Set up Bambu Bar. In a minute

Before you start

• A Mac with macOS 26 Tahoe or later, Apple silicon or Intel.
• A Bambu Lab printer on the same network as the Mac. All 15 models work, in cloud mode or LAN Only mode. No Bambu Lab account sign-in is needed.
• The printer's access code, if Bambu Studio or OrcaSlicer on this Mac doesn't already have it. Where to find it.

1. Get the app

Buy the supporter license on the download page. After checkout, your purchase account has the app download and your license key. The Mac App Store edition is sold separately and installs from the App Store.

2. Install it

Unzip the download, move Bambu Bar.app into Applications and open it. It lives in the menu bar: closing its window keeps it running there, without a Dock icon.

3. Allow the local network

macOS asks whether Bambu Bar may find devices on your local network. Click Allow: without it, Bambu Bar can't see or reach any printer, and it tells you so with a button to the right switch. You can change it later under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network.

4. Add your printer

The setup page lists the printers Bambu Bar hears on your network.

• Pick yours, or choose Add All when your slicer already knows several printers: Bambu Bar sets them all up at once.
• Not listed? Choose Enter address manually and type the printer's IP address from its screen. Bambu Bar reads the rest from the printer.

5. The access code

Bambu Bar needs the printer's 8-character access code, and usually finds it on its own:

• Bambu Studio or OrcaSlicer on this Mac: the direct version reads the codes they saved. The Mac App Store version asks you to choose the slicer's folder once.
• Slicer on another Mac: drop that Mac's BambuStudio.conf onto the setup page.
• No slicer: read the code on the printer's screen, in its network settings.

Bambu Bar only reads the slicer's settings and never changes them. Codes are kept in your macOS keychain and only ever sent to their printer.

6. Connect

Click Connect. The menu bar shows progress and time left as soon as the printer reports in; click it for the full panel. Open at Login keeps Bambu Bar running after a restart.

Optional: activate your supporter license

Open Bambu Bar → Manage License…, paste the key from your purchase account and choose Activate. It enables in-app updates and the Hero Supporter badge. Printer monitoring works without it.

Optional: the camera

Turn on Settings → Camera → Show the printer camera, then the camera for your printer on the Printers page. X1, H2, H3C, P2S and X2D printers also need LAN Only Liveview on. See the camera on your Mac.

Optional: pause, stop and speed

Reading status works in any mode. To pause, resume, stop or change the speed from your Mac, the printer must be in LAN Only mode with Developer Mode on. Until then the buttons show a lock. See why controls are locked.

Optional: widgets and notifications

• Widgets: right-click the desktop, choose Edit Widgets…, search for Bambu Bar and drag in a size. See desktop widgets.
• Notifications: choose which ones you want on the Notifications page. See print notifications.

If something doesn't work

• No printers in the list: check the Local Network permission and that the Mac isn't on a guest Wi-Fi or VPN, then use Enter address manually.
• Access code rejected: read it again on the printer's screen; it changes after a factory reset.
• More in Support.
• Still stuck? Email support@clevermechanisms.dev with your printer model, your Bambu Bar and macOS versions, and what happened.