BambuScheduler

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A tiny macOS menu bar app that schedules and monitors prints on your Bambu Lab printer over your local network. No cloud account, no subscription — it talks straight to your printer at home.

Want to start a print at 2 AM to catch off-peak power, or line up tomorrow's jobs tonight? Drop in a file, pick a time, done.

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What it does

• 🕒 Schedule prints for a specific date and time
• 🖨️ Live status — printer state, nozzle/bed temperature, and progress, right in the menu bar
• ⏯️ Control — pause, resume, or abort a print
• 🎨 AMS support — pick which filament slot to print with
• 👀 Preview — click a scheduled job to see the model
• 🔒 100% local — no Bambu cloud, no login

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Before you start, you'll need

• A Mac running macOS 14 (Sonoma) or newer
• A Bambu Lab printer (tested on the A1; works with X1C, P1S, and others) connected to the same Wi‑Fi/network as your Mac

That's it. You do not need to install Python or anything else — the app is self‑contained.

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Step 1 — Download and install

1. Go to the Releases page and download BambuScheduler.zip.
2. Double‑click the zip to unzip it. You'll get BambuScheduler.app.
3. Drag BambuScheduler.app into your Applications folder.

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Step 2 — Open it for the first time (getting past macOS security)

BambuScheduler is a free app that isn't distributed through Apple's App Store, so the first time you open it macOS will stop and warn you. This is normal. Here's how to allow it — you only do this once.

1. Open the app. You'll see this message. Click Done — do not click "Move to Trash".

   

2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll down to the Security section. You'll see a line about BambuScheduler being blocked. Click Open Anyway.

   

3. Confirm with Open Anyway once more, and authenticate with Touch ID or your Mac password.

After that, BambuScheduler opens normally every time, and its icon (a little cube) appears in your menu bar at the top of the screen.

Prefer the terminal? You can skip the clicks by running this once, then opening the app:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/BambuScheduler.app

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Step 3 — Get your printer ready

BambuScheduler controls your printer directly over your network, so two settings need to be turned on on the printer's own touchscreen. Both live under the same menu.

1. LAN Only Mode — Settings › LAN Only Mode › ON This lets the printer accept commands from your Mac instead of only the Bambu cloud. Without it, the app can't reach your printer.

2. Developer Mode — Settings › LAN Only Mode › Developer Mode › ON Without this, the printer rejects print commands.

While you're on that screen, note down these three things — you'll enter them in the app next:

What	Where to find it on the printer
IP address	Settings › LAN Only Mode
Access Code (8 digits)	Settings › LAN Only Mode
Serial Number	Settings › Device Info (or the sticker on the printer)

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Step 4 — Connect the app to your printer

Click the cube icon in your menu bar and open the setup screen. Type in the IP address, Access Code, and Serial Number from the previous step, then save.

The access code can change if you toggle LAN Only Mode off and on, or after a firmware update. If the app ever says it can't connect, re‑check this number first — see Troubleshooting.

Your settings are saved on your Mac at ~/Library/Application Support/BambuScheduler/config.json.

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Step 5 — Print or schedule a print

Click the cube icon and choose Open Web UI (or open http://localhost:8080 in your browser). This is where you send files.

1. Drop a sliced .3mf file onto the upload area (or click to browse).
   • The file must be sliced in Bambu Studio first: File › Export › Export plate sliced file (.3mf). A plain model file won't work.
2. Pick the AMS slot holding the filament you want (or turn off "Use AMS" to print from an external spool).
3. Then either:
   • Print now — starts immediately, or
   • Schedule — pick a date and time, and BambuScheduler will start it for you.

Scheduled prints show up under Upcoming prints. Click any scheduled job to preview the model.

⚠️ Important: keep your Mac awake

A scheduled print only fires if your Mac is awake to send it. So while a print is scheduled:

• Keep the Mac plugged into power
• Keep the lid open (closing it puts the Mac to sleep)
• The screen going dark is fine — BambuScheduler keeps the system awake even while the display sleeps.

The app reminds you of this whenever something is scheduled.

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The menu bar

Click the cube icon anytime for a quick glance — printer status, temperatures, live progress, and your scheduled prints. From here you can also open the web UI or quit the app.

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Troubleshooting

"It can't connect to my printer" / status stays blank

1. Make sure the printer and Mac are on the same network.
2. Confirm LAN Only Mode and Developer Mode are ON (Step 3).
3. Re‑check the Access Code — it's the most common culprit. Bambu printers change this code when LAN Only Mode is toggled or after a firmware update. Read the current 8‑digit code off Settings › LAN Only Mode and update it in the app's setup screen.
4. Double‑check the IP address and Serial Number for typos.

"My file was rejected" The .3mf must be sliced in Bambu Studio (Export plate sliced file). An unsliced model has no print instructions and will be refused.

"My scheduled print didn't start" The Mac was probably asleep. Keep it plugged in with the lid open until the print begins (see the keep‑awake note above).

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For developers

Build from source, architecture, and API

Build from source

Only needed if you want to develop or build the app yourself instead of downloading a release.

git clone https://github.com/brunomunizaf/BambuScheduler.git
cd BambuScheduler
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
./scripts/build_release.sh
open release/BambuScheduler.app

The script bundles the Python backend with PyInstaller, builds the Swift menu bar app, assembles release/BambuScheduler.app, ad‑hoc code‑signs it, and zips it to release/BambuScheduler.zip.

For quick iteration on the backend alone without rebuilding the whole app:

python3 web.py   # serves the web UI at http://localhost:8080

How it works

• MQTT (port 8883) — queries printer status and sends print commands
• FTPS (port 990) — uploads .3mf files to the printer's internal storage
• Flask (port 8080) — serves the web UI and API, bundled into the app with PyInstaller
• SwiftUI MenuBarExtra — native macOS menu bar widget; launches the bundled backend on startup and stops it on Quit
• APScheduler — timed print scheduling with persistence across restarts

HTTP API

Endpoint	Method	Description
/api/status	GET	Printer status, temperatures, progress
/api/jobs	GET	List scheduled print jobs
/api/thumbnail?file=<name>	GET	Embedded plate render of an uploaded .3mf
/api/upload	POST	Upload a .3mf file
/api/print	POST	Start or schedule a print
/api/stop	POST	Abort current print
/api/pause	POST	Pause current print
/api/resume	POST	Resume paused print
/api/cancel-job	POST	Cancel a scheduled job

Run the backend as a login service (optional)

To run the Flask backend as a persistent background service instead of through the menu bar app (e.g. for headless use), com.bambu.scheduler.plist is provided as a launchd template. Edit the paths inside it to match your setup, then:

cp com.bambu.scheduler.plist ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.bambu.scheduler.plist

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License

MIT