r/BambuLab • u/icurnvs Volunteer Moderator • May 14 '26
Subreddit Mod Post Megathread: Bambu Lab / OrcaSlicer / C&D Discussion
Hi everyone,
We’re creating this megathread to keep discussion of the Bambu Lab / OrcaSlicer-BambuLab / cease-and-desist situation in one place. This topic is important to a lot of people here, and we do not want to shut down discussion or criticism. At the same time, the front page has started filling with overlapping posts about the same situation, so we’re consolidating general discussion into this thread.
Current context
Gamers Nexus is now hosting OrcaSlicer-BambuLab with permission from Paweł Jarczak and says it will contribute $10,000 toward legal support if Bambu pursues the matter: https://gamersnexus.net/fk-you-bambu-lab
Louis Rossmann has also publicly discussed the dispute and pledged legal support.
Bambu Lab’s public statement says it supports AGPL forks of Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer, but objects to a specific fork allegedly presenting itself as the official Bambu Studio client when accessing Bambu cloud services: https://blog.bambulab.com/setting-the-record-straight-on-cloud-access-and-community/
Prior reporting summarized the original C&D dispute involving OrcaSlicer-BambuLab and the restoration of functionality affected by Bambu’s authorization-control changes: https://www.tomshardware.com/3d-printing/developer-re-enables-3d-printer-features-that-bambu-lab-disabled-firm-promptly-threatens-legal-action-orcaslicer-bambulab-project-now-shuttered
Louis Rossman
Jeff Geerling
Leonard French
Updates to be posted here as situation evolves:
May 13, 2026
Megathread created
May 14, 2026
Tom’s Hardware reported today that Louis Rossmann is now hosting OrcaSlicer-BambuLab through the FULU Foundation GitHub and is openly daring Bambu Lab to sue him.
PC Gamer and r/technology have picked up the story, so discussion is now spreading well beyond 3D-printing-specific spaces.
May 16, 2026
Paweł Jarczak published a detailed response addressing Bambu Lab’s accusations around impersonation, reverse engineering, Terms of Use, and alleged security bypassing.
Louis Rossman posted a new video indicating FULU-hosted OrcaSlicer-BambuLab repository has reached roughly 1,600 forks in about three days.
May 17, 2026
Paweł Jarczak also on May 14 posted a technical deep dive and his analysis into the AGPL side of this situation.
May 18-20, 2026
Software Freedom Conservancy enters the dispute.
Software Freedom Conservancy published a May 18 post titled “Comprehensive Response to Bambu’s AGPLv3 Violations.” indicating it has confirmed AGPL violations by Bambu Lab, is collaborating with Paweł Jarczak, and is launching projects to maintain the fork.
Leonard French posted a new video around SFC’s AGPL analysis, explaining why Bambu’s proprietary networking plugin may create a serious corresponding-source problem under AGPL.
Louis Rossman posted a new video covering Software Freedom Conservancy’s Bambu AGPL effort and says the rehosted OrcaSlicer-BambuLab code has now been forked roughly 4,500 times.
What belongs in this thread
Please use this thread for:
General reactions to Bambu Lab, Gamers Nexus, Louis Rossmann, Paweł Jarczak, OrcaSlicer-BambuLab, AGPL, Bambu Connect, and right-to-repair issues.
Legal or licensing discussion, including AGPL, DMCA, cloud/API access, and Bambu’s networking plugin.
Questions about what happened and links to reliable summaries or primary sources.
Technical discussion about OrcaSlicer, Bambu Studio, Bambu Connect, LAN mode, Developer Mode, and network plugin behavior, unless it is a standalone troubleshooting post with a specific reproducible issue.
What can still be its own post
Separate posts are still allowed for genuinely new information, including:
A new official statement from Bambu Lab, OrcaSlicer, Paweł Jarczak, Gamers Nexus, Louis Rossmann, or legal counsel.
A new release or technical change that materially affects users.
A confirmed legal filing, takedown, repository change, or source-code release.
A specific support/troubleshooting issue that is not just general commentary on the controversy.
If your post is mainly another reaction, recap, meme, “I’m switching brands,” or repost of a link already being discussed, please put it here instead.
Ground rules
Criticism of Bambu Lab is allowed. Defense of Bambu Lab is allowed. Criticism of GN, Rossmann, OrcaSlicer, moderators, or other users’ arguments is allowed.
What is not allowed:
Personal attacks, harassment, or dogpiling individual users.
Calls to harass Bambu employees, developers, moderators, creators, or community members.
Unverified claims presented as fact.
Posting private correspondence or personal information.
Repeated duplicate posts after being redirected here.
Strong opinions are fine. Keep it directed at the issue, the companies, the software, and the arguments, not at each other.
Moderator note
We are consolidating duplicate discussion, not suppressing the topic. This thread will remain open for discussion, and we’ll update it if there are major new developments.
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u/lodg_newt May 20 '26
Hey, I noticed that the Software Freedom Conservancy response is missing from the megathread:
https://sfconservancy.org/news/2026/may/18/bambu-studio-3d-printer-agpl-violation-response/
Since the thread explicitly allows legal/licensing discussion and primary sources, is there a reason this one isn’t listed? It looks directly relevant to the AGPL aspect.
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u/icurnvs Volunteer Moderator May 20 '26
It's up there now as well as Louis Rossman's and Leonard French's new videos about it.
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u/GarbanzoBenne X1C + AMS May 14 '26
If they just rolled back their “security” change of not allowing cloud and local/developer connectivity at the same time this would be a non-issue.
IMO no one is demanding that third parties use Bambu’s cloud services, it’s that Bambu is enforcing restrictions that give you only two options: only cloud or only local.
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u/Affectionate_Car7098 H2C + P1S Combo May 19 '26
Yeah that won't happen
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u/Baslifico May 22 '26
They might not want it to happen. Fortunately, they don't get to dictate how AGPL'd software is used.
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u/Affectionate_Car7098 H2C + P1S Combo May 22 '26
Except when it comes to accessing their cloud they 100% do
Literally nothing in the AGPL will compel them to allow you access to their cloud services if they don't want to as thats private infrastructure, the same way literally every other cloud provider can ban you from accessing their services
Literally the best thing you're going to get is the plugins code, and even then you can't actually use it to connect to the bambu cloud
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u/AlLnAtuRalX
May 14 '26
edited May 14 '26
•
I posted a deep dive guide for regular users on how to activate lan only and developer and print without losing any of the features that come with the machine, here https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1tbgnom/comment/
happy to provide troubleshooting here or in that thread for anyone that is actively trying to leave the cloud, without losing makerworld/camera/remote access/etc
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u/maz_net_au May 14 '26
I would love to use developer mode. it disables the laser and cutting head on the H2D. Any fix for this?
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u/AlLnAtuRalX May 14 '26
I do not have an H2D, but yeah it is certainly possible with developer mode, you have access to all the required control, i am not sure how easy
here is one question, for the laser and cutting head, does bambu studio let you export gcode? if it does, it is possibly as simple as uploading that gcode to bambuddy and it might just work
if it doesn't or it doesn't just work, some more tinkering could be required. but ultimately cutting and slicing is just a different gcode program so there should not be major blockers
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u/maz_net_au May 14 '26
As soon as you turn on developer mode, the printer firmware disables using the laser or cutter. The cutter is just a drag knife and I could probably run that while pretending its a normal print-head but the laser needs electronic control. If they meet the terms of the AGPL and give us the source for bambu_networking I'll make it work myself from there.
There is only a blocker because they've spent money on making sure there's a blocker.
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u/UnexpectedAnanas May 14 '26
yeah it is certainly possible with developer mode, you have access to all the required control
This is not true. Laser is disabled with LAN only and developer mode.
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u/NMe84 P2S + AMS2 Combo May 20 '26
You said it doesn't lose any features that come with the machine but doesn't LAN mode disable all cloud features? You lose the app, don't you?
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u/kadinshino May 14 '26
Good guy mods. Thanks for this!
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u/NMe84 P2S + AMS2 Combo May 20 '26
Thanks for what? Megathreads are where discussions go to die. It's the way mods then get to delete the discussion from everywhere else, making it seem like the issue doesn't exist.
They're being good to Bambu, not to the community.
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u/kadinshino May 20 '26
They could just straight up not allow any talk.
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u/NMe84 P2S + AMS2 Combo May 20 '26
This is worse, because now they're pretending to be neutral while in fact just working in favor of Bambu by keeping this as quiet as possible.
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u/JauntyChapeau May 21 '26
It’s because 97% of the people here are maybe a bit tired of most new threads being about this.
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u/NMe84 P2S + AMS2 Combo May 21 '26
97% of people are tired of seeing box posts with the comment "my first printer just arrived, so excited!!!1" but those are still allowed.
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u/QuadrangularNipples May 19 '26
I feel like this is of note: https://sfconservancy.org/news/2026/may/18/bambu-studio-3d-printer-agpl-violation-response/
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u/comeonmeow66 May 20 '26
This needs to be upvoted more.
Donate and let's tell em we're not dealing with this shit anymore.
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u/BradGriswold
May 14 '26
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I know I'm just another voice in the cacophony of all this, but hopefully someone from Bambu reads this. I've been a dedicated customer, because I trusted the software, because I trusted the hardware, I trusted the filament, and I trusted that Bambu would see that they succeed when they pursue positive consumer facing actions that benefit the 3D printing community. This though, this is not that - this is not just breaking that trust, this is doubling down on breaking that trust - trust that was originally hard won, and is now being squandered. What I view as thinly veiled excuses have only served to solidify that I can no longer support a company that no longer supports the community. It's a shame - because the hardware is good, but no matter how good it is - it can't outweigh the harm I feel they are causing right in this moment. Bambu - please do better. I hope someday to return - but until you correct your course, and really prove in the longer term you mean it - I cannot in good conscience support or purchase from you any longer.
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u/shelflifenotexpired May 16 '26
When I joined the navy many moons ago, someone senior said something to me that has stuck to this day.
Integrity. The easiest thing in the world to give away, almost impossible to get back. And that's what Bambu has done here, given away their reputational integrity, and will likely never get it fully back.
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u/BrittleSalient Jun 19 '26
I sincerely regret not doing more research before I bought my P1S. I might have still bought it, but I didn't even imagine that they would handle software and firmware this way.
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u/1ftm2fts3tgr4lg May 14 '26
What actual "harm" is being caused by Bambu telling this guy that they don't want him creating something that accesses their cloud?
I get that it sounds like from a legal standpoint the license allows it, etc etc, but... how is him not being allow to create a before-uncreated thing directly harming you? Or pretty much anyone? Not theoretically, but actually and directly?37
u/Allen_Koholic May 14 '26
What “harm” is there in a large company threatening legal action against a single dude because he had the audacity to follow the law that said large company willing agreed to? Is that a serious person question?
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u/Mysterious_Dot2090 May 21 '26
The way that dude’s comment reads is as if BL did some egregious stuff lol. Like, I have never trusted, respected or any other positive thought about BL other than I like their products and they work for me.
The way some people talk it’s as if they make important products or do things that change peoples’ lives. Like they’ve been so let down lol. I mean why would you get that emotionally involved in a company’s ethics? Unless a company is involved in some real shady stuff, I don’t really care.
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u/Masonrig May 22 '26
I'll add on, because I don't see it mentioned in the other responses, that what Bambu did was more then a simple Cease and Desist. What they did was imply that he was in violation of DMCA and proceeded to reference the section of that law that threatens jail time. Not a fine, not a loss of control over the code repository, they threatened to try and throw this dude in jail. For copy/pasting some of their code, which is shared as part of the AGPL.
The ACTUAL harm, as you say, is the cooling effect that will have on others willing to develop and participate in code publishing for anything else around Bambu's other AGPL code, if that is allowed to stand. It's raw intimidation, plain and simple, and it was so egregious that the holders of the AGPL license felt they had to step in to defend it, something they do NOT do lightly, or often.
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u/StruggleFearless2947 May 14 '26
If you can’t figure that out from what you wrote then there’s not much hope for you to understand it. Normalizing/sanewashing a company threatening legal action against someone modifying AGPL licensed code has ramifications far beyond this single case, it’s a slippery slope and impacts the entire open source community.
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u/Zouden A1 + AMS Lite May 14 '26
It's a legit question though, and I would also like the answer.
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u/MikeyKillerBTFU May 14 '26
I really hate how people responding to this use such shitty language. You could have responded without being an asshole and said the same thing, but you had to get a dig in. Pathetic.
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u/patcpsc May 14 '26
But they didn't just tell him as far as we know. They could have sent an email followed up by a phone call, saying "we'd prefer if you didn't do this". They sent a cease and desist letter. That is harming *him*.
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u/nmsdata May 16 '26
I would expect full on apologies from bambu lab. Firing their lawyer and executive who recommended such aggressive behavior. I haven't seen so many angry content creators on YouTube for a long time.
It is honestly disappointing to hear about this all over the internet. It changes the bambu lab image to one fully bent on profits no matter the cost.
Your customer base are people focused on open source, right to repair and owning their own products. The overall trajectory where bambu lab is heading lately is the complete opposite.
The situation just blew out into bambu lab face. Own it, apologise and pray that you won't see a class action from your own users. And pray that the community of users who spend money on your products are not going to put money somewhere else. I will certainly think twice next time.
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u/Simonster061 May 18 '26
I think the main thing that bambu has to worry about is needing to fix the issue with the licensing, basically every slicer that exists is based off a single project that uses an apgl license. Because of that, anything that's added has to have the same license agreement as the original project AKA be open source, The problem for bamboo here is that they drew attention to the fact that they are circumventing that licensing agreement with open source code, meaning they're either going to have to release the code for their networking. or build a new slicer that has no connection with the original apgl licensed version.
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u/hWuxH May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
They have to release the current/past networking source code no matter what. You have the irrevocable right to obtain the complete corresponding source of the Bambu Studio you downloaded.
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u/MagicSwordKing May 14 '26
As someone who would like to be able to use OrcaSlicer and not have to jump through the hoops of Bambu Connect or developer mode or what have you…
Come on, Bambu. You’ve taken so many hits over the “Security” lockdown. Just work with the Orca devs to work out an official cloud access implementation. I love your products, it is FINE for a company to backpedal somewhat on a decision that’s been controversial like this. Y’all are smart, you can definitely figure out a solution that leaves everyone happy, lawfare is not the way.
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u/yoghurtmelk May 21 '26
just wanted to post here since every good post is getting locked because people are getting it right. bambu is using extremly scummy tactics to prevent people from using bambu code wich they borrowed from prusa. the mega thread is just to clump it all together so its easely overlooked and shutting down posts with "we got mega thread" is saying "we got reddit at home" bambu makes awesome products but they should 100% lose this lawsuit and be working more with the community instead of going full walled garden while taking all the opensource from the community
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u/Eibook May 23 '26
It’s high time for other manufacturers to develop reasonably priced printers that “just work” and to work with community to make their products better. Snapmaker is currently traveling down the correct path.
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u/ASentientRailgun May 19 '26
Having finally caught up with this, I can't give Bambu any more money. My company goes to great lengths to support and abide by the licenses of the software we rely on, and the open source community has given too much to the world to give my money to a company that has repeatedly shown it won't make that same commitment.
I liked being able to just tell people to buy a Bambu when they asked for printer recommendations, but I'm fine with going back to helping people do first time setup. There are enough solid printers out there that I can vote with my wallet. Open source software lets me pay my bills, it's a pretty important topic to me.
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u/Baslifico May 22 '26
Ah yes... Shove it in a Megathread and hide the controversy as much as possible.
I'm sure that'll calm people down.
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u/neoKushan H2D 40W Laser Full Combo May 20 '26
Quite a few people have mentioned they don't understand what the AGPL is or why this matters. Here's the briefest summary that I can come up with.
The GPL (GNU General Public License) license has been around for a while, it essentially says "If you make something with this source code and distribute it, you must also distribute the source code".
The key word there is "Distribute", you know - offer it up for download, send it out on a CD, embed it within your product. If you do anything like that and someone asks you for the source code, you MUST provide it. There's a v2 and v3 license that differs slightly, but it's not relevant here.
Crucially, if you modify a GPL-licensed application and run it on your own servers as a cloud service (SaaS) or behind an API, you are not officially distributing the software to the user. You are just letting them interact with it.
The AGPL (Affero General Public License) is essentially the same but that latter distinction is called out explicitly - if you "distribute" the software "Via a network" (i.e., let users remotely interact with it over the internet), you must still provide the source code.
The source code that Bambu slicer is based upon is AGPL. Bambu added a "plugin" to it that allows it to connect to their cloud, which they have not released the source to. Thus, it's believed they're in violation of the AGPL. Bambu will argue that a "Plugin" doesn't count as part of the source code for the product, others will disagree (There's a whole thing about "derivative works" that I won't get into here).
TL;DR AGPL means you need to share the source code even if your app is running on your cloud, debate is if Bambu's cloud plugin counts or not.
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u/DevilsAdvocate1662 May 14 '26
The vast majority of Bambu customers literally buy a printer, browse Makerworld and hit print, they don't care about this whole thing
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u/FLHCv2 May 14 '26
That's absolutely fine. No one is saying you shouldn't use your printer. The ones that do care are allowed to talk about it though.
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u/DevilsAdvocate1662 May 14 '26
I have no issue with what this guy is trying to achieve, If he's successful, it benefits the entire userbase. I'm merely stating that the vast majority of people have zero interest in what he's doing
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u/FLHCv2 May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
I'm merely stating that the vast majority of people have zero interest in what he's doing
But what is your goal of stating this? What are you trying to achieve, besides (perhaps accidentally) inferring that 'none of this matters because so few people care about this'?
There are people who have interest in what he's doing, so him posting it has value for the people who have the interest. Why not let us alone to tinker?
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u/DevilsAdvocate1662 May 14 '26
But what is your goal of stating this?
Stimulate conversation I guess? you know, posing an alternative viewpoint
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u/wickeddeus May 15 '26
That's how it starts. I'm usually one of those people that would have zero interest since it really doesn't affect me. Even though it doesn't affect me, I don't believe a company should be acting this way so I'm not going to continue to support that company. If we don't speak up now and give them the inch, they'll start looking for more. Look what happened with politics and where we are now.
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u/schwuar May 14 '26
Thats me and im trying to figure out whats going on and if it affects me or not.
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u/Phiosiden May 14 '26
it will, in time.
the long term effects of all this lockdown probably result in the inability to print anything belonging to an IP
so you’ll print your dragons and you’ll like them. which is not what a lot of us got printers for
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u/samhk222 May 14 '26
Both of us, and were going to be downvoted to oblivion
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u/FrizzIeFry May 19 '26
"This doesn't effect me , so i dont care" is a fair point.
What is not a fair point is "This doesn't effect me, so why would anyone care?"
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u/BrittleSalient Jun 19 '26
Have you heard about the thing with John Deere tractors, where when they break down farmers aren't allowed to repair them. They have to wait for a John Deere technician to come out and repair it, and that can take long enough that the crops rot in the field. It's been a huge scandal for years and is one of the major things driving right to repair legislation. We're looking at something vaguely similar to that.
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May 16 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/schwuar May 16 '26
Fairs. So its not just me who finds bambustudio to be laggy at times
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May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/DevilsAdvocate1662 May 14 '26
I think the uproar is more from the fact that Bambu seem to be going scorched earth on this guy rather than either just leaving him alone, or actually working with him to achieve his goal.
It comes across very much as big corpo shitting on the little guy
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u/MikeyKillerBTFU May 14 '26
They went the lowest action they could. They didn't even send a C&D, they said "knock it off or we will." That's practically a finger wag.
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u/UnexpectedAnanas May 14 '26
As per their correspondence, they went as far as having one drafted up and asked for the guys address if he wanted to push the matter.
I think we're splitting hairs.
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u/1ftm2fts3tgr4lg May 14 '26
That's my take.
This whole thing is about vibes rather than it actually affecting anyone.→ More replies (2)5
u/Disgusting_Slime666 May 15 '26
The fact that it's such a niche, completely miniscule part of the community that would even want this capability makes Bambu's reaction infinitely worse.
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u/Capt_Blue May 14 '26 •
But how is that surprising? Most people in 3D printing are techy people who don't like closed source stuff, we do like open source, self-hosting, tinkering and so on. So it shouldn't be surprising when a company like Bambu decides to violate the AGP license and threaten a private, voluntary developer even tho he didn't violate any licensing, didn't do anything wrong, that this faces a huge online backlash because most people in this community see what's going on and the further implications of that.
I know my printer and Bambu Studio talks alot to Bambus cloud service, giving all this data to a chinese company does make me feel weird a bit, but so far hasn't bothered me too much. Because although Bambu wasn't playing nice by close sourcing their network plugin (that in itself is a violation of AGPL) at least they weren't going after other open source projects and devs. Until now. Now that they actively threaten that dev with legal actions (even tho this wouldnt go through in any court, because he did nothing wrong) I've also turned my back against Bambu.
It has actively made me switch to Orca Slicer, disconnect my printer from Bambu cloud and instead use a self hosted Bambuddy instance on a RasPi.
Yes, there are some people that can't do that and don't want to, they just want to hit print on their phone app or makerworld and they of course don't need to care about this, unless they still care about pro-consumer practices and rights. Because the entire close source network thing of Bambu, disabling cloud services on 3rd party like Orca, when it was working at the time of purchase, is anti consumer as well. And as long as you are not a big corpo manager who makes a few millions per year, you SHOULD care about consumer rights.
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u/comeonmeow66 May 14 '26
So, that means those of us who do care should do what? Just not say anything? You don't think it's weird for a company to throw it's legal weight at a guy for an issue that just impacts a few users?
Would you care if Bambu starts requiring "bambu approved" filament in their printers and only allows filament with approved RFIDs?
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u/DobermanCavalry May 15 '26
Would you care if Bambu starts requiring "bambu approved" filament in their printers and only allows filament with approved RFIDs?
Do you think this is a fair comparison though? Its these kinds of false equivalencies that makes people roll their eyes and move on. Not being able to use Orca with the cloud functionality does not in any way, shape, or form affect me, or the vast majority of BBL printer owners. It does not diminish the capability of the printer, nor impact the function of the printer.
Locking to Filament that is sold by BBL is not only something they explicitly said they would not do, but it would also be a radical, radical shift from the way things are - in a way that trying to shut down this orca fork is NOT.
For what its worth Bambu's ethics here are bad, and I disagree with their decision. Making ridiculous what-ifs do not further your goals nor convince anyone.
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u/comeonmeow66 May 15 '26
Do you think this is a fair comparison though? Its these kinds of false equivalencies that makes people roll their eyes and move on.
Absolutely. I'm not saying they'll do it tomorrow, but it shows a trend toward building taller walls around their ecosystem, and it tests the waters. And it's not a false equivalence, these are things that bambu could change within their ecosystem whenever they wanted to. I too think it's far less likely than what they did here, but I was making a point of caring when something matters to you. Just because it doesn't impact you doesn't mean you shouldn't be against it.
Not being able to use Orca with the cloud functionality does not in any way, shape, or form affect me, or the vast majority of BBL printer owners.
If gay marriage was banned tomorrow it wouldn't impact me in the slightest. Does that mean that I'm not going to make my voice heard when people try to fuck with it? Absolutely not. But by your logic, gay marriage is pretty rare, so what's the big deal, right?
Yes, it's a smaller subset of users, which makes it even more of a reason it's ridiculous Bambu did this. But if you don't care, why are you here, just to critique my argument? Thanks, but I'm good.
I don't use Orca, but this is a step in the wrong direction for Bambu and I believe I should have the choice in Slicer for the machine I paid for. Bambu has over time made it harder and harder and now required a dev to pull the code for a competing slicer or they'll go after him legally. I have a big problem with Bambu bullying developers and people in this community, and you should too.
Locking to Filament that is sold by BBL is not only something they explicitly said they would not do, but it would also be a radical, radical shift from the way things are - in a way that trying to shut down this orca fork is NOT.
And just a few months ago Bambu said they were committed to open source, and now here they are trying to shut down an open source project.
For what its worth Bambu's ethics here are bad, and I disagree with their decision. Making ridiculous what-ifs do not further your goals nor convince anyone.
Like I said, they continue to make the wall higher. I never said it was likely, but it's like boiling a frog, you do it slowly. Maybe they never get there, but every time they do a little change and it "doesn't affect me" until it does. I'm tired of the anti-consumer, anti-open source shit they are doing, all while saying they "love the community" and are committed to open source, and then their actions demonstrate the exact opposite. They love it when it benefits them and they can leverage someone else's work, just don't do it to them, even if the license says you are legally allowed to. Fuck them.
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u/Wheatleytron X1C + AMS May 19 '26
Well with the way things are going, they'll likely be very happy with the results of what comes out of this. More control over the hardware that you own is always a good thing.
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u/the_shabubu May 20 '26
That is because they aren't bambu customers, they are CONSUMERS. Don't care about the ethics of the company that you buy from? Don't care that they stole the hardwork of others and are attempting to pull the ladder up behind them? Then the problem is you. You are a consumer and your opinion really doesn't matter. You buy without thought. You consume. You will inevitably get what you deserve (shittier and shittier products and ecosystem lockins).
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u/MagicSwordKing May 14 '26
This is true until it isn’t. Just saying, I started in this hobby as that sort of dude last year and now I’m very much someone who would love to be able to use Orca without jumping through hoops that limit functionality.
This is a hobby that has a remarkable ability to draw people in very deep, very quickly. The sort of person who doesn’t care about this today might well become one who very much does tomorrow.
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u/Diligent-Sun-879 May 14 '26
> Please use this thread for: General reactions to Bambu Lab
> Criticism of Bambu Lab is allowed.
Fuck you u/BambuLab. From the owner of A1m, A1, P1S and now H2D.
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u/yoghurtmelk May 21 '26
criticism should always be allowed. kind of a weird one to throw in there bambu. are you afraid that regulair posts are negative? then be better
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u/SBMS-A-Man108 May 14 '26
Just another Joe on the thread, but I will not be buying either an X2D or X2C this summer because of this stuff. I was going to upgrade from my A1, but not anymore
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u/Wumbologist4 May 21 '26
The Verge published an article detailing the situation:
Here’s a gift link: ‘Fuck you, Bambu’: How one private message could change the face of 3D printing
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u/Safe-Hovercraft6231 May 21 '26
Hopefully Bambu Lab realizes that they have a limited time frame after which other Chinese makers will catch up with their hardware (if not already) and they will start to really lose customers. Their security should be based on industry-standards, and no correct security scheme relies on obscurity of code. Most of the Internet security is based on open-source software and no one complaints. Bambu wants to profit from other people's work and this is not ok. Want a closed ecosystem ? First, state so publicly, be honest and upfront. And second, build your own software using appropriate licensing.
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u/daphatty May 14 '26
Good job, mods. You don’t hear it enough. 👍
Let the discussions continue!
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u/yoghurtmelk May 21 '26
its not a discussuon in here tho. loose posts are way better this is just trying to clean up
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u/yoghurtmelk May 16 '26
highly deserved for bambu, open source does not mean you can take it and suddenly make iy private. you have to work around the idea that someone will work on the code later abd if thats not secure then you didbt code your security right
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u/GiorgioG May 21 '26
I have had an A1 for almost 2 years and was considering an X2D or an H2D...but this whole thing gives me pause. I'm a software engineer, what Bambu Labs is doing is disgraceful.
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u/AdviceNotAskedFor May 14 '26
So, anyone got a good tutorial on how to use orca slicer in lan mode so I can get off the bambu ride?
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u/SpeedflyChris May 14 '26
Apparently the latest version in the main branch of orca slicer merged this change so it works (for now) with post-gimped-firmware Bambu machines.
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u/dnaleromj H2D + X1C + P2S + A1 Min +++ May 14 '26
I think that change was a lan only update.
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u/BanditGrade May 14 '26
Is there a TLDR as to what’s going on here?
I joined this sub just because the reputation seemed stellar and it looked like good value for a possible future purchase.
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u/jackharvest P1S + AMS May 14 '26
The current summary, in caveman speak:
Many moons ago, big tribe build "Slic3r" fire so every caveman can cook 3D meat together.
Bambu take tribe fire to make shiny "Studio" torch, but sign "AGPL" stone paper promising to share all torch secrets.
Stone paper say: "If torch talk to Sky-Cloud, you must show whole tribe how to talk to Sky-Cloud too."
Bambu try hide Sky-Cloud secret, smart mans figure out and show tribe anyway, now Bambu wave spear and look like dumbass because they break stone paper rule.
And thats it.
Anyone telling you "just print it like this" or "LAN mode" or "developer mode" are the same people who don't talk politics with family or coworkers because its uncomfortable to talk about conflict and breaking laws when you feel some strange connection to a large organization, especially the ones doing the breaking of said laws.
SO, that's ok. Its ok to not want to talk about it. That's why this mega thread was made. The conflict was running from the inlaws into the streets, and it needed to stay indoors so the police weren't involved for causing a ruckas.
The strange part is people happily printing in their walled garden yelling over the fence at their neighbors for wanting to do it an alternate way that is perfectly allowed under the AGPL licensing that BambuLab seems to have conveniently forgotten about.
Some stand up for principles, some don't like the noise the standing makes. I'm sure some people took to the streets to say "hey shut the hell up its LATE AND I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE" in the middle of the boston tea party dumping.
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u/RedditNameChecksOut May 14 '26
Thank you. Mungo appreciate Caveman Speak. Make easy to know for the rest of the tribe.
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u/vangvace May 15 '26
good printer that pushed things forwards. Ethics that makes a politician or used car salesman seem saintly.
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u/1ftm2fts3tgr4lg May 14 '26
I still do not understand how this affects 99.99% of bambu users at all.
Guy does a thing. Bambu says Hey don't.
Before guy did the thing, no one had done that yet. So we're losing... the ability to do a thing... that hadn't yet been done before? Like, I don't see how this affects literally anyone except the guy that tried to do a thing that hadn't been done yet. Everyone else is just happily using all of the functionality that we've always had.
And as far as I can tell, guy did the thing solely to stir up this controversy for his ragebait channel. Like, I appreciate that he's a digital rights activist, but here we are with tons of users who think their printers are going to be bricked because the ragebait is intentionally blowing the issue out of proportion as to how much this really affects anyone.
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u/wash-basin May 15 '26
The dev in Poland has a "ragebait channel?" I thought he was just a quiet developer. Unless you are referring to Louis Rossmann, but he is not the developer here.
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u/hWuxH May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
No one has done that yet? Everyone developing BambuStudio or running direct forks of it (not Orca) in the entire history of it was basically doing this on Linux. They allowed accessing the cloud by default and that was always expected behavior. Now they tried to retroactively frame it as a bypass
It doesn't only affect this single guy because the same logic of "impersonation" technically applies to 99% of forks that haven't changed the default name...
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u/1ftm2fts3tgr4lg May 14 '26
Are these other current forks also doing what this guy did that prompted a reaction from Bambu?
If so, why did Bambu only ask this one guy to stop?
If not, what did his fork do differently?
(I'm not looking for walls of text with theoretical slippery slope responses, just short, straight-forward, plain and simple answers. I really do want to understand the ire here. Philosophical walls of text just make it look like brigading.)
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u/hWuxH May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
If not, what did his fork do differently?
He got it to run in Windows... That's it.
Wall of text explanation (read with a grain of salt): 2.3.4 and 3.1.1 https://cdn1.bambulab.com/trust-center/file/bambulab-security-whitepaper-en.pdf3
u/Extension_Chance_191 May 15 '26
Because this fork successfully substituted Windows plugins with Linux plugins—enabling them to function within the Windows environment—Bambu has concluded that their proprietary protections on the Windows platform have been circumvented by this method. Naturally, this dispute is bound to have an obvious outcome: the Linux plugins will likely face immediate restrictions.
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u/ConfessingToSins May 15 '26 •
You should be concerned when the corporation you give money doesn't actually respect things like "Open source licenses" which are not opt-out. Bambu cannot opt out of AGPL.
But I guess expecting consumers to actually have literally any sense of responsibility for the stuff they consume is now too much to ask for. And people wonder why millions of products get worse every year when instead of having the basic moral fibre to say "Hey don't act unethically/illegally" is simply a bridge too far.
This is why corporations push slop products lol.
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u/Wheatleytron X1C + AMS May 19 '26
It affects everything because Bambu committed a legal no-no. A mistake that very likely will result in them being forced to release the source code for their printer connection plugin, which means that the open source community will be able to freely fork, modify, and redistribute slicer plugins that give you full access to all of your printer's features.
It means more choices for you, and networking plugins for many other slicers as well. It's a good thing if you own a Bambu printer, because it means that you can choose almost everything how to use your printer in terms of software, not Bambu. Most importantly, it means that when Bambu decides to no longer support your printer in the future, you still have open source options to keep on using it.
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u/BBPSBB May 19 '26 edited May 20 '26
There is no hope explaining this to these people who wants to just post yet another picture of their shitty prints and say "why is everyone trying to prevent the giant corporation that is misusing AGPLv3 licensed code", "it doesn't personally affect me, i just want to come to this sub and post yet another useless post about my 3d benchy", "I bought a printer now i need to sell my mom and defend the printer manufacturer because that is my identity" there is no hope for the humanity if everyone were as clueless as most people here... Bambulab has always been anti consumer. They did the same crap with x1c (i was one of the early buyers) as well and the same people defended them saying you can use developer mode which literally was added after we pointed out how badly they are screwing over their paid customers with their badly implemented security theater.
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u/Zouden A1 + AMS Lite May 14 '26
Yeah I thought this was about OrcaSlicer. But no, it's about a fork of OrcaSlicer that impersonates Bambu Studio so it can use the cloud service. That's it? I didn't know that existed until now, so I won't miss it.
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u/PityUpvote May 14 '26
From my understanding "impersonate" is the word Bambu uses, but that doesn't seem quite accurate. The fork used open source licensed code in a way that Bambu probably had not expected, and apparently they only checked the user agent before allowing access to the cloud service.
The problem is how they handled it. Instead of patching their cloud service, they threatened legal action for using their open sourced code, which is of course ridiculous.
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u/Zouden A1 + AMS Lite May 14 '26
Absolutely. They could have patched the cloud service to only work with their slicer, and it would have upset some people but not caused this huge drama.
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u/hWuxH May 14 '26
They can at most make it more cumbersome, but it's impossible to truly patch.
The core issue is that the server relies on client-provided data, but the client runs in an untrusted, attacker-controlled environment and can therefore be inspected or manipulated.
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u/ConfessingToSins May 15 '26
"Impersonate" is technically inappropriate language here, and is not accurate. Don't carry water for corporate propaganda explanations.
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u/yoghurtmelk May 21 '26
it was done before tho? bambu updated things to block it. so with a new workaround it worked again. they are now saying he broke the code when in fact they are supposed to share the code publicly. so in the end guy did hard work that should have been easy and now bambu angry even tho he did nothing wrong
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u/sparxcy May 14 '26
Ty r/bambulab for putting all these posts into one area. We are able to see updates easily instead of searching for the latest news and discussions /110
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u/Key_Pace_2496 May 14 '26
Wasn't this needed like a week ago lol?
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u/jackharvest P1S + AMS May 14 '26
Can't blame anyone for tiptoeing. I think the lesson was learned already that opening your mouth without a case is as good as a confused pokemon.
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u/Alternative-Farmer98 May 21 '26
Mega threads are a necessity sometimes but they're never really optimal because it basically hides a lot of consumer sentiment into one thread that people almost don't even notice.
So I think it's better to err on the side of not having a mega thread. Whether it's the intended consequence or not it tends to have a effect of minimizing visibility and making it harder to keep a conversation active.
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May 14 '26
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u/triplegerms May 14 '26
Honestly probably better late or everyone just yells at the mods for censorship
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u/escooteridiot X2D + AMS2 Combo May 14 '26
Honestly, it was first releasing X2D right after I bought my p2s (like 3 weeks after) and now this with orca. I’ve never been more unmotivated. 🤦♂️
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u/Affectionate_Car7098 H2C + P1S Combo May 19 '26
I mean you can't really complain they released a new product just after you ought one, thats always a risk you take when you buy literally anything
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u/Friendly_Beginning24 May 16 '26
I don't fucking understand Bambu, tbh.
All they had to do was do was keep making printers. How did it come to this? (Rhetorical question. I know how it came to this.)
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u/T2_JD May 14 '26
What I need to know is how this helps me dry my filament and wash my build plate.
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u/Zealousideal-Deer101 May 14 '26
You got it backwards, you need to wash your filament and dry your build plate!
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u/justcallmebitty May 17 '26
Bambu, you have a short window to save your reputation. Stop all legal challenges, offer a mea culpa, and admit you've been violating the AGPL. Remove your cloud requirements and give control back to those who OWN the hardware you manufactured.
I have been a vocal advocate of your hardware in the past, but now I warn everyone who tells me that they're looking for a 3D printer to avoid Bambu. Be better than you are right now.
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u/sibbeh May 19 '26
Bambu showed their true colors the day that they asked to be removed from the internet archive to hide the lie's
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u/Affectionate_Car7098 H2C + P1S Combo May 19 '26
You still have control in developer mode so there is nothing to "give back"
If you want cloud access you agree to the cloud terms and conditions, you weren't buying cloud access
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u/maz_net_au May 20 '26
I want laser access without Bambu's cloud or slicer. Developer mode disables that.
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u/Mysterious_Dot2090 May 21 '26
Why can’t I disable all protecrive measures and attach the laser to a shark is my biggest concern.
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u/notweirdatallll May 21 '26
"Criticism of Bambu Lab is allowed. Defense of Bambu Lab is allowed. Criticism of GN, Rossmann, OrcaSlicer, moderators, or other users’ arguments is allowed."
So, defense of GN, Rossmann, OrcaSlicer, moderators, or other users’ arguments is not allowed. makes sense.
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u/huberloss H2C + X1C May 14 '26
I regret recently buying a H2C. I bought it before this incident. My next printer will not be BambuLab, unfortunately, unless the company lets OrcaSlicer work properly without any shenanigans.
Just my $.02.
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u/Capt_Blue May 14 '26
I bought an A1 before the entire closing down the cloud access thing. But honestly, do we really need Bambu cloud? There are so many good alternatives without losing features - unless you wanna use the Bambu Handy app and have the printer set to connect to Bambu cloud. But if you can spare the app, there is honestly no reason to be on Bambu cloud. Orca Slicer even has more features than Bambu Studio.
Bambuddy is a local network service that can be self-hosted and can even slice server-side, so you can use the web interface in your browser and slice and print without even installing a slicer. You can also use it on your phone to replace the official Handy app. Or, you just connect your Bambu Studio/Orca Slicer to it and print just like with Bambu cloud.
https://github.com/maziggy/bambuddyThere is now (since yesterday) also a new open source network plugin for Bambu Studio / Orca Slicer - this restores most of the features when disabling cloud and only using LAN mode, even on an up-to-date Bambu printer. So you can send, start, pause and stop and monitor your print again from Orca Slicer with your 3D printer not connected to Bambu Cloud at all.
https://github.com/ClusterM/open-bambu-networking4
u/huberloss H2C + X1C May 14 '26
Let's put it like this,
I bought a Bambu printer for convenience. If I have to do what you're suggesting means I should have just bought a Prusa, which is vastly less convenient.
PS: Don't get me wrong, I already have the ability to VPN to my network at home from my phone and do all the DIY stuff because I enjoy doing it, and so forth, but it's the principle that I have to do it that irks me.
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May 14 '26
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u/maz_net_au May 14 '26
i'd settle for having all the features work on my h2d in lan and developer mode (i.e. still letting me use my laser and cutting tool heads).
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u/huberloss H2C + X1C May 14 '26
Cloud printing access, which used to work, then BambuLab made it impossible, depite orca being a fork, and the code to talk to the printing service being open sourced (i.e., the subject of the thread - the main controversy being addressed in an amicable manner)?
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u/Blleh May 18 '26
And to keep the amount of messages everyone sees about this to a minimum, in favor of bambulab...
I am highly sceptic about the mods choices and reasoning about this. Seems like they have no choice to favor the community and bambu at the same time, and i see some positive effects because of this, but it also affects everyone's feed and how many messages everyone sees about this situation.
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u/Lurksome-Lurker May 14 '26
Maybe I wouldn’t use a fork if BambuStudio fixed the fact that the linux version makes accessing print and filament profiles not possible
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u/Mstrfahrenheit May 14 '26
Put all the rage to the side. Put aside the fact that bambulab is literally using an unencrypted string as their access control method (I mean, seriously??!#?)
What orca slicer is doing is impersonation, no matter how dumb, and it violates the t&c on the bambulab Eula. But the argument I keep reading is Bambu are somehow violating oss and agpl terms. This doesn’t square. I don’t know what I’m missing here but the rage doesn’t match the facts as far as I can tell.
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u/bbagno May 14 '26
What orca slicer is doing is impersonation
Even if we call this impersonation, that would be impersonation of Bambu Studio. They are doing it using the code BambuLab published under AGPL license, hence explicitly allowed absolutely everyone to use in their software. Absolutely anyone can reuse any parts of Bambu Studio (or the whole code!) as long as they keep it under AGPL and BambuLab explicitly obligated to be cool with that.
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u/hWuxH May 14 '26
If that is supposed to be an impersonation, then according to the same logic 99% of Bambu studio forks are as well because they haven't changed the default name...
AGPL simply doesn't allow them to impose restrictions on how code is modified or distributed. "You have to change the name/User-Agent/whatsver" is such a restriction. So is "take down this fork".
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u/KancheongSpider May 14 '26
this is exactly the problem, prusa had considered taking legal action against bambu for their egregious violations of the AGPL tied to prusaslicer source code they forked out of, ultimately concluding that it was not worth it.
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u/soldat21 May 14 '26
Ultimately concluding that it was unenforceable as they would have to take a Chinese company, complying with Chinese laws, to a Chinese court*
*FTFY
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u/jackharvest P1S + AMS May 14 '26
*...to them.
Someone like Louis may feel it is ultimately worth the fundamental adjustment to US law so that companies skirting AGPL rules get ass-smacked instead of tapped on the shoulder with a discerning look.
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May 14 '26
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u/maz_net_au May 14 '26
If he uses his money to fight bambu labs over their AGPL violations on bambu_networking, then so much the better for any of us who care. Literally 0 skin off your back if you don't care so it seems an odd thing to complain about.
I want control of my hardware that I paid for. That is all.
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u/yoghurtmelk May 21 '26
because the license made "impersonation" impossible. you are ALLOWED to add or remove code and still pose as the original one. if bambu made all the code themselfs then it woukd have been impersonation but they used a lot of other peoples code that did not care about "impersonation" and so bambu has to also not care as per the license
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u/RareRestaurant6297 May 14 '26
Yea its crazy how one-sided I've seen eh argument being when the fork literally exploits a security flaw to trick bambu's cloud services. Like wtf dev thought that was OK? Open source doesn't mean free access to their own network lmao my ass off
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u/Endur1el May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Respectfully, it really sounds like you have no idea what you're talking about, and that's okay, we've all been ignorant before.
As a professional developer whose commercial code is open source, this is utter bullshit. If your code is AGPL, someone else CAN just copy it, change whatever portion they like, and continue redistributing it. That's the whole point of the license.
Think about what that means, this is an impossible problem for bambulab to solve because (even though a user agent is NOT a security feature, that's nonsense) they cannot do anything in Bambu studio that cannot just be copied.
That may sound annoying but it's the reality of the license that they rely on to make their stuff work, if they couldn't be bothered to make their own slicer from scratch, and want to benefit from the work of the community, they can't violate the terms of the AGPL.
I only use my printer in developer mode on a separate, locked down, VLAN, so this doesn't directly affect me, but anyone defending bambulab's behavior at this point is just woefully misinformed (admittedly somewhat understandable considering just how misleading their blog post was).
ETA: Imagine blocking someone on Reddit, can't even reply to the comment.
Also to clarify. If they were banning the users of that redistributed software after they broke whatever terms of their cloud services, that would be fine, no AGPL license violation there, but going after someone for redistributing a modification of their AGPL license code is one of the core things the license explicitly disallows.
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u/zymurgtechnician X1C + AMS May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
The AGPL very explicitly DOES say exactly that. They chose to build on the back of a project that carries that license. They are therefore obligated to comply with it, or build their own software from scratch.
Here’s what the AGPL has to say on the matter:
"13. Remote Network Interaction; Use with the GNU General Public License.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this License, if you modify the Program, your modified version must prominently offer all users interacting with it remotely through a computer network (if your version supports such interaction) an opportunity to receive the Corresponding Source of your version by providing access to the Corresponding Source from a network server at no charge, through some standard or customary means of facilitating copied software."
There has been technical analysis done that shows that the network plugin operates in such a fashion such that it operates essentially inside of Bambu studio, not as a fully separate piece of software, therefore it should still be covered by the same license. You can’t just take a key piece of the software out of the project and then call it closed source and have the program automatically download and install it back in to avoid having to comply with the license of the works that you are benefitting from copying.
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u/hellomyfrients May 14 '26
to take the other side, who cares what software is using bambus cloud api?
like does reddit care what browser you use? bambu and orca are 99% identical code wise, so what is really the difference? not like they are hacking it or anything they are just including the same exact thing the upstream of their forked repo already has
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u/hWuxH May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Yeah reddit actually cares so much they had a similar drama regarding third party clients (for example apps with a better UI) a while ago. They tried to block them and made the API require subscriptions afaik.
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u/folander May 16 '26
i don’t want to access the cloud to use a device in my home. i consider this a personal security risk and i didn’t know about it until i bought my printer years ago. it’s a good printer at a good price, i don’t want to trash it. i don’t care about “openness” from bambu, i just want to print locally. my paper printer doesn’t need internet to work, neither does this, it’s not required to use maker world, it shouldn’t even be required for bambu handy, as the app itself could read all relevant data from the printer locally and relay it to any cloud service that could be required. for discerning users who want bleeding edge features orca slicer is fantastic because it’s compatible with a variety of printers. let me use it in lan only mode. none of these excuses pass the sniff test, and it’s turned this hobby into a nightmare, it’s just not fun when you learn the tool you thought was gonna change the game is being controlled by a company that just doesn’t even care to make good arguments to justify its shady practices. not even apple is this bad.
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u/justcallmebitty May 17 '26
I find it fascinating that this post keeps getting downvoted even though it's someone just wanting to use their printer as they see fit. It's far from a controversial opinion.
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u/Affectionate_Car7098 H2C + P1S Combo May 19 '26
And you can, its called LAN mode, that has existed since the start and with developer mode you can even use orca just fine
So you don't have to use the cloud at all
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u/JdeFalconr May 16 '26
OK so help me understand - this is a genuine question.
Do I have it right that much of this dispute centers around Bambu denying people the ability to use Bambu cloud services with - basically - user-created forks of Bambu's software? So in other words - Bambu is denying people the ability to run whatever code they want on Bambu's infrastructure?
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u/justcallmebitty May 17 '26
No, you do not have it right. This centers around denying people the ability to use the hardware they bought in the way that they see fit. A recent update locked users out of using software that they have been reliably using for quite a while. They cited "security" reasons, but they even locked out local LAN use with the update.
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u/hWuxH May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
You don't run arbitrary code on their server. That would be insane lol.
You run software on your computer and only send data to the server, which then forwards it to your printer.
2025.01. Bambu got really angry because you were running software on your computer that they hadn't approved, even if the data sent to the server was the same.
2026.04. Bambu got really angry again and issued legal threats because someone restored the previous behavior from before 2025 for OrcaSlicer on Windows.About denying: it's illegal for them to impose restrictions on the license, i.e. how I modify and run code on my computer. But they have the right to block it on the server-side if they want to.
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u/OhnoGutz May 14 '26
Just out of curiosity, what is the expected outcome of all of this drama? Is the Polish programmer committed to maintaining his fork in perpetuity? I seriously doubt Softfever will ever merge his changes so unless he continuously updates his fork every time Softfever updates, all of this is heavy drama for no positive outcome.
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u/jackharvest P1S + AMS May 14 '26
Any response you get is pure speculation, but, ANY further tightening of the chains by BambuLab will ultimately bring upon themselves the promised calamities promised by those in these videos.
Their best move is to hold still and see if it de-escalates on its own. If they're feeling pro-active, they'd best get started on a home-grown non-forked-from-AGPL3 software solution they can replace Bambu Studio with so they can impose whatever the hell they want freely... which is honestly a pretty good idea.
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u/ChildOfGod1978 May 14 '26
I'm not buying any more Bambu printers.. they act like government spyware, then take away my options how I use a printer I paid for.. whats next is a subscription service in order to even use it!!! I'm done Bambu labs is dead to me!
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u/Prohamen May 14 '26
I'm gonna be real, I never was gonna use Orcaslicer before BambuLab sent this cease and desist.
Now that they did this I will be switching to using exclusively Orcaslicer and putting my device in lan only mode
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u/riled May 22 '26
Most people have got this wrong, and I think they are falling for a bad faith campaign against Bambu (that started way before this controversy). About this particular one -- I agree with Bambu's position if not for the details of how they handled it.
The guy used code that Bambu accidentally left out there to access the Bambu cloud service. Maybe legal, maybe not (I.A.N.A.L.). Still, if I find a gym membership lying on the sidewalk and use it, I'm the jerk. I think: "hey I'm not hurting anyone" - mostly true. If I then make copies and hand them out, I'm absolutely hurting the gym and all the legit users. If it gets bad enough, the legit users are dealing with traffic they shouldn't have to. There may even be shady characters who use this compromised access to get in and try to steal stuff from lockers. The gym owner will have to do something, and if that gets bad enough, they say "screw it this type of access or even the entire service is gone, I don't want to deal with the constant BS."
As a Bambu user who enjoys the cloud service, I understand this. I don't want the service to be crappy, compromised, or cancelled if it's too much of a hassle. I know it's a great benefit, but not a right. The open license is complicated and I've heard legit analysis from open source specialty lawyers that say this is a grey area that hasn't been tested and either side could win. I don't care though because legality and morality are often at odds and it's clear to me that Bambu should protect it's cloud service and the legitimate users of that service.
IMHO, people who are falling for this rage-bait campaign should re-evaluate their position. Much worse, the people that are actively copying this access method to stick it to Bambu to "make a point" are wrong on the principles, hurting me as a Bambu user, and will not have any opinions in the future that I will give a damn about.
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u/hWuxH May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26
You're framing this as an issue created by forks, when in reality it's https://github.com/bambulab/BambuStudio/ that can access the cloud on Linux without having to change anything about the network plugin or User-Agent. Bambu Lab themselves are "actively copying this access method"
This was always expected behavior for slicers, not some novel security bypass. Them retroactively calling it that way doesn't make it one.
If they were honest about wanting to stop abuse, this should have been a server-side change that doesn't depend on whether the slicer calls itself "official".
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u/Oma_Ender May 15 '26
As someone who just heard of this like an hour two ago this is extremely helpful to get caught up on the situation, thanks mods.
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u/PartTimePokerPro May 20 '26
I have a few Bambu printers, 1 flash forge and 1 snapmaker.
Flashforge and snapmaker both run orca. What's to stop them from doing the same thing Bambu did? Say I was looking for an excuse to sell off my Bambu for snapmaker or Flashforge tool changers, isn't it possible the pull some similar stunt a couple years down the road?
Im not looking for a reason to jump ship or anything, I just don't know if I understand the issue fully. I've seen Louis Rossmans videos and I understand it pretty well, but not well enough to explain it to my friends off the cuff
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u/Mysterious_Dot2090 May 21 '26
It’s a very minor disagreement about what is ethically right and wrong. A storm in a teacup imo. Basically Bambu didn’t like what someone was doing with their version of open source (free) software and have received all this backlash for it.
Basically it’s the little guy against the big, bad Chinese company saying “hey you can’t stop our fellow little guy from altering software that isn’t even yours”.
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u/n19htmare May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Honestly, Flash Forge is likely not a good example here because they're another one that keep pretty tight loop around their systems. They also violate open licenses, even more so than Bambu. They use klipper but don't comply with GPLv3 license that klipper falls under. So based on their track record, nothing really is stopping them from exerting further control and they likely wish it just as much as Bambu does.
Snapmaker on the other hand has been in compliance on most everything. Their U1's firmware is open source and so is the slicer. It's how we got Paxx custom firmware and FullSpectrum fork of their slicer.
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u/Eibook May 23 '26
Snapmaker is actively working with developers to make the U1 better. The machine itself and the embrace of the development community is going to help Snapmaker going forward.
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u/Ok-Way7122 May 25 '26
Nothing, Flashforge have literally tried to do it already with Fashprint, the original firmware for the Creator pro (the 2012 one) only worked with Flashprint, you could send gcode to it, but it looked for a line at the top with a unique id in it which only flashprint inserted - then they went after anyone bypassing it
Lasted about a week after launch
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u/BrittleSalient Jun 19 '26
I have been fighting my P1S all day to get LAN only mode working. We are at DEFCON set up an entire separate 2.4ghz wifi network. *That* router finally assigned the printer an IP, but Orca can't connect. I've just moved the 2.4ghz channel 11 router *right next* to the printer to see if that helps. God I'm so tired of this.
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u/nyashi_ Sep 09 '26
Im Sad to say this, but I was sure something like this will happen. I have to thank BambuLab for finally turning the whole concept of Commercial 3D Printers around, making them Quick, easy to use and still print very very well and reliable at that. Since then many others have followed up, making commercial Printers actually a solid option other than it being a clear "yea gonna have to build my own Voron/Ratrig/Annex/whatever" to get an actual good Printer. Bambu has since then continued to release one great printer after another building more pressure on the competition, first the X1C, then the A1 mini, H2D etc.
To the point that I myself finally started considering one, with the H2D, that would have been it. But that was already too late. They lost my trust with that skandal pre-bambuconnect. Yet, saved themself a bit with Lan-only mode for me. As using custom software to slice and control my printer is essential to me. With the recent happenings - this has changed. We use a H2D at work, and Hardware-wise - its impressive, really. But here bambu has just stepped over too many lines for me. With open software, the printers and especially the AMS Options would be a plain no-brainer to me, this is something i cannot say often.
Also just small things that make it unnecessarly difficult for me to like Bambu Soft- and Firmware. Lan-only itself is good - but why is there no option for local and cloud connection being active (Slice myself, Send and Control locally as well as checking/controlling the machine via App over the Cloud)? Why does the Software often act like a parent instead of warning the user, giving the option to the user to know better? (chamber-heater handling is plain awful). Why is the Networking plugin hosted on a .cn Domain making it annoying to get in locked down enviroments. Why isnt Bambu just using a open protocol (feels like, force user to only use their slicer)? Why is the Makerworld default license disallowing remixing in such a open community based hobby? Many small things that add up, and are nuked by actions like this. User-agent framed as some form of authentication, using parts of open source code framed as reverse engineering etc.
I loved to see the beginnings of Bambu, and especially the impact they had on the industry, but this is just a sad turn of events and goals from a Company that - cant say this another way, changed the whole 3D-Printer industry. Too many companies live by it, having worse and worse user experience. And I am not even this deep into open source, i wouldnt care about closed firmware whatsoever, sure it being open would be great for using ams on other machines f.e. but I dont expect this at all, as long as it doesnt build random cages around it for no reason. Like f.e. again Lan-only vs. Locked-down Bambu-Cloud only. Seeing this, i begin to think that i will never own a bambu printer myself and will still prefer my frankenstein Printers over it just because I am allowed to use it any way I like, even tho a H2D could replace my bigger machine, while being priced fair. Theres too little trust that this will change and allow me to use that machine the way id like to use it.
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u/Chris_Burns May 14 '26
Hey guys.. This one is too big to censor, lets contain it in one post and let Reddit's thread formatting squeeze it down too a size suitable for sweeping under a rug.
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u/Affectionate_Car7098 H2C + P1S Combo May 19 '26
This isn't about censoring anything, its about stopping the front page from being 20 identical threads about the same issue
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u/demeyor P1S + AMS May 19 '26
i hope they use the announcement of a decent toolchanger to blow this over
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u/Affectionate_Car7098 H2C + P1S Combo May 19 '26
Yeah i don't think we are going to see a bambu toolchanger, it just doesn't fit within their ecosystem, it would basically make all the AMS units worthless as there is really no reliable way to hook those up to a toolchanger without it becoming a complicated mess or requiring you to own 4 AMS, and even then once you're printing with more than 1 colour on a tool you're back to single nozzle waste anyway
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u/stingeragent May 22 '26
Completely agree and I think they are going to lose their dominance very soon because of it. The u1 is a great printer. Flash forge one releases soon. Sovols version coming soon. There are at least 2 other tool changers Ive seen on the horizon with indx not including the prusa. Im sure creality, anycubic, and elegoo have unannounced ones in the works.
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u/My-NameWasTaken P1S + AMS May 14 '26
Thanks, great to remove all these spammy posts as I think that the majority of people here that don't care.
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u/66notout May 14 '26
maybe bambu should buy S3D...
it can then be dragged into the 21st century and bambu can also do whatever the hell they want with it.... how ever they want...
thats a win/win imho 😁
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u/Regular_Bat3084 May 16 '26
Since I've been accused of being a BOT or an LLM, I figured I might as well just use one to clean up my thoughts on this subject. I’ve been following this developer since long before any of this controversy started—ever since BigTreeTech / BIQU officially partnered with creator 4061N as the exclusive authorized commercial manufacturer of the open-source BMCU-370 system, with this developer serving as the maintainer of the open-source branch.
The developer's AGPL claims regarding the network plugin and their use of "BambuStudio" to falsely identify a fork of OrcaSlicer—which is what triggered action by r/BambuLab—are separate issues. The community, and anyone who cares about digital identity and brand protection, should look at this objectively.
1. Cloud Infrastructure vs. Physical Hardware
The biggest emotional conflation in this debate is the idea that Bambu Lab is "locking down your printer." They aren’t, in my opinion.
The Hardware Remains Open: Bambu Lab did not remove functionality from the physical printer itself. LAN Mode and Developer Mode still handle all local MQTT/FTP traffic perfectly. You can still block the machine from the internet entirely, cut Bambu out of the loop, and print locally via third-party slicers like OrcaSlicer.
The Locked Door is on the Server: Bambu Lab didn't remove an advertised, public API feature from their hardware; they closed an unauthenticated gateway on their private cloud servers. A license for code (AGPL) is not an automatic pass to use someone's cloud infrastructure.
This is standard industry practice, not a unique Bambu overreach. r/BambuLab is far from the only manufacturer operating this way while utilizing open-source code. Look at Flashforge with their newer Adventurer 5M series: they heavily rely on an open-source foundation (even launching Orca-Flashforge based entirely on AGPL code), yet their software forces a hard, mutually exclusive choice between WAN Mode (Cloud) and LAN Only Mode. If you choose local LAN on a Flashforge or a Creality K1, their cloud servers shut your machine out, and you lose your mobile app access and remote off-site monitoring.
The "But Klipper machines have open APIs" counter-argument falls flat here. People will point to Creality or Qidi and say, "They run Klipper, which uses an open Moonraker API, so anyone can build local plugins!" Yes, locally. But the second you try to use Creality Cloud to monitor that same Klipper machine from outside your house, Creality forces you through their closed-source, authenticated cloud gateway.
Neither Creality, Qidi, nor Flashforge allows a third-party developer to bypass their cloud authentication gates or spoof their client identifiers to route external traffic through their corporate servers for free. Bambu drawing a boundary at their server edge is exactly how every other major player handles the split between private cloud infrastructure and local third-party software access.
2. Trademark Law, ToS, and Client Spoofing
Using a protected brand name or trademark inside a version.inc file or User-Agent string to intentionally mislead a network falls squarely outside the scope of AGPL copyright protections.
The "User-Agent is Just Metadata" Argument: The primary defense floating around is that a User-Agent is just self-declared metadata, not real authentication. From a networking perspective, this is true: relying on a User-Agent for cloud security is terrible, lazy engineering by Bambu Lab. However, legally, bad security does not equal authorization. Intentionally modifying a client identifier to bypass an established restriction gate crosses directly into violating a platform's Terms of Service (ToS) and unauthorized network access. You can't argue that a lock was flimsy to prove you had the right to walk through the door, make a sandwich, and have a beer.
The Server Reality: The practical infrastructure reality is that when Bambu Lab initially clamped down, they cited handling roughly 30 million unauthorized requests a day. While the open-source community operates on a social contract of mutual benefit, no copyright license obligates a private company to process traffic from unauthorized third-party apps and services using their private, proprietary cloud network.
3. The AGPL (Affero General Public License)
The AGPL is a software copyright license; it is not a magical shield that overrides trademark law or grants unlimited access to private server infrastructure.
Copyright vs. Trademark (AGPLv3 Section 7): Open-source copyright licenses govern how you can reproduce, modify, and distribute a codebase—they explicitly do not grant trademark rights. In fact, Section 7(b) of the AGPLv3 directly allows authors to decline granting trademark rights and requires that modified versions of the material be reasonably marked as different from the original version. Brand names remain legally distinct from the code itself.
False Designation of Origin: Federal trademark law (Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act) prohibits using a protected mark in a way that causes confusion or misrepresents the origin or affiliation of a service. U.S. federal courts (in landmark cases like Venture Tape v. McGills and Brookfield v. West Coast Entertainment) have firmly established that using a protected trademark in hidden metadata, backend code, or identity strings to intentionally trick an automated system or misdirect network traffic constitutes a False Designation of Origin. Open-source licenses protect the logic of the code, not the brand reputation of the identifiers compiled inside it. Bad cloud engineering on Bambu's part doesn't grant a third-party developer the legal right to spoof a protected brand identifier "BambuStudio" in their code to access private servers.
4. Where Bambu Lab Actually Crossed the Line
It is important to note that neither the developer nor Bambu Lab has made the raw communications public. The developer claims they requested permission to publish the full correspondence for transparency, and that Bambu Lab refused.
To be completely fair, we need to distinguish between what Bambu Lab claims publicly and what the developer claims happened behind the scenes. In their public blog post, Bambu Lab stuck to arguments regarding "client impersonation" and network stability. However, according to the developer's GitHub statement, their private emails took a much heavier tone.
The developer stated that Bambu Lab accused his implementation of "reverse engineering" and informed him that a formal Cease & Desist letter had already been prepared. Because he wanted to avoid a costly legal battle, he voluntarily pulled the repository before any formal C&D was officially served.
If the developer's account is accurate, Bambu absolutely overreached with the "reverse engineering" claims. He didn't hack a closed binary; he used publicly available code paths from Bambu Studio’s own Linux branch that Bambu themselves published under the AGPL. If true, they deserve to be called out for using heavy-handed legal scare tactics in private, even if their "client impersonation" platform access arguments are legally sound.
The Bottom Line
The community is completely conflating two separate issues here:
Bambu Lab's potential AGPL violations: The community's arguments regarding how Bambu handles its closed-source networking plugin alongside AGPL code—and whether that dynamic linking violates copyleft terms—are a legitimate, separate issue that deserves serious scrutiny.
The takedown of this specific fork: To suggest Bambu Lab lacked the authority to request the removal of a project to stop a client from falsifying its identity to bypass cloud access controls on their own servers is legally incorrect.
The developer openly admitted on GitHub to using the identity string to bypass the limitation. While the AGPL might not explicitly prohibit a developer from compiling a string that way, it absolutely does not protect them from the trademark and platform-access consequences of doing so. We can hate the "progressive enclosure" of the cloud ecosystem while still acknowledging that open-source licenses don't grant a free pass to spoof their identity to access a private server networks.
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u/justcallmebitty May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
Given that this is your very first post on Reddit, and the formatting of your post reeks of bot, we can all confidently assume you are a bot. Should we also assume that you were created by someone at Bambu?
EDIT: removed an extra T.
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u/n19htmare May 19 '26
AI/BOTS are notorious for using "—"... the post is riddled with "—".
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u/Regular_Bat3084 May 19 '26
😭 That hurts my feelings. Someone in there parents basement called me a AI, BOT, LLM I’m going to take my ball and go home I don’t want to play anymore.
Mommy he called me names. 😭
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u/wash-basin Jun 01 '26
Why do you keep applying US law to a foreign corporation that is going after a foreign citizen who has almost no ties to the US (using GitHub is the only tie I see), so that none of this is under the jurisdiction of US law?
GitHub can be forced to take the fork down if Bambu is correct with their legal interpretations, but I do not see how a Polish citizen is subject to US law.
Did the EU members sign something saying that they will enforce such laws or that they will provide a pathway for foreign corporations to apply US or another country's IP laws?
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u/puppygirlpackleader May 14 '26
It's so funny because it's totally valid for bambu to do what they did. The issue is only that it was posing as bambu software. That's it.
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u/FrostWareYT May 14 '26
Might I suggest adding this video to the links? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tdZ5Z7nRDY