# Bambu Studio 7 Hacker News commenters recommended Bambu Studio and 35 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Free, open-source slicer people use to prepare prints and run printers without the cloud. Main caveat: critics say its networking plugin breaches the AGPL license. ## Why people recommend it - Open source, works without cloud (1 comments): "The slicer is still open source, and you can still use their printers without the cloud." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48111066)) - Automatic model repair on Windows (1 comments): "It's the automatic model repair that gives it a leg up on Windows." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46767778)) - Add-ons improve the slicer (1 comments): "The add-ons ("extras") simply make the slicer better" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49463698)) ## What people warn about - Alleged AGPL violations over closed plugin (11 comments): "Bambu's networking plugin is a tightly integrated closed-source carve out of AGPLv3 code they forked from the open-source community." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48176664)) "put the networking part in a plugin that gets downloaded after you open it purely so they don't have to share the source" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48117641)) "They threatened legal action against the author of a fork of their AGPL'd software merely for distributing said fork." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48123106)) - Closed ecosystem and user agent DRM (3 comments): "when Bambu started closing their ecosystem and claiming that user agent headers are DRM everyone got justifiably upset" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49453779)) "instead of literally giving you the means of access AND the permission to use and modify it as you wish" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48109960)) "Funniest thing is how this compares to web browsers impersonating each other in the user agent string." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48255345)) - LAN mode restricted, slicer required (3 comments): "you have to use Bambu Studio or Bambu Connect to send prints" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48116419)) "LAN mode requires you to still use their slicer because the majority of functions beyond the extremely basic are still restricted" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48085121)) "Bambu Slicer is plagued by basic connectivity and usability issues that only affect LAN mode" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48118971)) - Bugs and usability problems (4 comments): "I found a bunch of bugs in their package, filed one in their github project, and never heard anything of it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48122318)) "The slicer even introduces bugs in things that were working perfectly in the software they ripped off." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46819855)) "It took me so much time to setup the project in Bambu Studio just to switch between filament colors." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49222788)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [OrcaSlicer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/orcaslicer.md): 32 recommend - [PrusaSlicer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/prusaslicer.md): 15 recommend - [Grid slicer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/grid-slicer.md): 9 recommend - [ColorMix for PrusaSlicer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/colormix-for-prusaslicer.md): 8 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Bambu Studio", https://hackerapproved.com/p/bambu-studio/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).