ScottW514
d482e76402
A field install failed on "firmware download failed", and worked after a reboot. The download was one bare curl -fL: no retry, no resume, no bound on a stalled transfer, and nothing on the machine recorded what had gone wrong. The download. download_fw makes up to five tries, 5, 15, 30 and 60 seconds apart. Each try resumes the partial file (curl -C -) and is bounded: 20 s to connect, and a transfer below 1 KB/s for 30 s ends the try. The file is written as forgefirm.fw.part and takes its name only when curl finished; the signature check that follows is what vouches for its content. A full disk (curl 23) and a release that is not there (HTTP 404) end the tries at once, because waiting cannot fix them. A partial file the server will not resume (curl 33 or 36, HTTP 416) starts over. The loop is the installer's own rather than curl --retry: the factory curl on the bench reference is 7.69.1, whose --retry does not count a resolver failure or a dropped transfer as retryable, and older factory builds carry older curls. The owner sees the reason in words with each retry, and the final failure says that a re-run goes straight to the download, because the archives are kept. The log. Every run appends to /data/log/forgefirm/install/install.log, in the log tree's own line format (UTC, program "install"): the installer's md5 (which revision ran), the factory version and the slots, the owner's answers, each archive, each download try with curl's exit code, the HTTP code and the reason, the machine's clock at each try (a wrong clock breaks TLS), and after a failed try the address, the default route, the resolver and whether github.com resolves; then the signature and identity checks, the write, the boot selection, and the reason for any failure through die(). The log is appended across runs, so the run that failed is still there after the run that worked. Logging never fails the install. forgectrl's log export carries the directory (forgectrl 0dae758). Proven: tests/test_installer.py runs the installer's own functions under sh against a scripted curl - a clean download, a resolver failure and a dropped transfer that resume to the full file, the tries running out, 404 and a full disk ending them at once, a stale partial file starting over, the TLS reason naming the clock, every log line in the tree format, die() leaving its reason, and an unwritable log not failing the run. The whole host suite, 409 tests, passes under Linux and the coverage lint is clean. Bench: the same functions under the factory firmware's own shell (busybox 1.31.1 ash, the factory slot of the bench reference in a chroot) resumed, retried, ran out of tries and logged exactly as under sh. Acceptance: logs.tree-tail-export now plants a probe file in the install directory and requires it back in the export bundle, its line intact and its MAC and IPv4 address redacted, and requires an install log in the bundle when the machine has one. The installer itself is not on the image: the install page fetches it from master, so it is live with this push.
OpenGlow / ForgeFIRM firmware for Glowforge
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 |
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.
Glowforge is a trademark of Glowforge, Inc. This project is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by Glowforge, Inc.