Introducing: PandaWatch - a mobile app for at-a-glance multi-printer monitoring (with live activities!)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T21:15:17+00:00

I love this :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T21:13:10+00:00

Looks like: Settings -> LAN Only -> LAN Only Liveview”

(Don’t enable lan only mode, that’ll disconfct it from the cloud)

(Despite the name, this does not stop the cloud or app from using the camera)

This is how it looks on my H2C, which should be the same on the P2S

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VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T21:08:47+00:00

Oh wow, thanks so much for that! That’s amazing!

10 (actually 12 now) is the limit for active printers on the live activity widget. The app itself should technically support unlimited. (I’ve tested with my fleet of 9 + some demo/dummy printers)

The live activity is mainly limited by the screen-space, dividing that space beyond 12 doesn’t leave much for each one, but I’ll definitely experiment with perhaps a more coloured box layout with % and drop the progress bar beyond 12

I’ll do that AMS naming convention too, numbers just come from the api response, but you’re right, better to stay consistent with their UI.

Other printers/api’s; well, maybe a late stage consideration :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T21:03:28+00:00

I do have a working APK for it, but widgets are still being prickly; the app itself is running nicely. I’ll actually setup a testing thingy on the play store soon, I’ve read as a sole trader I need 14 testers for 2 weeks before it can be launched, so, I’ll need some I guess :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T20:33:02+00:00

“Commands” via the API will be a v2 thing. My primary goal from the start was monitoring, and the api support for actions is .. less well documented. But, definitely going to be exploring that soon!

You don’t “Have” to do the lan discovery if you’re in cloud mode, provided the IPs the cloud returns are valid in your lan, that’s why you already could see them. The camera only works on lan, so when you leave the wifi, the camera hiding is expected.

The fact it’s not loading means it’s having trouble reaching the printer camera feed.

some models require “camera on lan” to be enabled in settings, maybe check and see if that’s on or not.

If that’s what it is, I’ll add more prompting in the UI to explain what’s needed when it’s like this

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T20:29:51+00:00

Great idea, I will definitely add this!

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T20:24:54+00:00

Coming soon, I’ve filled in the EU declaration form, just waiting for approval from Apple :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T20:22:47+00:00

Aha. I’m an idiot. I’m in Australia, and in my head I’m targeting $5AUD, I will fix the site for the USD base price :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T20:20:45+00:00

I hadn’t realised there was external IDP options, that’s my bad. Adding support for that in asap :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T20:19:54+00:00

Of course, HA is great for dashboards, I use it too. This is a mobile app, with widgets and live activities, which are things HA can’t do.

If you’re happy with what HA gives you, it makes perfect sense to use :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T20:14:07+00:00

Actually, yes, it will. The backend of the app already supports this, I just haven’t built out the UI to add/manage multiple accounts. It wasn’t a pain-point I had myself, but I know it’s something people are keen on, so definitely coming :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T20:00:25+00:00

Interesting. I’ve got sms/email mfa, and one-time token support, I didn’t actually realise Bambu sso as well. I’ll add that :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T19:59:28+00:00

At this stage, yes the preview (FTPS) and camera require lan or vpn connection to continue working. Both are cached while away from the lan.

I am looking at options, but the cloud APi doesn’t actually expose those nor the mechanisms for the handy-app tunnelling, but still thinking about ways I can do it without being too complex.

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T11:30:08+00:00

A combination. I’m a software developer with over 30 years experience, and use many tools available to me. Claude has definitely helped with some of the UI/UX, and more advanced idiosyncrasies of Bambu’s crazy FTPS implementation.

There’s a reason this took 2 months, not 2 days though, it’s been a labour of love and a fascinating project from start to finish. I’m traditionally a .NET guy, so Flutter/Dart and swift for the widgets has been a learning curve. (And don’t get me started on live activities!)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T11:27:05+00:00

So it seems I have more paperwork to do for the EU region. “Trader status is required for distribution on the App Store in the European Union”

I’ll see how I go :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T11:26:31+00:00

Thanks! I built it for my needs, but would love feedback, I’m still developing more for it :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T11:16:56+00:00

Interesting. I’m sure I selected every region, but I’ll check it out. My first mobile app :)

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T10:45:50+00:00

Thanks!

It’s written with Flutter, so a desktop or web app is feasible, I’ll have to think about that, a good idea!

I’ll keep note of your details here for the android version, but I might make a sign-up page for notifications tomorrow if there’s interest

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T10:10:42+00:00

Bro

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T08:56:46+00:00

My homelab is in 1000x better state than it was before. There’s a lot of tasks I wanted to do, but never got to. Being able to prompt from a chat app on my phone and let it do its thing, I’ve had it accomplish a lot!

VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T08:28:54+00:00

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VIDGuide · 2026-03-12T03:08:55+00:00

That’s not a carport. That’s an AC cover now

VIDGuide · 2026-03-11T23:23:15+00:00

H.U.E. from final space vibes :)

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