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Using OctoPrint

Kalico has a few options for its front ends, Octoprint was the first and original front end for Kalico. This document will give a brief overview of installing with this option.

Install with OctoPi

Start by installing OctoPi on the Raspberry Pi computer. Use OctoPi v0.17.0 or later - see the OctoPi releases for release information.

One should verify that OctoPi boots and that the OctoPrint web server works. After connecting to the OctoPrint web page, follow the prompt to upgrade OctoPrint if needed.

After installing OctoPi and upgrading OctoPrint, it will be necessary to ssh into the target machine to run a handful of system commands.

Start by running these commands on your host device:

If you do not have git installed, please do so with:

sudo apt install git

then proceed:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/KalicoCrew/kalico klipper
./klipper/scripts/install-octopi.sh

The above will download Kalico, install the needed system dependencies, setup Kalico to run at system startup, and start the Kalico host software. It will require an internet connection and it may take a few minutes to complete.

Installing with KIAUH

KIAUH can be used to install OctoPrint on a variety of Linux based systems that run a form of Debian. More information can be found at https://github.com/dw-0/kiauh

Configuring OctoPrint to use Kalico

The OctoPrint web server needs to be configured to communicate with the Kalico host software. Using a web browser, login to the OctoPrint web page and then configure the following items:

Navigate to the Settings tab (the wrench icon at the top of the page). Under "Serial Connection" in "Additional serial ports" add:

~/printer_data/comms/klippy.serial

Then click "Save".

In some older setups this address may be /tmp/printer, depending on your setup, you may need to keep this line as well

Enter the Settings tab again and under "Serial Connection" change the "Serial Port" setting to the one added above.

In the Settings tab, navigate to the "Behavior" sub-tab and select the "Cancel any ongoing prints but stay connected to the printer" option. Click "Save".

From the main page, under the "Connection" section (at the top left of the page) make sure the "Serial Port" is set to the new additional one added and click "Connect". (If it is not in the available selection then try reloading the page.)

Once connected, navigate to the "Terminal" tab and type "status" (without the quotes) into the command entry box and click "Send". The terminal window will likely report there is an error opening the config file - that means OctoPrint is successfully communicating with Kalico.

Please proceed to Installation.md and the Building and flashing the micro-controller section