FlashForge Finder API

This is an unofficial interpretation of the FlashForge API. It is served with Flask to make it as easy as possible to create your own UI.

Works with:

FlashForge Finder 1
FlashForge Adventurer 3 (Thanks @jptrsn)
FlashForge Adventurer 4 (Thanks @vazman13)

Warning

Use at your own risk. It only does reading operations but it is unofficial and may of course have bugs etc. This API is done solely by reverse engineering.

How does it work?

You start the Flask app which serves a lightweight HTTP server that exposes the API functions.

Example output:

http://localhost:5000/YOUR_PRINTER_IP_ADDRESS/info:

  {
    "Firmware": " V1.5 20170419",
    "Name": "A Finder",
    "SN": " 52985A58",
    "Tool Count": " 1",
    "Type": " Flashforge Finder",
    "X": " 140  Y: 140  Z: 140"
  }

If your printer runs on a different port (default 8899), you can change the setting in api/app.py.

Run it as a Docker container

Run this:

docker build --tag flashforge-api . && docker run --publish 5000:5000 flashforge-api

Run it as a Docker on unRaid

Goto CA (apps). Search for flashforge. Click to show results from DockerHub. Click Install for flashforge_api If asked, don't determine configuration. Set the container name you want. Set your network type & IP... Add a Port which points at port 5000 on the container. Hit Apply to pull down container.

Start it on your machine

Make sure you have Flask installed:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt
Add this environment variable:

CMD: set FLASK_APP=app.py

Unix Bash: export FLASKAPP=app.py

PowerShell: $env:FLASK_APP=app.py
Run it:

flask run --host=0.0.0.0 --port=5000 --without-threads
By default, you should now have access to the API at localhost:5000.

Try http://localhost:5000/YOUR_PRINTER_IP_ADDRESS/info to see if you get any info from the printer.

Run it in VS Code

Make sure you have Flask installed:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt
Run Run: Start Debugging in VS Code, it will launch the app through /.vscode/launch.json

What information does the API give me?

It supports:

/info: General printer info:

{
  "Firmware": "V1.5 20170419",
  "Name": "My Finder",
  "SN": "6A8D887A",
  "Tool Count": "1",
  "Type": "Flashforge Finder",
  "X": "140  Y: 140  Z: 140"
}

/head-location: Printer head location (as X, Y Z):

{
  "X": "86.9984",
  "Y": "70.5016",
  "Z": "140"
}

/temp: Current/target temperature

{
  "TargetTemperature": "35",
  "Temperature": "31"
}

/progress: Print progress

{
  "BytesPrinted": 4276,
  "BytesTotal": 4275,
  "PercentageCompleted": 100
}

/status: Status (i.e. if it's printing or not)

{
  "Endstop": "X-max: 1 Y-max: 0 Z-max: 1",
  "MachineStatus": "READY",
  "MoveMode": "READY",
  "Status": "S:0 L:0 J:0 F:1"
}

Contributing

Suggestions and ideas are welcomed!
Does the API work and your printer model isn't listed? Let me know!
Want to add a new feature? Run tcpdump tcp src port 8899 -A to find commands from your printer, then share them or implement them and create a PR.

mtongnz/flashforge-finder-api