a modern fast alternative to lightburn!
Grab the latest .dmg from the Releases page. It's a universal build — works on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
This build isn't signed by Apple yet, so the first launch needs one extra step. After dragging FluidBurn to Applications, open Terminal and run:
xattr -cr /Applications/FluidBurn.appThen open it normally. (One time only. Alternatively: right-click the app → Open, then Privacy & Security → Open Anyway if macOS still blocks it.)
npm install
npm run tauri devFirst run walks you through your bed size and controller settings. After that every job follows the same five steps, and the Machine panel on the right tells you which one you're on.
- Connect — pick the USB port your controller is on.
- Map the travel area — jog the head to each of the four corners it can reach and record them. FluidBurn then refuses to drive past them. Optional, but it's the safety net; without it the edge guard falls back to the bed size in your machine profile. Corners are named from where you stand: front is the near side, back is the far side, and the top of the on-screen workspace is the back of the machine.
- Set job zero — jog to the spot on your material where the design should start. That point becomes X0 Y0 for the job.
- Import and generate — load an SVG, DXF or image, place it, set power and speed per layer, then Generate G-code. Save G-code… writes it to a file instead.
- Frame, then Run — framing traces the outline with the beam off so you can check placement before committing.
They're easy to mix up, so FluidBurn keeps them separate:
- X0 Y0 corner (machine profile) — a fact about your hardware: which corner of the bed your controller counts from. You set it once.
- Job zero (Machine panel) — where this job starts on this piece of material. You set it every time you load new stock.
Wear the right goggles. Use an enclosure and fume extraction. Never leave it running. Have a hardware E-stop.
npm run tauri build