Explained
What is a .gcode.3mf file?
Published · How we check our guides
Short answer
A .gcode.3mf is a sliced print job saved by Bambu Studio or OrcaSlicer: a zip that holds the plate's G-code, preview images and the settings used. It's meant for the printer, not for editing. View the toolpaths in a G-code viewer; to change the model, you need the original project 3MF or STL.
Where the file comes from
Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer make a .gcode.3mf when you slice a plate and then either send it to a Bambu Lab printer or use File → Export → Export plate sliced file. It’s the same file that goes onto the printer’s SD card or over the network. Model sites also share them as “ready to print” files.
What’s inside
Like every 3MF, it’s a zip folder. We opened one exported by Bambu Studio 2.5 (a single plate) to show what it holds:
| File inside | What it is |
|---|---|
Metadata/plate_1.gcode | The G-code: every move the printer makes. 756 KB here, which is most of the file before compression. |
Metadata/plate_1.gcode.md5 | A checksum, so the printer can tell if the G-code was damaged on the way. |
Metadata/plate_1.png and other images | The previews you see on the printer’s screen and in the app. |
Metadata/slice_info.config, plate_1.json | Print time, filament used per colour, printer model, nozzle size. |
Metadata/project_settings.config | Every print setting used to slice it. |
3D/3dmodel.model | The 3D model part of the 3MF. In our file it’s empty: no objects, no triangles. |
Why it won’t open as a model
That empty model part is the important bit. A .gcode.3mf carries the result of slicing, not the shape that was sliced. Bambu Studio opens it in preview only; Cura and PrusaSlicer find no model in it. There is no clean way to turn the toolpaths back into an STL you could slice again.
If you want to change the model or print it on another printer, you need the project 3MF (the plain .3mf) or an STL. On MakerWorld and Printables, look for those in the model’s file list. If the project 3MF won’t open in Cura, see Cura opens a Bambu 3MF with no models.
How to look inside one
- See the print: open it in the G-code viewer. It reads the G-code out of the zip and shows every layer in 3D, with print time and filament. Useful to check a downloaded file before you print it, or to see why a print failed at a certain layer.
- Work out the cost: drop it on the print cost calculator to get filament weight and time.
- See the raw files: rename a copy to
.zipand open it like any zip folder.
Can I print it on a non-Bambu printer?
Not safely. The G-code is written for one printer model, nozzle and filament: its start sequence, speeds and bed size. Even another Bambu printer model can reject it. Slice the original model again for your printer instead.