# Installation

These instructions assume the software will run on a Raspberry Pi
computer in conjunction with OctoPrint. It is recommended that a
Raspberry Pi 2, 3, or 4 computer be used as the host machine (see the
[FAQ](FAQ.md#can-i-run-klipper-on-something-other-than-a-raspberry-pi-3)
for other machines).

Klipper currently supports a number of Atmel ATmega based
micro-controllers,
[ARM based micro-controllers](Features.md#step-benchmarks), and
[Beaglebone PRU](beaglebone.md) based printers.

## Prepping an OS image

Start by installing [OctoPi](https://github.com/guysoft/OctoPi) on the
Raspberry Pi computer. Use OctoPi v0.17.0 or later - see the
[octopi releases](https://github.com/guysoft/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 to v1.4.2 or later.

After installing OctoPi and upgrading OctoPrint, it will be necessary
to ssh into the target machine to run a handful of system commands. If
using a Linux or MacOS desktop, then the "ssh" software should already
be installed on the desktop. There are free ssh clients available for
other desktops (eg,
[PuTTY](https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/)). Use the
ssh utility to connect to the Raspberry Pi (ssh pi@octopi -- password
is "raspberry") and run the following commands:

```
git clone https://github.com/KevinOConnor/klipper
./klipper/scripts/install-octopi.sh
```

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

## Building and flashing the micro-controller

To compile the micro-controller code, start by running these commands
on the Raspberry Pi:

```
cd ~/klipper/
make menuconfig
```

Select the appropriate micro-controller and review any other options
provided. Once configured, run:

```
make
```

It is necessary to determine the serial port connected to the
micro-controller. For micro-controllers that connect via USB, run the
following:

```
ls /dev/serial/by-id/*
```

It should report something similar to the following:

```
/dev/serial/by-id/usb-1a86_USB2.0-Serial-if00-port0
```

It's common for each printer to have its own unique serial port name.
This unique name will be used when flashing the micro-controller. It's
possible there may be multiple lines in the above output - if so,
choose the line corresponding to the micro-controller (see the
[FAQ](FAQ.md#wheres-my-serial-port) for more information).

For common micro-controllers, the code can be flashed with something
similar to:

```
sudo service klipper stop
make flash FLASH_DEVICE=/dev/serial/by-id/usb-1a86_USB2.0-Serial-if00-port0
sudo service klipper start
```

Be sure to update the FLASH_DEVICE with the printer's unique serial
port name.

When flashing for the first time, make sure that OctoPrint is not
connected directly to the printer (from the OctoPrint web page, under
the "Connection" section, click "Disconnect").

## Configuring OctoPrint to use Klipper

The OctoPrint web server needs to be configured to communicate with
the Klipper 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
"/tmp/printer". Then click "Save".

Enter the Settings tab again and under "Serial Connection" change the
"Serial Port" setting to "/tmp/printer".

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 "/tmp/printer" and
click "Connect". (If "/tmp/printer" is not an 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
Klipper. Proceed to the next section.

## Configuring Klipper

The Klipper configuration is stored in a text file on the Raspberry
Pi. Take a look at the example config files in the
[config directory](../config/). The
[config reference](Config_Reference.md) contains documentation on
config parameters.

Arguably the easiest way to update the Klipper configuration file is
to use a desktop editor that supports editing files over the "scp"
and/or "sftp" protocols. There are freely available tools that support
this (eg, Notepad++, WinSCP, and Cyberduck). Use one of the example
config files as a starting point and save it as a file named
"printer.cfg" in the home directory of the pi user (ie,
/home/pi/printer.cfg).

Alternatively, one can also copy and edit the file directly on the
Raspberry Pi via ssh - for example:

```
cp ~/klipper/config/example-cartesian.cfg ~/printer.cfg
nano ~/printer.cfg
```

Make sure to review and update each setting that is appropriate for
the hardware.

It's common for each printer to have its own unique name for the
micro-controller. The name may change after flashing Klipper, so rerun
the `ls /dev/serial/by-id/*` command and then update the config file
with the unique name. For example, update the `[mcu]` section to look
something similar to:

```
[mcu]
serial: /dev/serial/by-id/usb-1a86_USB2.0-Serial-if00-port0
```

After creating and editing the file it will be necessary to issue a
"restart" command in the OctoPrint web terminal to load the config. A
"status" command will report the printer is ready if the Klipper
config file is successfully read and the micro-controller is
successfully found and configured. It is not unusual to have
configuration errors during the initial setup - update the printer
config file and issue "restart" until "status" reports the printer is
ready.

Klipper reports error messages via the OctoPrint terminal tab. The
"status" command can be used to re-report error messages. The default
Klipper startup script also places a log in **/tmp/klippy.log** which
provides more detailed information.

In addition to common g-code commands, Klipper supports a few extended
commands - "status" and "restart" are examples of these commands. Use
the "help" command to get a list of other extended commands.

After Klipper reports that the printer is ready go on to the
[config check document](Config_checks.md) to perform some basic checks
on the pin definitions in the config file.

## Contacting the developers

Be sure to see the [FAQ](FAQ.md) for answers to some common questions.
See the [contact page](Contact.md) to report a bug or to contact the
developers.
