curaengine

CuraEngine is the open-source command-line slicing engine behind Ultimaker Cura. It converts 3D models (STL, 3MF) into G-code for FDM 3D printers.

Why this build?

Ubuntu 24.04 does not ship CuraEngine at all — it was removed from Debian/Ubuntu repositories after the 4.x series. This build provides:

Compared to alternatives

FeatureCura GUI (Flatpak)NetLinux CuraEngine
CLI slicingBuried inside Flatpak sandboxNative /usr/bin/CuraEngine
ScriptableNoYes — use in shell scripts and CI/CD
Install size~1.5 GB~1.8 MB
Slicing engine version5.x (varies)5.12.0
System integrationSandboxedNative deb package

Package details

Version5.12.0-alpha.0-5netlinux1-1
Architectureamd64
Componentmain
Downloadcuraengine_5.12.0-alpha.0-5netlinux1-1_amd64.deb
Upstreamgithub.com/Ultimaker/CuraEngine
Sourcegithub.com/netlinux-ai/curaengine

Install

sudo apt install curaengine

See the main page for repository setup instructions.

Usage

# Slice an STL file for your printer
CuraEngine slice -v \
  -j /path/to/printer_definition.def.json \
  -s layer_height=0.2 \
  -s infill_sparse_density=20 \
  -l model.stl \
  -o output.gcode

Printer definition files are available from the Cura resources repository.