• Git
• Docker and Docker Compose
• GNU/Linux or Windows 10 (or greater) with WSL2 enabled (experimental)
• USBIPD-Win (Windows only)
• The Expo frontend source shipped in this repository under frontend/^*

^* Development and production assets now come from the same monorepo. Use the tracked frontend/ directory directly when working on the UI.

WPrint 3D now includes a plugin platform with:

• .w3dp plugin packages
• PHP and bridge runtimes
• declarative, WebView, and custom bundle UI modes
• in-app plugin management
• unpacked live-source installs in the development stack
• an Artisan CLI for scaffold, package, install, search, and diagnostics

Start with the docs landing page at docs/index.md when you want the hosted documentation structure instead of the repo overview or, alternatively, for a better navigation experience use our public documentation site which is updated in sync with the repository. The plugin platform documentation includes a reference for the SDK, development guides, and example verification flows.

If you want to build plugins, use this path:

1. Read the plugin entrypoint docs in docs/plugins.md.

2. Follow the full authoring walkthrough in docs/plugin-development-guide.md.

3. Use the signing guides when you start distributing packages:

   • docs/plugin-signing-for-developers.md
   • docs/plugin-signature-verification-for-users.md
   • docs/plugin-registry-signing-review.md

4. Use the scaffold command to start a new plugin:

   ./plugin.sh make

   Generate a signing key when you are ready to distribute packages:

   ./plugin.sh keygen

5. Study the reference examples:

   • examples/plugins/hello-world: smallest PHP + declarative starter
   • examples/plugins/host-metrics: baseline host-rendered plugin
   • docs/plugin-shape-matrix-e2e.md: every supported runtime/UI shape

6. Use the plugin-local AGENTS.md files inside each example directory when modifying or extending those examples.

Plugin development currently expects a full wprint3d-core source checkout. The repository is small, and the supported authoring loop depends on that checkout for ./plugin.sh, the live development mounts, browser E2E, and .w3dp packaging/signing.

Typical release commands from the repo root:

./plugin.sh pack examples/plugins/hello-world --wizard
./plugin.sh verify examples/plugins/hello-world/builds/hello-world.w3dp
./plugin.sh verify examples/plugins/hello-world/builds/hello-world.w3dp --require-trusted
./plugin.sh restore examples/plugins/hello-world/builds/hello-world.w3dp --output plugins/hello-world-fork

When running ./run.sh -e dev, unpacked plugins can be installed directly from the live development sources exposed inside the containers. New plugins scaffold into repo plugins, while the bundled samples live in examples/plugins. The Install unpacked flow shows both sources so you can iterate on your own plugin without packaging it first.

Use ./plugin.sh for host-side plugin commands when you do not have a matching PHP runtime installed locally. The wrapper runs php artisan plugin:* inside the backend container through Docker. Use ./plugin.sh status when you need to confirm which backend container it found, whether developer mode is effectively enabled, and whether the live unpacked plugin mount is visible from that container.

Production backend images intentionally exclude examples/plugins so sample plugins do not ship in the runtime image. Use the development stack or a source checkout when you need the example plugins for testing, packaging, or demos.

For public-registry inclusion, the temporary process is simple: keep the plugin in its own repository, open a PR against the public registry with that repository URL, and then wait for the WPrint 3D team to reach out. We will document the registry workflow in more detail once the foundation is finalized.

• Any dual-core CPU running at, at least, 1 GHz
• 1 GB of memory running at any speed *
• 2 GB of storage space
• A wired network card running at, at least, 10/100 Mbps mode or a wireless network card connected to a device that can provide a 54 Mbps mode (or better) for a stable live webcam feed
• Optionally, a USB camera or a real hardwired sensor, such as a Raspberry Pi camera.

• If you're running Windows, go to the "Preparing your Windows host" section first.

• Install Docker and Docker Compose on your host.

• Give yourself permission to run Docker commands by following the guide linked here, this is extremely important because we'll need to set up a few privileged containers.

• Clone this repository wherever you want, just make sure you'd have write permission with the user you're currently logged in.

  git clone -b alpha https://github.com/wprint3d/wprint3d

• Change to the created directory by running cd wprint3d.

• Now, using your favorite text editor, create a new file called .env and copy the contents of .env.example into it. If you're planning on running WPrint 3D on a Raspberry Pi, consider copying .env.rpi instead as it's been specifically optimized to run faster on its hardware.

• That's it! Plug your printer in any USB port you like and turn it on! Now, run bash run.sh to get going. The first run might take a few minutes, so you'll probably want to find something else to do in the meantime.

• If you're running Windows, go to the "Next steps on your Windows host" section.

• Once it's done, type ifconfig and copy the IP address of your machine. Type that IP address into the address bar of your browser, i.e.: https://192.168.0.2

• Follow the on-screen instructions.

• Install WSL2 and a GNU/Linux distribution of your choice as explained in the linked article. I highly suggest going with Ubuntu as it requires way less manual work in order to get started. This guide has been tested while using said distribution.
• Open a new Terminal and get into your GNU/Linux distribution. If your distribution is named "Ubuntu-24.04", type wsl -d Ubuntu-22.04. If you're unsure, get a list of installed distributions by running wsl --list.
• Go back to the "Getting started" section and follow the remaining steps to install Docker and setup your system.

• From a new Terminal window or tab, install usbipd-win by running winget install usbipd. This is required to share USB devices between Windows and the virtual machine.

  Do not enter your GNU/Linux distribution yet, this step MUST be done from the host!

• Type usbipd --list to get a list of connected devices. Take note of the VID:PID field related to your printer. Mine looks like this:

    > usbipd list
    Connected:
    BUSID  VID:PID    DEVICE                                                        STATE
    ...
    1-11   2341:0042  USB Serial Device (COM4)                                      Not shared
  

• Enable binding by running usbipd bind -i 2341:0042.

• Attach the printer to WSL2 by running usbipd attach --wsl 2341:0042.

• Now, get back into your GNU/Linux distribution. If your distribution is named "Ubuntu-24.04", type wsl -d Ubuntu-22.04. If you're unsure, get a list of installed distributions by running wsl --list.

• Run hostname -I, if more than one IP address is returned, copy the first IP address from the list. Then, paste it into a new browser tab.

• That's about it!

• SD printing may disrupt the negotiated serial connection. The connection should come back about a minute after finishing the print job. This bug will be worked on in the near future.

WPrint 3D is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.