Initialize the printer

Every G1 configuration is published by Ginger for one specific serial number. Initializing is the step that tells the printer which serial it is, so it can fetch its own files instead of running whatever happened to be on the card.

Only after reinstalling G1OS

Every G1 leaves Ginger already initialised. The only time you do this is after reinstalling G1OS on the SD card: a fresh card knows nothing about your machine — no serial, no configuration, no bed mesh — and there is nothing on it worth backing up.

To update a printer that is already working, you do not need this page — see Updating the printer.

The full sequence after a reinstall is in G1OS installation, which ends here.

Initializing does not flash the control boards

This procedure configures the Raspberry Pi. It does not touch the firmware on the Octopus, the extruder_board or the feeder board — those keep whatever they were flashed with, across an SD flash and across this step.

The only one you flash is the Octopus, and only if the dashboard reports it out of date after updating the software — see Flashing the Octopus.

What this actually unlocks

Before initialization, a freshly reinstalled G1OS does not know which machine it is running on. Nothing connects it to Ginger.

After initialization, the machine knows its own serial number, and that changes what it can do:

• Ginger keeps a configuration for your specific machine, not a generic one. Once the printer knows its serial, it can fetch its own files
• The sidebar gains a by Ginger Additive entry. It is a fixed label: click it to check whether a new printer.cfg has been published for your machine. When an update is waiting, UPDATE G1 appears

Without the serial, none of that works — the machine has no way to ask which configuration is its own. See G1OS software stack.

Caution

Pay close attention to each reboot step — missing a reboot will prevent updates from applying correctly.

Updating clears the bed mesh

Updating the printer regenerates printer.cfg, and the saved bed mesh goes with it. Run Bed Level again afterwards — see Bed leveling system.

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When to do it

• After reinstalling G1OS on the SD card — always, and only then. A fresh G1OS knows nothing about your machine

Prerequisites

• Printer powered on and connected to the same network as your computer
• G1 serial number (printed on the top right corner of the machine, on the display side / left side)
• Access to http://g1os.local

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Steps

Step 1 — Connect to G1OS

1. Open a browser and go to http://g1os.local
2. The G1OS (Mainsail) dashboard appears

Step 2 — Update GingerConfigs

1. Go to the Machine section in the left sidebar
2. In the Update Manager tab, click the refresh arrow to check for updates
3. Press UPDATE ALL COMPONENTS — GingerConfigs is one of the rows it takes
4. When the confirmation dialog appears, check “I understand the risks” and click START UPDATE
5. G1OS downloads and installs the latest GingerConfigs version

Update everything

Press UPDATE ALL COMPONENTS to take every row at once. The update moves the Raspberry Pi only: if the dashboard then reports the Octopus out of date, flash it — Flashing the Octopus.

Note

No backup is needed: initializing downloads the configuration published for your serial.

Step 3 — Reboot machine AND browser

1. Wait for the update to complete — the printer performs a firmware restart automatically

2. After the firmware restart, perform a manual reboot: click the power icon (top right) → Reboot, under Host Control — not Restart or Firmware Restart, which only restart Klipper

   

3. Close the browser tab completely — without closing the browser, the updates will NOT be applied

4. Open a new browser tab and go to http://g1os.local

Step 4 — Initialize the printer

1. Open http://g1os.local:5000/init in the browser. If g1os.local does not open, use the printer’s IP address instead: http://<printer-ip>:5000/init

   The Initialize G1 Printer form appears

   

2. Fill it in:

   • Serial Number — your machine’s serial, in the form shown as the placeholder. It is printed on the top right corner of the machine, on the display side. It must match exactly: this is the name of your machine’s configuration folder at Ginger, so a typo means the printer asks for a configuration that does not exist
   • Timezone — yours. It defaults to Europe/London, so change it unless that is right for you

3. Click Save. The page returns to the dashboard

Step 5 — Download your configuration

Saving the serial does not download anything by itself. It tells the printer which configuration is its own; fetching it is the next step.

1. Look at the sidebar. UPDATE G1 has appeared

   

2. Click UPDATE G1. The printer downloads printer.cfg, moonraker.conf and kamp.cfg published for your serial

3. Wait for the page to return. The printer restarts Klipper by itself, because printer.cfg changed

4. The machine now has its configuration. by Ginger Additive stays in the sidebar throughout — it is a permanent entry, so do not use it to tell whether the step worked.

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Final verification

Once Klipper has restarted, the G1OS dashboard loads normally and the printer runs the configuration published for its serial. Opening g1os.local:5000/init again shows a warning with the serial it now has.

Notes

• Initialization downloads the configuration for your serial number: printer.cfg, kamp.cfg and moonraker.conf. Slicer profiles are not part of it — they come with Ginger Slicer

Related notes

• G1OS installation — the step before this one when you have flashed the card
• Flashing the Octopus — the firmware this procedure does not touch
• Updating the printer
• Raspberry Pi and SD card
• Mainsail dashboard basics
• First boot checklist