Installing SlicerX

SlicerX is pre-alpha and has no released binaries or published packages yet. Everything on this page builds from a clone of the repository; the API for each surface is in embedding.md. To ship your own product on SlicerX, see integrating.md.

#Requirements

• Node 24 or newer (the repository pins it in .nvmrc).
• pnpm 10 (corepack enable picks the version in package.json).
• Rust 1.98.1, pinned in rust-toolchain.toml with clippy, rustfmt and the wasm32-unknown-unknown target. Inside the clone, rustup toolchain install installs exactly that.
• macOS, Linux or Windows. The desktop app also needs the Tauri v2 prerequisites: the Xcode command line tools on macOS, WebView2 on Windows, WebKitGTK 4.1 on Linux.

git clone https://github.com/Subydev/slicerx.git
cd slicerx
pnpm install

#Browser app

pnpm dev

Opens the browser build (apps/web) on http://localhost:5173: Prepare, Preview, Library, Printers (with five simulated printers), PrintPilot and the Feed from sample data. Slicing runs in the browser on the WebAssembly worker pool; build the module once with pnpm --filter @slicerx/slicer build:wasm.

SX_FEATURES picks the optional features at build time, as a comma list of store, pilot, connect, cloud and orca. Unset means all of them; an empty value builds the base app only.

#Desktop app

pnpm dev:desktop

Runs the Tauri v2 app in apps/desktop with tauri dev. The window, native slicing and native file dialogs work; printers, the AI transport and approvals use the same TypeScript pieces as the browser for now. It has been tried on macOS only. Signed releases for macOS, Windows and Linux are planned.

#First run and printer setup

On a fresh install the browser and desktop apps open a four step setup: Welcome, Look and feel, Printer and Done. Every step can be skipped, and Escape leaves setup after asking. "Skip, use defaults" keeps the SlicerX look, adds no printer and opens the demo plate.

• Look and feel: pick SlicerX, Bambu Studio style, PrusaSlicer style or OrcaSlicer style. The choice applies at once and changes the mouse controls, shortcuts and layout, never your print settings. Adjust controls sets the theme and what each mouse button does.
• Printer: pick the brand and model (or enter the bed size by hand), the nozzle, and how SlicerX reaches the printer. Test connection reaches the printer, signs in, and reads its state and temperatures without changing anything on it. You can continue without a test; the printer is then marked Not verified. Access codes and API keys go to the system keychain only. The browser build has no keychain, so there a code is used for the test and not saved.
• PrintPilot can help on both steps from the Ask PrintPilot button (Ctrl+/). It suggests changes as cards that apply only when you press Apply, and it never sees or types codes.

To come back later, open Settings > Look and feel, use Add printer in Printers, or type "look and feel" in the command bar (Cmd+K). The guide for each connection type is under Printers.

#sx CLI

cargo build -p sx-cli --release

The binary is target/release/sx. Copy it onto your PATH if you want to call it as sx.

sx slice packages/core/bench/models/x-mark.stl --config config.json -o x-mark.gcode --preview x-mark.sxpv

• x-mark.stl: the model, here the SlicerX reference model: binary or ASCII STL, or a Bambu Lab or OrcaSlicer 3MF project (--plate N picks the plate). OBJ is planned.
• --config config.json: a JSON object with OrcaSlicer setting names, such as {"layer_height": 0.16, "wall_loops": 3, "sparse_infill_density": 20, "gcode_flavor": "klipper"}. Missing keys keep the core's defaults, and keys the core does not implement yet are ignored. Without --config the defaults apply.
• -o x-mark.gcode: where to write the G-code. Without it, nothing is written.
• --preview x-mark.sxpv: the SXPV preview buffer, for the viewport.

sx slice writes only G-code to stdout (or to the file given with -o); its summary line (layers, slice time, G-code bytes, estimated print time, filament length per slot, tool changes) and warnings go to stderr. sx slice --request req.json --out-dir out/ takes a JSON request instead and prints a result JSON (see embedding.md); sx schema request and sx schema result print their JSON Schemas. Exit codes: 0 success, 1 slicing failed, 2 usage error, 3 invalid input.

sx bench --config packages/core/bench/configs/reference-0.20.json runs the slicing benchmark (see packages/core/bench/README.md).

#Rust crate

sx-core is not on crates.io yet. Depend on it from a clone or from git:

[dependencies]
sx-core = { path = "../slicerx/packages/core" }
# or
sx-core = { git = "https://github.com/Subydev/slicerx", package = "sx-core" }

The crate has no file system, network or async code. Its default parallel feature spreads layers across threads with rayon; build with default-features = false for wasm32-unknown-unknown. embedding.md has an example.

#npm package

@slicerx/slicer (in packages/core/web) ships the WebAssembly build of sx-core, the worker that runs it, and TypeScript types. It needs a browser with Web Workers and WebAssembly; it does not need SharedArrayBuffer or cross-origin isolation. In the workspace:

pnpm --filter @slicerx/slicer build:wasm    # the module, pkg/sx_wasm.wasm
pnpm --filter @slicerx/slicer build         # dist/ with the worker, ready for pnpm pack

Once published: npm install @slicerx/slicer.

#C ABI

sx-ffi in packages/core/ffi builds libslicerx as a shared and a static library, with the header packages/core/ffi/include/slicerx.h generated by cbindgen:

cargo build -p sx-ffi --release
# target/release/libslicerx.{so,dylib,dll} and libslicerx.a

#Viewport and embeddable UI

The framework-free viewport is the workspace package @slicerx/viewport (packages/ui/viewport). Run its demo page with pnpm --filter @slicerx/viewport dev (port 5190).

@slicerx/embed wraps the viewport and the settings panel as React components and custom elements. Run its demo with pnpm --filter @slicerx/embed dev (port 5191). It is not yet published to npm.

#Printers

SlicerX connects to printers on your local network: Bambu Lab in LAN mode, Klipper through Moonraker, Creality, Snapmaker, PrusaLink, OctoPrint, Duet (RepRapFirmware) and the Elegoo Centauri Carbon, plus Spoolman for filament inventory and Home Assistant for plugs, lights and fans. Each guide covers what to set up on the printer and what an integrator needs to know:

• Overview and capabilities
• Bambu Lab LAN, Moonraker, Creality, Snapmaker, PrusaLink, OctoPrint, Duet, Elegoo
• Spoolman, Home Assistant

Each guide ends with an "Untested on hardware" section that says what has not yet been checked on a physical printer.

The browser app, the desktop app (for now) and the MCP server reach printers through sx-link, a small bridge that runs on your computer, binds only to 127.0.0.1 and pairs with a code it prints at startup. Build it with cargo build -p sx-link --release. Printer credentials go into the operating system keychain.

#MCP server

pnpm --filter @slicerx/mcp build
cargo build -p sx-cli --release    # optional; without it the server estimates from the mesh

Then register node /path/to/slicerx/packages/mcp/dist/cli.js with your MCP client. Before you connect real printers, write a permission policy (~/.config/slicerx/mcp-policy.json) that says which actions run, which ask you first and which are off. packages/mcp/README.md has the policy format and the setup for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, other stdio clients and streamable HTTP.

Once @slicerx/mcp is published, npx -y @slicerx/mcp@0.1.0 runs it without a clone. Claude Code users can install the plugin instead, which bundles the server with skills and commands: see packages/claude-plugin.

#Licensing for embedders

The surfaces above are MPL-2.0: you can link or bundle them into software under any license, and changes to SlicerX's own files stay under the MPL. The SlicerX edition (accounts, cloud slicing, the model library with creator pages, and the branded apps) and the optional OrcaSlicer-derived packages (the OrcaSlicer profile library and ported algorithms) are AGPL-3.0-or-later; a build that includes them is subject to the AGPL. embedding.md explains how to keep them out or in. This is general guidance, not legal advice; see LICENSE and NOTICE.