BETA

ForgeFIRM is in beta. Every release below 0.1.0 is a beta release. Expect problems, and expect frequent updates. Upgrade whenever a newer release is available, and report what you find on the community forum.

Open firmware for Glowforge brand CNC lasers. ForgeFIRM replaces the cloud-dependent factory software on the stock control board, with no hardware modification, and gives the machine a local controller, a local web control panel, and a standard Grbl interface. The factory cloud experience stays available as an option.

This repository is the base of the build and of the release: the meta-forgefirm Yocto layer, the kas configuration, the image recipes, the install and release scripts, the acceptance tool (forgetest/), the bench tools (scripts/bench/), the bench actuator firmware (fixture/), and the release artifacts (releases/).

Start here

https://docs.forgefirm.org/ is the documentation, and the source of truth for every fact about the machine and the firmware.


Read this first	Safety
Put it on a machine	Installation
Use it	Usage, LightBurn
How the machine works	Technical
How ForgeFIRM works with it	ForgeFIRM internals
Build, test, release	Developers
Downloads	Releases
Questions	Community forum

What it does

Two controller modes, selected in the web panel and switchable while the machine is idle. GRBL mode runs grblHAL on the machine, speaking Grbl 1.1 over TCP port 23, so LightBurn, UGS and cncjs drive the laser directly; motion runs on the board's own hardware step engine, fed live by a local planner. Cloud mode signs in to the Glowforge web service as itself, so the phone and web apps work as they always did; it is optional and off by default. Around both sits a local web control panel: status and position, coolant and fan telemetry, safety-switch states, a live camera stream, settings, hardware diagnostics, firmware updates and boot-slot management.

The control board is common to the Basic, the Plus and the Pro, and one image covers every model. The 5 MP camera is hardware validated; the 8 MP camera of an "HD" machine has a complete path that has never run on one (Cameras).

Build

kas build kas/forgefirm-glowforge.yml

Build covers the host setup, the two images, the source variant and the debug kernel. Release flow covers the pins, the push order and the signing pipeline.

Test

cd forgetest && python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v

The acceptance catalog that gates a release, and the bench tools, are on Acceptance and The bench.

Contributing

AGENTS.md carries the rules for this repository and for the project: safety ordering, proof before done, the push order, and the writing rules. They apply to human contributors too, and Contribute is the same set on the site.

What this costs

Nothing. ForgeFIRM is free in both senses, under MIT and GPL licenses. There is no paid tier, no license key, no subscription and no Pro edition. If someone offers to sell it to you, the licenses allow it, but what you take home is their build rather than this one: get it from the source.

Safety

These machines contain a CO2 laser: it burns, blinds, and starts fires. Never defeat the lid switches or the interlock. Never leave a running job unattended. Keep a fire extinguisher within reach. Read Safety before you cut your first job, and Regulatory and legal before you install.

This is experimental software. Use of it could seriously maim or kill you or others, and it may void your warranty. Use it at your own risk.

This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Glowforge.