Klipper Host Hardware Guide

These boards are specifically engineered for the 3D printing environment. They include native 12V/24V power inputs, meaning they take power directly from your printer's PSU—no messy USB-C adapters or separate power supplies required.

• BTT Pi v1.2 & BTT Pi 2: A robust, direct drop-in replacement for a Raspberry Pi with onboard Wi-Fi.
• FLY-Pi / FLY Mini-pad: Highly reliable options; the Mini-pad is specifically optimized for space-constrained all-in-one builds.
• MKS PI: MKS's purpose-built host board that runs on 12/24V, eliminating the need for a separate Pi.

These units are extremely compact and designed to be slotted into a carrier board or a specific printer mainboard. They are the ultimate choice for a clean internal setup but do not function as standalone devices.

• BTT CB1 / CB2: These require a compatible "Manta" mainboard or a CM4-style carrier board to provide connectivity like USB and Ethernet/Wi-Fi.

These standalone boards are excellent budget workhorses. They require a standard 5V power source (USB-C or GPIO) and offer broad community support for Klipper images like Armbian or Debian.

• WalnutPi 1 & 2: Modern, capable, and highly regarded for their clean form factor and price point.
• Orange Pi Range: The Orange Pi Lite LTS (H3) is the absolute floor for performance—it's rock solid for Klipper. Models like the Orange Pi 3 LTS or Zero 2 are also highly recommended.
• Banana Pi Range: Reliable, mature boards that function very similarly to the Orange Pi ecosystem.
• Libre Computer "Le Potato" (AML-S905X-CC): A staple of the budget Klipper community; no-frills, reliable performance.
• Radxa Rock Pi 4 Series: A high-performance, powerful alternative to the Raspberry Pi 4 with excellent documentation.
• FriendlyElec NanoPi Series (R2S / R4S): Known for network stability, these are excellent for headless setups.
• Khadas VIM3/VIM4: Premium boards offering top-tier stability, often used for professional-grade multi-printer setups.
• Asus Tinker Board 2S: A stable, "plug-and-play" favorite for those seeking high reliability.

Because Klipper is fundamentally just a Python application running on Linux, it does not strictly require an ARM-based single-board computer. You can use almost any x86 machine you have lying around.

• Thin Clients & Mini PCs (e.g., Intel N100, Dell Wyse): These provide significantly more processing power and RAM than typical SBCs. They are perfect if you want to run multiple instances of Klipper to control a print farm from a single machine, or if you plan to host heavy network services alongside your printer.
• Laptops & Old Desktops: An old laptop is a fantastic, free Klipper host. It comes with a built-in battery backup (UPS), a screen and a keyboard/trackpad for troubleshooting. You can read my full guide on how to get this set up here: Running Klipper on an Old Laptop.
• Home Servers / NAS: If you already run a home server (like Debian, Proxmox, or unRAID), you can easily spin up a Klipper instance using Docker or a lightweight VM and pass your printer's USB connection through to it.

These boards represent the most streamlined approach to a Klipper upgrade. They permanently fuse the Linux host processor and the printer's microcontroller onto a single circuit board, meaning no internal USB cables and a single power input for both systems.

• Makerbase MKS SKIPR (V1.0): An all-in-one board launched by Makerbase specifically for running Klipper. It pairs a 4-core Cortex-A53 RK3328 SOC with an STM32F407VET6 MCU (running at 168Mhz). It also supports up to 7-axis stepper driving, making it highly versatile for complex setups.
• Mellow FLY Gemini (V3): This board fuses an STM32 controller and a Linux board featuring an Allwinner chip. It includes an onboard CAN transceiver and supports high-voltage printing up to 48V.
• Kingroon KP Cheetah V2.0: Used in the KP3S Pro V2 and KLP1, this mainboard uses a GD32F303 MCU alongside TMC2209 stepper drivers. Instead of a standard SD card for the OS, it utilizes an 8GB MKS EMMC V1.0 module for much faster and more stable read/write speeds.
• BigTreeTech DZ01: A compact all-in-one board featuring an integrated Allwinner H616 SOC (with 1GB DDR3L RAM) for the Klipper host and a 32-bit RP2040 MCU for machine control. It includes 4 onboard TMC2209 stepper drivers and runs directly off your printer's 12V or 24V power supply.
• BTT Manta M4P / M5P / M8P: While technically these modular boards requires a BTT CB1 or Raspberry Pi CM4, once combined, they functions identically to an integrated board. It uses a 32-bit ARM chip for the MCU and provides 4 /5 or 8 stepper motor slots.

If you have suggestions to boards I can put on the list, please let me know.