file when you explicitly ask it to, and pauses, resumes, or cancels the running print, with nothing going through Bambu Cloud. On firmware carrying Bambu’s authorization control, switch on Developer Mode from the same LAN Only screen, or third-party software can read status but not start jobs. X1 machines also need a microSD card inserted before a LAN print will start.

The Bambu provider in PrintStash is beta, and it does none of the slicing. Bambu Studio or OrcaSlicer keeps that job, along with device settings and AMS setup. PrintStash is the library the file comes from and the record of what printed.

What you need

LAN Only mode sits in a different menu on every series. On the H2, P2S, and X series it is under Settings, then LAN Only. On a P1P or P1S, open Settings, then WLAN, and switch on LAN Only Mode. On an A series machine it is on the third page of Settings. Whichever screen you end up on, it shows the access code, and the printer then appears in Bambu Studio’s device list with a lock icon next to its name.

Developer Mode is the part people miss, and on newer firmware it decides whether any of this works. It lives on the same LAN Only screen and exempts the printer from Bambu’s authorization checks. Bambu’s own wording is that Developer Mode “does not require authorization verification” and that third-party software “will continue to work without any modifications” with it enabled. Without it, recent firmware still publishes MQTT status to anything that asks, but starting a job, moving an axis, and heating the machine are all refused unless the request came from Bambu’s own software. Developer Mode also means that printer can no longer be bound to Bambu Cloud, which is fine if leaving the cloud was the plan.

Then PrintStash asks for three values under Printers, Add printer, Bambu LAN (beta). The printer host or IP goes in first, 192.168.1.50 and the like; give the machine a DHCP reservation before you type it, because the provider stores that address and never goes looking for the printer again. The printer serial matters more than it looks: PrintStash connects to MQTT by IP, but Bambu’s certificates identify a printer by serial, so it verifies that the certificate it negotiated actually names this one. Get a digit wrong and you get a certificate identity mismatch, which is better than a quiet connection to the machine next to it. The LAN access code is stored as a secret, and diagnostics only ever report whether one is set.

Networking breaks more of these setups than credentials do. The PrintStash host has to reach ports 8883 and 990 on the printer, which in practice means the same subnet, and guest networks or VLAN isolation are the usual reason nothing ever connects. The file also has to be plain-text G-code. The provider stores it in the printer’s cache folder and starts it by filename, so a sliced 3MF project is not something it can hand over.

Send the print

1. Export plain-text G-code from the slicer and get it into the library. A post-processing hook can do the second half for you, which the OrcaSlicer auto-upload guide walks through.
2. Add the printer with its host or IP, serial, and access code.
3. Open its detail page and watch the status badge before sending anything. If state, progress, and temperatures track the machine, MQTT and the certificate check are both fine.
4. Send a small known-good file with Start print immediately left off. Upload on its own never starts a print.
5. Confirm the file arrived, from the printer’s screen or Bambu Studio. PrintStash cannot list the printer’s files for you, so this step is manual.
6. Only then send with Start print immediately selected, on a machine that is clear. PrintStash checks that the printer reports idle and refuses to start otherwise.

After that the running job shows up in PrintStash with pause, resume, and cancel, and it is recorded against the model the file came from. Prints you began at the printer’s own screen are not pulled in; importing a printer’s existing history is Moonraker-only.

What stays on the LAN, what you give up

The losses come from two places, and conflating them is how people end up blaming the wrong software.

Bambu takes some things away the moment LAN Only mode goes on, whatever software you use afterwards. The Handy app stops working. Cloud print history is gone. You cannot start a job from outside your own network. Developer Mode adds one more: that printer cannot be bound to Bambu Cloud at all while it is on. Firmware updates still work from a microSD card, so none of this strands you on an old release.

The provider has its own gaps, and the app greys out what it cannot do instead of letting you click into a failure. It cannot list or delete files already stored on the printer. It does not send arbitrary G-code and does not expose an emergency stop. Filament use comes from the slicer’s estimate, since the provider receives none of the live extrusion measurement Moonraker reports, and Spoolman consumption write-back is Moonraker-only for the same reason. Elapsed print time is an estimate too.

Why the caution

Bambu’s LAN protocol is unofficial and has changed across firmware releases. PrintStash therefore exposes only the operations its provider declares as supported and disables the rest in the UI.

Beta also means the integration has less hardware coverage than Moonraker. Test it with a small, known-good file before trusting remote start on a printer or firmware combination that has not been reported yet.

Where this leaves Bambu Studio

Keep it for slicing and device settings. PrintStash holds the library, the revision history, and the record of what actually printed. The compatibility matrix has the current state per capability, and the printers guide has the setup detail for each provider. If you run other brands alongside, printing over your LAN without vendor cloud services covers what Klipper, Prusa, and Elegoo machines keep once the cloud is off.

Sources

• Bambu’s guide to enabling LAN mode for the per-series menus, the access code, binding by IP across subnets, and the X1 microSD requirement.
• Bambu’s third-party integration page for which commands the authorization mechanism restricts and what Developer Mode exempts, plus SimplyPrint’s summary for the firmware versions it shipped in. Checked August 18, 2026; Bambu has changed this policy before, so verify it before planning a farm around it.
• PrintStash’s provider support notes for the capability set and safety rules in the shipped release.