OrcaSlicer is an excellent general-purpose slicer, but Klipper users with multiple printers face real friction: manually keeping slicer profiles in sync with Moonraker, switching between printer configs when batch-slicing parts for different machines, and waiting for sequential plate slicing to finish one at a time.
HydraSlicer solves these problems by adding first-class Klipper/Moonraker integration, multi-printer project workflows, and parallel plate slicing on top of every feature OrcaSlicer already provides. It automatically syncs with upstream OrcaSlicer daily, so you never fall behind on upstream improvements.
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Klipper/Moonraker Profile Sync Automatic bidirectional synchronization of printer, filament, and process profiles between the slicer and your Klipper printers via the Moonraker API. Profiles are pulled when a printer is activated and pushed on export or slice.
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Multi-Printer Slicing Assign each build plate in a project to a different physical printer, each with its own filament and process presets. Slice a Voron V0 plate and an Ender 5 plate in the same project file.
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Parallel Multi-Plate Slicing Slice multiple build plates concurrently using TBB worker threads instead of processing them one at a time. Significant time savings for multi-plate projects.
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Cloud Preset Backup Optionally back up your presets to a Git repository or Supabase-hosted storage for versioned, cross-machine synchronization.
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OAuth Authentication Sign in with GitHub or Google for cloud features via Supabase-based PKCE authentication.
All OrcaSlicer features included: HydraSlicer inherits every OrcaSlicer feature — calibration tools, precise wall/seam control, sandwich mode, polyholes, adaptive bed mesh, network printer support (Klipper, PrusaLink, OctoPrint), 200+ built-in printer profiles, and more. See the OrcaSlicer feature list for the full list.
Download the Latest Stable Release
Download the Latest Nightly Build
Download the Windows Installer (.exe) from the releases page.
A portable ZIP build is also available.
Troubleshooting
If you have trouble running the application, you may need to install the following runtimes:
- Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime
- Visual C++ Redistributable 2019 (x64)
- Download from Microsoft
- This may already be installed if you have Visual Studio. Check:
%VCINSTALLDIR%Redist\MSVC\v142
Coming soon. In the meantime, see build_release_macos.sh for build instructions.
Coming soon. In the meantime, see build_linux.sh for build instructions.
| Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|
| Visual Studio 2019 or 2022 | With the "Desktop development with C++" workload |
| CMake 3.13+ | Must appear in PATH before Strawberry Perl's c\bin |
| Strawberry Perl | Required for building certain dependencies |
| Git | For cloning and submodule operations |
| Python 3 | Used by localization and build scripts |
PATH ordering: CMake (
C:\Program Files\CMake\bin) must come before Strawberry Perl (C:\Strawberry\c\bin) in your system PATH. The build will fail with a clear error if this is not the case.
Use the provided batch scripts from a Developer Command Prompt (or any terminal with msbuild on PATH):
Visual Studio 2022:
:: Full build — dependencies + slicer
build_release_vs2022.bat
:: Dependencies only
build_release_vs2022.bat deps
:: Slicer only (after dependencies are built)
build_release_vs2022.bat slicerAuto-detect Visual Studio version (2019/2022/2026):
build_release_vs.bat
build_release_vs.bat deps
build_release_vs.bat slicerAppend debug or debuginfo for Debug or RelWithDebInfo builds:
build_release_vs2022.bat debug
build_release_vs2022.bat slicer debuginfoIf you prefer full control over the build process:
:: 1. Build dependencies
cd deps
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ../ -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build . --config Release --target deps -- -m
cd ..\..
:: 2. Build the slicer
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -DORCA_TOOLS=ON -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build . --config Release --target ALL_BUILD -- -m
:: 3. Build localization files
call scripts\run_gettext.bat
:: 4. Install (copies executables, DLLs, and resources into place)
cmake --build . --target install --config ReleaseReplace "Visual Studio 17 2022" with "Visual Studio 16 2019" if using VS2019.
The project uses NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) via CMake's CPack to generate the installer. After building and installing:
cd build
cmake --build . --target package --config ReleaseThis produces an installer file named OrcaSlicer_Windows_Installer_V{VERSION}.exe (e.g., OrcaSlicer_Windows_Installer_V2.3.2-dev.exe). The installer:
- Installs all executables, DLLs, and resources
- Creates a desktop shortcut
- Registers an uninstaller
- Supports silent installation via NSIS flags
HydraSlicer features are controlled by the CMake option SLIC3R_ENABLE_HYDRA, which defaults to ON.
To build a vanilla OrcaSlicer-equivalent binary without any Hydra features:
cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -DSLIC3R_ENABLE_HYDRA=OFF -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=ReleaseBuild instructions for macOS and Linux are pending. For now, refer to:
- macOS:
build_release_macos.sh— supports arm64, x86_64, and universal builds - Linux:
build_linux.sh— supports Ubuntu/Debian with AppImage output
If you are running Klipper, it is recommended to add the following configuration to your printer.cfg file:
# Enable object exclusion
[exclude_object]
# Enable arcs support
[gcode_arcs]
resolution: 0.1HydraSlicer automatically syncs with upstream OrcaSlicer daily via a GitHub Actions workflow. Clean merges produce a PR for review; conflicting merges produce a draft PR with conflict details.
All Hydra-specific code is guarded by #ifdef SLIC3R_ENABLE_HYDRA preprocessor blocks and lives primarily in src/hydra/, minimizing merge conflicts with upstream changes.
Contributions are welcome! Please open issues and pull requests on the amovfc/hydraslicer repository.
- Hydra-specific features must be gated behind
#ifdef SLIC3R_ENABLE_HYDRA - Bugs in core OrcaSlicer functionality should be reported to the upstream OrcaSlicer project
HydraSlicer is a feature fork of OrcaSlicer by SoftFever.
OrcaSlicer was originally forked from Bambu Studio by BambuLab, which is forked from PrusaSlicer by Prusa Research, which descends from Slic3r by Alessandro Ranellucci and the RepRap community.
OrcaSlicer also incorporates features from SuperSlicer by @supermerill.
HydraSlicer is maintained by AMOVFC.
- HydraSlicer is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3. HydraSlicer is based on OrcaSlicer by SoftFever.
- OrcaSlicer is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3. OrcaSlicer is based on Bambu Studio by BambuLab.
- Bambu Studio is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3. Bambu Studio is based on PrusaSlicer by PrusaResearch.
- PrusaSlicer is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3. PrusaSlicer is owned by Prusa Research. PrusaSlicer is originally based on Slic3r by Alessandro Ranellucci.
- Slic3r is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3. Slic3r was created by Alessandro Ranellucci with the help of many other contributors.
- The GNU Affero General Public License, version 3 ensures that if you use any part of this software in any way (even behind a web server), your software must be released under the same license.
- OrcaSlicer includes a pressure advance calibration pattern test adapted from Andrew Ellis' generator, which is licensed under GNU General Public License, version 3. Ellis' generator is itself adapted from a generator developed by Sineos for Marlin, which is licensed under GNU General Public License, version 3.
- The Bambu networking plugin is based on non-free libraries from BambuLab. It is optional and provides extended functionalities for Bambulab printer users.