Architecture
If you want to know exactly how Prusa Connect Local works, you'll find the technical details below.
Prusa Connect LocalYour printers. Your network. No cloud.
Prusa Connect Local is your own private printer management service, running on your local hardware instead of the cloud. Access all your printers from one place. Your data never leaves the local network - you don't even need an internet connection.
Your entire 3D printing workflow
Everything you need for everyday printing, in any browser.
See every printer at once
Monitor all connected printers in one overview, including their status, temperatures, and print progress. Click any printer for the full detail view.
Start and manage your prints
Start printing any file from the printer's drive or the server's storage, right from your browser. Pause, resume, or cancel a running print whenever you need to.
Upload and organize your files
Drop a G-code file into the browser and send it to your printer without touching the USB drive. Put files in a shared folder on the server, and the whole team can print them too.
Control the printers
Set the nozzle and bed temperatures, adjust speed and flow, load and unload filament, move the axes, and switch the enclosure light, fan, and filtration. Just like you're standing right in front of your printer.
Local history of every print
Every print job is recorded with the file, printing time, and the result, so you can trace what your whole fleet has been doing. The history never leaves your network.
Works without internet
No external account to log into and no cloud service to depend on. Disconnect your network from the internet and everything keeps working.
Up and running in three steps
Nothing gets installed inside the printer and there is no complicated technical setup. If you can copy a file to a USB drive, you can set this up.
Run it on your own hardware
It's a single program with nothing else to install. A Raspberry Pi Zero is enough for one printer, while a Pi 4 or 5, an old laptop, or a NAS can comfortably handle a whole workshop. Linux, macOS, and Windows all work.Tell your printer about it
Copy the generated prusa_printer_settings.ini file to a USB drive, plug it into the printer, and select Settings → Network → Prusa Connect → Load settings. The printer then handles the connection automatically.Open the dashboard
Enter the server's address in any browser on your network. Printers appear as they come online and stay there, whether or not your network has internet access.
Who it is for
A single server with many ways to use it.
One or two printers, zero fuss
Keep an eye on a print from the sofa, start the next one without walking over to the printer, and keep every file on your own machine.
Help us shape it
Prusa Connect Local is free for you to use. In return, we ask for bug reports, information about what confused you, and what you expected to find but didn't. Accepted applicants get an invitation to the GitHub repository with binaries, Docker images, and the full documentation.
Apply for early access
Standard interfaces for your own tools
Prusa Connect Local speaks the printers' native xBuddy WebSocket protocol and re-exposes it through standard, documented channels.
HTTP REST API
Printer state, commands, job and file management, and uploads. The binary serves its own interactive Swagger UI at /docs/swagger.
Server‑Sent Events
A single event stream pushes state changes to browsers, scripts, and integrations. No polling loop and no wasted requests.
MQTT
Use the embedded broker or your own Mosquitto or HiveMQ. The topic schema is documented, MQTT over WebSocket is available for browser clients, and a last-will message is sent when the server goes offline.
Built‑in web frontend
The dashboard is embedded directly in the binary. There is no separate web server and no Node.js on the target machine.
Pluggable printer connectors
The printer-facing protocol sits behind a connector interface. xBuddy is the first one; other manufacturers and firmware dialects can be added without changing the API surface.
Storage and identity plugins
Storage backends and identity providers use public Go contracts with a shared conformance test suite, so you can compile in your own provider without forking the core.
Technical specification
Printer protocolNative xBuddy/Buddy WebSocket, plain or TLS. This is the only printer-facing protocol; there is no HTTP polling fallback.
Printer firmware6.4.0 or newer. Older firmware has no WebSocket support and cannot connect.
Supported printersMK4, MK4S, MK3.9, MK3.9S, MINI, XL with one to five tools, CORE One, CORE One L and iX, including INDX variants
InterfacesHTTP REST with OpenAPI and Swagger UI, Server-Sent Events, MQTT, embedded web frontend
RuntimeOne self-contained Go binary with no runtime dependencies
PlatformsLinux, macOS and Windows on x86-64 and ARM64, from Raspberry Pi Zero to Pi 5
Flexible deployment options
One stateless binary, cross-compiled for multiple architectures, with API responses served straight from memory.
Raspberry Pi, Zero to Pi 5
The minimal build drops CGO, SQLite, and the frontend for a single-printer Pi Zero. The standard build turns a Pi 4 or 5 into a multi-printer hub with MQTT, SSE, and the web UI.
Your own server or workstation
Run a native binary on Linux, macOS, or Windows. Nothing else needs to be installed, no database is required, and there are no outbound connections.
Docker and Kubernetes
A Dockerfile and Compose stack are included, and the full build adds Prometheus metrics and OpenTelemetry tracing to fit an existing observability stack.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about hardware, security, and how Prusa Connect Local fits next to Prusa Connect.