Print Farm Management

Once you have more than two printers, individual UIs (Mainsail / Fluidd / OctoPrint) stop scaling. Print-farm tools give you a single dashboard, a job queue, and centralized uploads. The 2026 split: open-source self-hosted (Karmen, OctoFarm, Mainsail multi-instance) vs. hosted (Obico Fleet, OctoEverywhere, SimplyPrint).

Self-hosted, open source

• ★ Karmen — open source (AGPL); modern fleet UI for Klipper printers via Moonraker. Active development in 2025–2026, the FOSS pick if you're all-Klipper.
• ★ Mainsail/Fluidd multi-instance — both UIs let you switch between printers from a dropdown if you point them at multiple Moonraker URLs. The lightest-weight farm setup.
• OctoFarm — open source (AGPL); the long-running farm manager for OctoPrint instances. Maintenance has slowed but still widely deployed.
• Repetier-Server (Free) — closed source but free for up to (currently) two printers; paid tiers for larger farms. Cross-firmware (Marlin / Klipper / RRF). Common in small print services.
• PrintNanny — open source (AGPL); fleet + AI failure detection, Raspberry Pi based. Smaller community.

Hosted (free tier or paid)

• ★ Obico Fleet — open source server (AGPL); free hosted tier with limits, paid Pro for fleets. Pairs AI failure detection with multi-printer dashboards. The most-used hosted FOSS option.
• ★ OctoEverywhere for Companies — closed source; free tier per printer, paid plans for multi-printer dashboards and team accounts. Tunnels into Mainsail/Fluidd/OctoPrint, no port-forwarding.
• SimplyPrint — closed source; cloud-first farm management with native Klipper/OctoPrint agents. Paid; popular with small commercial print services.
• Polar Cloud — closed source; free tier; older, education-focused.
• 3DPrinterOS — closed source, paid; enterprise-focused (universities, makerspaces).

Job queueing & order intake

• Karmen Hub / Karmen Connect — built-in print queue and per-printer assignment.
• PrintQueue (OctoPrint plugin) — multi-job queueing on a single OctoPrint instance.
• Spoolman + Moonraker — pairs filament selection with a queued job (see Filament & Resin Tracking).
• Booth / PrintFleet — niche open-source order-intake → queue → printer pipelines (small communities, vet before adopting).
• DIY: Discord bot + Moonraker API — many small farms script their own with Moonraker's REST API.

Multi-instance host setups

• KIAUH — installs additional Klipper/Moonraker instances on the same SBC; the standard way to run two printers off one Pi.
• klipper-mcu + multiple printer.cfg — single host, multiple MCU connections.
• MainsailOS multi-instance images — community-maintained multi-printer images.
• Docker Compose stacks — moonraker / nginx / mainsail in containers; one stack per printer for clean isolation.

Pick this if…

• All Klipper, want FOSS, modern UI: Karmen.
• Mixed firmware (Marlin + Klipper + RRF), small farm: Repetier-Server free tier or paid.
• Already on OctoPrint everywhere: OctoFarm (or migrate to Klipper + Karmen).
• Hosted with AI fail detection, FOSS-leaning: Obico Fleet.
• Hosted, easiest setup, paid is fine: SimplyPrint or OctoEverywhere multi-printer.
• Two printers and that's it: Mainsail or Fluidd's built-in multi-instance switcher.