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# Snapmaker U1: connecting it, toolheads and filament sync

# Snapmaker U1: connecting it, toolheads and filament sync

The Snapmaker U1 connects to SimplyPrint through the SimplyPrint Client. Connected that way, SimplyPrint sees all four toolheads, reads the filament loaded on each one, maps the filaments in your file to the right toolhead, and shows the built-in camera. This guide covers connecting the U1, setting up the four toolheads, and what to check when the loaded filament doesn't show up.

|| Snapmaker U1 support was added to the SimplyPrint Client in version 1.0.0-rc.10 (July 2026). If you connected your U1 before that, it is most likely connected through the Klipper method, which doesn't sync filament. See [Moving from the Klipper method to the Client](#2-moving-from-the-klipper-method-to-the-client).

## In this guide
- [Which connection method to use](#2-which-connection-method-to-use)
- [Connect the U1 with the SimplyPrint Client](#2-connect-the-u1-with-the-simplyprint-client)
- [The four toolheads](#2-the-four-toolheads)
- [Filament sync: what SimplyPrint reads from the U1](#2-filament-sync-what-simplyprint-reads-from-the-u1)
- [Printing a multi-colour file](#2-printing-a-multi-colour-file)
- [The camera](#2-the-camera)
- [Troubleshooting](#2-troubleshooting)
- [Moving from the Klipper method to the Client](#2-moving-from-the-klipper-method-to-the-client)
- [Related articles](#2-related-articles)

## Which connection method to use
The U1 can be connected in two ways. Use the SimplyPrint Client unless you have a reason not to.

| Feature | SimplyPrint Client | Klipper method |
| ------- | ------------------ | -------------- |
| Status, progress, temperatures | ✓ | ✓ |
| Start, pause, resume and cancel prints | ✓ | ✓ |
| Skip objects | ✓ | ✓ |
| Webcam | ✓ | With a workaround (see [The camera](#2-the-camera)) |
| Map file filaments to toolheads | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sync the loaded filament from the U1 | ✓ | ✗ |
| Print start options (bed leveling, flow calibration, timelapse) | ✓ | ✗ |

The Client needs a computer, Raspberry Pi, NAS or Docker host on the same network as the U1 that stays on. Nothing is installed on the printer itself.

## Connect the U1 with the SimplyPrint Client
1. Install the SimplyPrint Client on an always-on device on the same network as the U1. See [Connect your printers with the SimplyPrint Client](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/connect-your-printers-with-the-simplyprint-client-nxcgz1/), or follow the guided setup at simplyprint.io/setup-guide/snapmaker/u1.
   - Check: open the Client in a browser on port 8000 (for example http://localhost:8000 on the device itself). The Client's page loads.
2. In the Client, choose **Add printer** and pick **Snapmaker**. The Client looks for U1 printers on your network. If yours isn't listed, enter its IP address (shown in the network settings on the U1's touchscreen).
   - Check: the Client finds a printer named "Snapmaker U1" at that address. If it says no Snapmaker was detected, make sure the U1 is on and on the same network as the Client device.
3. Leave the **Moonraker port** and **Moonraker API key** at their defaults. The port is 7125, and the API key is only needed if you have turned on authentication in Moonraker yourself.
4. The printer now shows in the Client as pending, with a short setup code. In SimplyPrint, go to your printers and enter that code.
   - Check: the printer appears in SimplyPrint as a Snapmaker U1 and goes online.

Why the Client: Snapmaker's firmware exposes the toolhead, filament and camera data over the network, and the Client is the part of SimplyPrint that reads it. The Klipper method only sees what generic Klipper reports.

## The four toolheads
The U1 has four separate toolheads, each with its own nozzle. SimplyPrint treats it the same way: four nozzles, with one filament each. It is not set up like a four-slot filament changer feeding one nozzle.

When the U1 is connected through the Client, SimplyPrint picks up the four toolheads and their nozzle sizes from the printer, so there is nothing to set up.

1. Open the printer in SimplyPrint and look at its filament section.
   - Check: you see four slots, one per toolhead.
2. If you see only one slot, or one nozzle with four slots, open the printer's settings (the gear icon) and find **Nozzles & extruders**. Set **Number of nozzles** to 4, with 1 extruder on each nozzle, and save.
   - Check: the filament section now shows four slots, one per toolhead.

This usually only happens on a U1 that was added by hand or through the Klipper method before the Client integration existed.

## Filament sync: what SimplyPrint reads from the U1
The U1 knows which filament is on each toolhead, and the Client passes that to SimplyPrint:

- **Snapmaker RFID spools** - the U1 reads the tag itself, and SimplyPrint gets the brand, material type, colour and the tag's ID.
- **Other spools** - SimplyPrint gets the material type and colour you set for that toolhead on the U1.

What happens with that information is controlled by your account's material syncing settings, under **Settings > Printers > Material syncing**. The default is 2-way sync, where the latest change wins, whether it was made on the printer or in SimplyPrint.

- When you change a toolhead's filament in SimplyPrint, the material type and colour are sent to the U1, as long as that toolhead has filament loaded.
- A toolhead holding an official Snapmaker RFID spool is write-protected. SimplyPrint won't overwrite what the printer read from the tag.
- With **Auto-create spools** and **Auto-assign spools** turned on in the same settings section, a tagged Snapmaker spool can be matched to a spool in your inventory by its tag ID, or added to your inventory when the filament is in the Open Filament Database. Untagged spools sync material type and colour only, so you assign the inventory spool yourself.

| Pressing the refresh button (circular arrows) in the printer's filament section asks the U1 for its current filament straight away, even when automatic syncing from the printer is turned off.

## Printing a multi-colour file
Slice the file for the U1 with its toolheads as usual, then start it from SimplyPrint.

1. Pick the file and the U1. SimplyPrint shows a mapping step that matches each filament in the file to one of the four toolheads.
2. Check each suggestion and change any that are wrong.
3. Set the **print start options**: **Bed Leveling** and **Flow Calibration** are on by default, **Timelapse** is off.
4. Start the print.
   - Check: the U1 starts printing. If the printer refuses the job, SimplyPrint shows the error the U1 reported.

Flow calibration only runs for the toolheads the file actually uses. That information comes from the file, so a file without per-toolhead filament usage skips it.

## The camera
With the Client, the U1's built-in camera works on stock Snapmaker firmware. The Client keeps the camera awake and fetches its pictures for you, so you don't need custom firmware or a separate keepalive script.

- Check: open the printer in SimplyPrint. The camera view shows a current picture of the build plate.

If you connected the U1 through the Klipper method, the camera still needs one of the workarounds in [How to enable webcam streaming on the Snapmaker U1](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/how-to-enable-webcam-streaming-on-the-snapmaker-u1-ia9os7/).

## Troubleshooting
### The filament I loaded doesn't show up in SimplyPrint
1. Check the printer is connected through the Client, not the Klipper method. Only the Client syncs filament.
2. Check the toolhead shows the new filament on the U1's own touchscreen. SimplyPrint can only show what the printer reports.
3. Press the refresh button (circular arrows) in the printer's filament section.
   - Check: the toolhead's slot updates to the loaded material and colour.
4. If it still doesn't update, go to **Settings > Printers > Material syncing** and check the direction. With **Sync material from SimplyPrint to printer** or **Disable material syncing**, changes on the printer are ignored until you press refresh.
5. Update the Client. Version 1.0.0-rc.11 fixed U1 connection issues that were in the first release. You can see your version in the Client under **Settings > About**. The Client updates itself, except Docker installs, which you update by pulling the latest image and recreating the container. See [How to update the SimplyPrint Client](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/how-to-update-the-simplyprint-client-in-app-docker-linux-and-release-channels-1cryi62/).

### I only have one filament slot
See [The four toolheads](#2-the-four-toolheads) above.

### SimplyPrint shows the wrong filament on a toolhead with a Snapmaker spool
That toolhead is write-protected because of the Snapmaker RFID tag, so changes made in SimplyPrint aren't sent to the printer. Swap the spool on the U1 and press refresh.

## Moving from the Klipper method to the Client
If your U1 was added through the Klipper method (with SimplyPrint enabled in the printer's local web interface), you won't get filament sync, toolhead mapping or start options. Move it to the Client and keep its name and print history:

1. Add the U1 in the Client using steps 1 to 3 in [Connect the U1 with the SimplyPrint Client](#2-connect-the-u1-with-the-simplyprint-client).
2. When you enter the setup code in SimplyPrint, choose **Link to existing** instead of **New printer**, and pick your U1.
   - Check: the U1 is online in SimplyPrint under its old name, with its print history.
3. Turn SimplyPrint off in the U1's local web interface, where you turned it on for the Klipper method. Otherwise the Klipper connection drops back to setup and keeps asking to be set up again.

Don't delete the printer in SimplyPrint first. Linking is what keeps its history.

## Related articles
- [Connect your printers with the SimplyPrint Client](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/connect-your-printers-with-the-simplyprint-client-nxcgz1/)
- [Multi-material printing in SimplyPrint: mapping and syncing your AMS, ACE or CFS](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/multi-material-printing-in-simplyprint-mapping-and-syncing-your-ams-ace-or-cfs-1uc6w3h/)
- [Automatic spool creation when syncing materials](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/automatic-spool-creation-when-syncing-materials-17dr2ez/)
- [How to enable webcam streaming on the Snapmaker U1](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/how-to-enable-webcam-streaming-on-the-snapmaker-u1-ia9os7/)
- [How to export your filament spools from Spoolman and import them into SimplyPrint](https://help.simplyprint.io/en/article/how-to-export-your-filament-spools-from-spoolman-import-into-simplyprint-e61m3y/)