Having ordered my first 3D printer, I am giddy and preparing various things.
I have installed Octoprint on my home server as a Docker container, but when running it, it seems that it wants to have a serial connection to a printer. Octoprint expects to be running on a Raspberry that is connected via its serial interface.
What am I missing?
The printer I ordered (Prusa Mini) comes with a wifi dongle, so I guess there will be a way to reach it over the network. But that does not automagically mean Octoprint can work with it.
As you’ve already noticed, the default way to get Octoprint running is by running it on an RPi with OctoPi as its operating system and connecting that to your printer using a serial connection, which basically means connecting a USB cable in your case.
The docker container gets interesting if your home server is physically close enough to your printer that you can connect the printer directly. Then you can just mount the serial connection into the container and run Octoprint there, cutting out the need for a RPi.
As others already said, the Prusa Mini also has PrusaLink integrated into its , which is an alternative to Octoprint and only needs the printer connected to your network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi with the Wi-Fi upgrade.
