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Klipper does not include a built-in sound-notification setting, but a host-side extension can let a G-code macro play a sound when a print starts, aborts, or finishes. In Al Williams’s October 8, 2024 Hackaday example, a Python Klippy extension registers an APLAY command that runs the Linux audio player on the Klipper host.
How the Klipper sound example works
Klipper separates printer control between Klippy, the host software, and the printer microcontroller. Klippy is primarily Python and supports extension modules in its klippy/extras directory, as described in the official Klipper code overview.
Williams’s example uses that host-side extension point. It registers a multiplexed APLAY command for named sound configurations. A configuration identifies a wave file and can optionally specify its path; a G-code macro then calls the registered command. The extension uses Python’s subprocess.run to invoke aplay on the host.
This is not a built-in Klipper sound feature, nor does it make arbitrary shell commands available to ordinary G-code macros. The extension adds a specific registered command for audio playback. Williams presents the implementation in “3D Printering: Listen To Klipper”.
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What you need on the Klipper host
- A Linux host running Klippy, such as a Raspberry Pi or an existing laptop. Williams describes both as host examples; the Raspberry Pi is not mandatory, and no particular model is specified.
- The
aplayutility installed on the host for the demonstrated implementation. - A wave file accessible at the path used in the sound configuration.
- Audio output that can play through a speaker. Check what your host already provides before assuming you need an external speaker; the example does not specify a speaker model or connection.
- A Klippy extension and G-code macro configured to use it. This is developer-oriented setup rather than a turnkey printer setting.
How to adapt the example safely
- Review the original example. Start with Williams’s Hackaday article for its Python module and configuration approach. Treat it as an example, not as guaranteed current syntax.
- Check current Klipper guidance. Consult the live code overview for extension architecture, and the official commands templates documentation and current configuration reference for G-code and configuration details.
- Make sure the host can play the file. Install
aplayon the Klipper host and verify that the chosen wave file is readable there. The sound is played by the host process, not by treating the printer microcontroller as an audio player. - Register and call the command deliberately. Add the extension and a macro that calls its registered sound command, following the code and configuration details you have verified against current Klipper documentation. Do not expect an ordinary macro to run a shell command by itself.
- Connect playback to the events you want. Once the command works, call it from the relevant start, abort, or completion macro. Test each event with the printer in a safe state and confirm the file path and host audio output if nothing plays.
Choosing an audio player or format
The demonstrated setup uses aplay and a wave file. Williams notes that a different player or file format could be substituted, but the replacement must be available on the host and invoked appropriately by the extension. Which player and format work depends on the host’s software and audio setup; the article does not compare alternatives.
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