--- title: "Home Assistant vs a Desktop App for Bambu Lab Monitoring · Bambu Bar" description: "Both read your Bambu Lab printer on the local network, no cloud. When Home Assistant is worth the server, when a Mac or Windows app is enough, and using both." url: https://bambubar.app/guides/bambu-lab-home-assistant-vs-mac-app language: en --- # Home Assistant or a desktop app? Monitoring a Bambu Lab printer without the cloud Home Assistant and Bambu Bar both talk to your printer on your own network, with no cloud in between. They're built for different people, and they get along fine on the same printer. _Updated 2026-11-12_ ## In short Both read your Bambu Lab printer directly on your local network, in cloud mode or LAN Only mode. - **Home Assistant** (with its Bambu Lab integration) is for automations, dashboards and your own smart home setup. It needs a Home Assistant server. - **Bambu Bar** is for having your print in the Mac menu bar or the Windows tray: progress, the live camera, AMS filament, widgets and notifications, with **no server to run**. You don't have to choose: **Bambu Bar and Home Assistant run side by side on the same printer.** ## How local monitoring works Every Bambu Lab printer reports its status on your local network over an encrypted MQTT connection (port 8883), to any app that signs in with the printer's access code. Progress, temperatures, the AMS and errors arrive about once a second, without going through Bambu Lab's servers. Home Assistant's integration and Bambu Bar both use that. More in [how local monitoring works](https://bambubar.app/guides/bambu-lab-mqtt). ## Side by side | | Home Assistant | Bambu Bar | | --- | --- | --- | | What you need | A Home Assistant server, plus the integration | A Mac with macOS 26 or later, or a PC with Windows 10 or 11 | | Setup | Install and configure the integration | Pick your printer; Bambu Bar reads the access code your slicer saved | | Where you see it | Dashboards in a browser or the Home Assistant app | The Mac menu bar or the Windows tray, a window, desktop widgets | | Live camera | Depends on your setup | The panel, the main window and a window that stays on top | | Notifications | Automations you build | Ready-made macOS or Windows notifications: finished, failed, paused, errors | | Automations | Yes, its strength | No | | Away from home | Through your Home Assistant setup | No: your local network | | Pause, stop, speed | Need LAN Only with Developer Mode | Need LAN Only with Developer Mode | | Cost | Free software, plus the server | Free to use, optional $9.99 supporter license | Commands like pause and stop are the printer's rule, not the app's: on current firmware, a Bambu Lab printer accepts them from third-party apps only in LAN Only mode with Developer Mode on. See [Developer Mode](https://bambubar.app/guides/bambu-lab-developer-mode). ## When Home Assistant is the better choice Home Assistant is a great tool, and it's the right one if: - you **already run** a Home Assistant server; - you want **automations**: turn off a smart plug when the print finishes, flash a light when the filament runs out; - you want the printer on the **same dashboard** as the rest of your home, or on your phone through your own setup. ## When a desktop app is the better choice Bambu Bar is the lighter option, and the right one if: - you mostly want to **know how your print is doing while you work** at your Mac or PC; - you'd rather **not run a server** or build dashboards: install it, pick your printer, done; - you want the **camera in a window** that stays on top of your work, and **desktop widgets** with progress and AMS grams; - you want **notifications** for finished, failed and paused prints without writing an automation. It's free to use, on Apple silicon and Intel Macs and on Windows 10 and 11 PCs. [Get Bambu Bar for Mac](https://bambubar.app/download) · [Bambu Bar for Windows](https://bambubar.app/windows) ## Using both They run side by side on the same printer: both read the printer's local reports, so status works in both at the same time. The one thing to watch is the **camera**. A Bambu Lab printer serves only a few camera connections at once, so if one tool keeps the camera open, another may get no picture. Close it in one tool, or turn off **Keep the camera connected during prints** in Bambu Bar. See [too many viewers](https://bambubar.app/guides/bambu-lab-camera-not-working#other-viewers). ## Questions, answered ### Can I monitor a Bambu Lab printer without the cloud? Yes. Bambu Lab printers report their status (progress, temperatures, AMS and errors) to apps on the local network over an encrypted MQTT connection, signed in with the printer's access code. This works in cloud mode and LAN Only mode. Home Assistant's Bambu Lab integration and Bambu Bar both use it. ### Do I need Home Assistant to monitor my Bambu printer locally? No. Home Assistant is a good choice if you already run it and want dashboards or automations. To see progress, the camera and filament on your Mac or PC and get notified when a print finishes or fails, Bambu Bar does that without a server. ### Can I use Home Assistant and Bambu Bar at the same time? Yes, they run side by side on the same printer. The camera is the one thing to watch: a printer serves only a few camera connections at once, so close it in one tool, or turn off **Keep the camera connected during prints** in Bambu Bar. ## Read next - [Local vs remote monitoring](https://bambubar.app/guides/bambu-lab-local-vs-remote-monitoring): What local monitoring on your Mac or PC covers, what remote access needs, and why you shouldn't open your printer to the internet. - [How local monitoring works (MQTT)](https://bambubar.app/guides/bambu-lab-mqtt): The local MQTT connection behind Bambu Studio and Bambu Bar: port, topics, sign-in, certificates, and what's read versus sent. - [Developer Mode and locked controls](https://bambubar.app/guides/bambu-lab-developer-mode): Why pause, stop and speed show a lock in Bambu Bar, what Developer Mode changes on the printer, and whether you need it. - [Print notifications](https://bambubar.app/features/print-notifications): macOS and Windows notifications for finished, failed, canceled and paused prints and new printer errors, and how to choose which you get. - [Camera not working](https://bambubar.app/guides/bambu-lab-camera-not-working): "Printer camera is malfunctioning" or no picture at all? Find out if it's the printer or your computer, then the checks for each Bambu Lab model. --- Bambu Bar is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by Bambu Lab. Bambu Lab is a trademark of its owner.