OctoPrint for beginners - How to install and setup!

README.md

Guide for installing and setting-up your OctoPrint!

This documentation provides step-by-step instructions to install OctoPrint on a Debian Buster system using the terminal. Please follow each step carefully.

This guide will assist you to install OctoPrint in systems other than Raspberry Pi, such as Orange Pi, Asus Tinker Board, ODROID, Banana Pi, PINE64, NanoPi, BeagleBone and much more.

What is OctoPrint and why should you use it?

TLDR: OctoPrint is free software for managing 3D printers remotely through a web browser.

• OctoPrint is an open-source, web-based 3D printer management and control software.
• It provides a user-friendly interface accessible through a web browser, allowing you to control and monitor your 3D printers remotely.
• You can upload 3D models, start and pause prints, and view progress and status in real-time.
• OctoPrint supports a wide range of 3D printers, making it compatible with various models and brands.
• It offers a plugin system that allows you to extend its functionality and add new features to customize your printing experience.
• It was developed with a focus on convenience and ease of use, OctoPrint has become a popular tool among 3D printing enthusiasts and professionals.

Prerequisites

Hardware

• Single Board Computer (SBC) of your choice (in this guide I will be using an Orange Pi 3 LTS)
• Good power supply for your SBC - keep in mind the camera may draw some additional power (I have a 5V 3A power supply)
• microSD + reader
• Mouse and Keyboard - for first setup only
• HDMI monitor and cable - for first setup only
• A stable internet connection, either Wi-Fi or cable
• Another computer to setup and access your SBC/OctoPrint
• Optional: Webcam for monitoring and creating timelapses.

Software

• Operating System image for your SBC - you can get at your device manufacturer website (I will use Debian Bullseye for my Orange Pi 3 LTS)
• SD card flasher app (like balenaEtcher)
• SSH (Secure Shell) client to access your device remotely (like Putty)
• Optional: IP scanner to easily find and access your device (like Angry IP Scanner)

Booting and configuring the SBC

1. Use balenaEtcher to flash the OS image onto the microSD card.

   

2. Once the process is completed, insert the microSD card into your SBC.

3. Turn on your device and wait for it to boot.

4. Connect and use your mouse and keyboard to connect the device to the preferred Wi-Fi network.

   On the upper right corner, you can click on the Ethernet icon to find the network.

   

Connecting into your SBC remotely

1. Optional: Open Angry IP Scanner and click on 'Start' to search for the IP address of your SBC.

   

2. Open Putty, write the IP address of the device on the Host Name or IP address field and make sure you have selected SSH as the connection type. Click Open.

   

3. Log in with the username root and the password orangepi. Attention: this step may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, read the SBC manual for more info.

   

Alternatively, you may login via SSH to your device, run orangepi-config and connect to the desired Wi-Fi.

Creating a new user and updating the system

1. Add a new user and set a new password for it.

   sudo adduser USERNAME
   

   🚩 USERNAME is just a placeholder, you can change it

   

2. Grant Super User Do (sudo) permission

   adduser USERNAME sudo
   

   🚩 USERNAME is just a placeholder, remember to change it

   

3. Check if the user has sudo permission

   id USERNAME
   

   🚩 USERNAME is just a placeholder, remember to change it

   

4. Login on your new user

   su USERNAME
   

   🚩 USERNAME is just a placeholder, remember to change it

   

5. Download and install overall system updates

   sudo apt update
   

   Note: This might take a while.

   

   After all packages have been downloaded, run the next command

   sudo apt upgrade
   

   

   Note: This might take a while.

6. Download and install Python

   sudo apt install python3-pip python3-dev python3-setuptools python3-venv git libyaml-dev build-essential
   

   

7. Optional: Download and install other dependencies for using the webcam for timelapses and monitoring.

   sudo apt-get install build-essential libjpeg9-dev imagemagick libv4l-dev cmake git -y libjpeg-dev
   

   

   After all packages have been downloaded, run the next command

   sudo apt install cmake
   

   

Installing OctoPrint (finally!)

1. Go to your home directory (folder)

   cd ~
   

   

2. Create a new directory and enter it

   mkdir OctoPrint && cd OctoPrint
   

   

3. Configure a Python virtual environment

   python3 -m venv venv
   source venv/bin/activate
   

   You should see the (venv) on your terminal now if everything goes OK.

   

4. Install Python PIP (Preferred Installer Program)

   sudo apt install python-pip
   

   

5. Install Python setuptools and wheel

   sudo pip3 install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
   

   

6. Install OctoPrint

   pip install --no-cache-dir octoprint
   

   Note: the '--no-cache-dir' ensures you are installing the latest version of OctoPrint. Also, this might take a while.

   

7. Grant access to the serial ports for your user

   sudo usermod -a -G tty USERNAME
   

   USERNAME is just a placeholder, remember to change it

   And then

   sudo usermod -a -G dialout USERNAME
   

   🚩 USERNAME is just a placeholder, remember to change it

   

8. Go inside the /OctoPrint/venv/bin/ folder and start the octoprint service

   You may use ls -la to list the folder and files and cd FOLDERNAME to access it.

   

   And run the command to start it.

   octoprint serve
   

   

9. Configure the automatic start of the OctoPrint service (so that every time you boot your SBC, OctoPrint will turn on as well)

   Run one command after the other has finished.

   wget https://github.com/OctoPrint/OctoPrint/raw/master/scripts/octoprint.service
   

   sudo mv octoprint.service /etc/systemd/system/octoprint.service
   

   ExecStart=/home/USERNAME/OctoPrint/venv/bin/octoprint
   

   🚩 USERNAME is just a placeholder, remember to change it

   sudo systemctl enable octoprint.service
   

   

   To confirm everything worked correctly, you may go to /etc/systemd/system/ directory and search for the octoprint.service.

   

10. Now open a web browser on your computer and type the IP address of your SBC and add :5000 to the end of it (example http://192.168.5.8:5000/)

After going thru all the steps on OctoPrint's UI, making sure you configure it correctly with the print bed size and maximum height and nozzle diameter, you will see a screen similar to this.

Optional: Installing MJPG-Streamer for timelapses and monitoring

1. Make sure you are inside your /home directory of the user you created - it should contain the OctoPrint folder as well. (Remember to use the cd and ls -la commands to go into folders and list their contents.

   Use pwd to check the current directory you are located.

   

2. Create a new directory and enter it

   mkdir ~/mjpg-streamer && cd ~/mjpg-streamer
   

   

3. Install mjpg-streamer using the following command

   git clone https://github.com/jacksonliam/mjpg-streamer.git
   

   

4. Enter the folder that has been created

   cd mjpg-streamer/mjpg-streamer-experimental
   

5. Install / compile the files

   make
   sudo make install
   

   

6. Connect your webcam to the SBC and check if it has been detected.

   lsusb
   

   

7. Install V4L2 utilities

   sudo apt-get install v4l-utils
   

   

8. Reboot the system

   shutdown -r now
   

   

9. Wait for the system to boot, enter with your user and password, then navigate inside the mjpg-streamer folders until you can see something similar to this.

   

10. Type the following command line and wait for the webcam to initialize.

    Note: remember to change the /dev/video1 to your USB webcam number (also remember that the Device 002 would be video1 - always 1 number below).

sudo ./mjpg_streamer -i "input_uvc.so -n -r 1920x1080 -f 5 -q 100 -d /dev/video1" -o "output_http.so -w ./www"

11. Now open a web browser on your computer and type the IP address of your SBC and add :8080/?action=stream to the end of it (example http://192.168.5.8::8080/?action=stream)

12. Lastly, go to the OctoPrint tab on your browser and look for the 'Classic Webcam' setting under 'Plugins'.

Make sure to configure the Stream URL as per above mentioned IP address (example http://192.168.5.8::8080/?action=stream) and test it.

On the Snapshot URL use the following http://127.0.0.1:8080/?action=snapshot and click on Test. You should see an image captured by the webcam.

Done! You have fully configured your Single Board Computer and OctoPrint! Happy Printing!

Plugin Recommendations

They may be installed via the Plugin Manager on OctoPrint, the links below are for your reference only and to get more information about those plugins.

• Simple Emergency Stop
• OctoLapse
• Print Time Genius
• Arc Welder
• OctoPrint DashBoard
• OctoPrint Fullscreen
• OctoEverywhere
• Tab Order
• Themefy

Thank you for reading this, any feedback is welcome!

Let me know if you have any doubts or comments :)

If you are feeling generous, you may buy me a coffee ☕ (soon).

sudo pip3 install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel won't work. Without the 'sudo' it works perfect.

I'd the same issue but I think it's because the pip3 isn't installed at system level.
I did
sudo apt install python3-pip
apt install libffi-dev
outside the venv and then the rest of the process worked find

the libffi-dev is a dependency required by octoprint build that isn't on the latest versions of armbian for bananapi. Not sure if with other versions is yet installed