Meshory vs PrintStash
Compared with PrintStash, Meshory needs no server, reads ZIP, RAR and 7Z in place, previews FBX, GLB, 3DM and DWG, and adds optional AI tagging.
PrintStash is an AGPL-3.0 self-hosted file manager for 3D printing: one Docker Compose file on your own server, NAS or Raspberry Pi, SQLite and local disk by default, with Postgres and S3-compatible storage available. It indexes STL, 3MF, OBJ, STEP and G-code where they already sit, renders meshes in the browser, and plays G-code back layer by layer.
Its organising idea is the G-code revision: a sliced file stays attached to the model it came from, with the slicer metadata PrintStash parsed out of it and a status tag. Meshory is built for the library itself: every model rendered on your own machine, archives read where they sit, duplicates matched by geometry, and optional AI tags and descriptions for every model, with no server to keep running.
All PrintStash facts verified against www.printstash.org as of September 28, 2026.
The short version.
| Feature | Meshory | PrintStash |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | Self-hosted web app (one Docker Compose file), any OS in a browser |
| Scans files in place | Yes: watches your folders; files are never moved or uploaded | Yes: indexes files in place, no copying |
| Thumbnails | Automatic: a background worker pool renders STL, 3MF, OBJ, FBX, GLB, PLY, STEP, Rhino 3DM and Lychee LYS (experimental); Fusion F3D/F3Z cards show the picture Fusion saved | Automatic mesh thumbnails, plus slicer-embedded G-code previews |
| 3D viewer | STL, 3MF, OBJ, FBX, GLB, PLY, STEP/STP and Rhino 3DM in 3D (incl. multi-plate Bambu 3MF), plus Fusion F3D/F3Z designs and Lychee LYS scenes (experimental); DXF, DWG, SVG, xTool and LightBurn in 2D; no G-code preview | STL, 3MF, OBJ and STEP in the browser, plus layer-by-layer G-code playback; no FBX, GLB or Rhino 3DM, and DXF previews not yet available |
| ZIP / archive handling | Browse inside ZIP, RAR, 7Z and TAR/TGZ archives and preview models without extracting | ZIP import with per-file selection; browsing ZIPs in place isn’t documented |
| Bundled photos & PDFs | Photos viewed inline, PDFs in an embedded viewer, Markdown opened formatted and text files as cards, inside archives too; videos play in the app once you turn on video indexing | Documents and READMEs on collections; multipart models can carry a PDF, Markdown or image assembly guide |
| Collections & favorites | Collections, tags & favorites on top of your folders | Nested collections, flat tags, saved views, per-user favorites |
| Per-model notes | Free-text notes on every model | Yes: on the model and on each G-code revision |
| Duplicate finder | Exact, geometry-aware and whole-folder matching (archives and NAS included), plus a review queue for near-copies | Content-hash grouping, plus an opt-in beta geometry scan (Similar Models) |
| AI tagging & search | AI tags and descriptions with your own OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic or Google Gemini key, a local Ollama model, or Codex CLI on a ChatGPT plan; semantic search through OpenRouter | Opt-in beta search with local models (text, image, geometry), CPU only and English-focused; no AI tagging |
| Slicer hand-off | 16+ slicers auto-detected, one click from library to slicer | Open in OrcaSlicer or Bambu Studio, plus an OrcaSlicer hook that pushes G-code in |
| Print & filament tracking | Print queue with a planning board per printer, a Made history on every model and PDF and CSV checklists; filament library (brand, material, color) per model; prints marked by hand, with no G-code revisions or printer link-up | Status-tagged G-code revisions, plus measured filament and actual duration pulled back from Moonraker |
| NAS / network drives | Indexed and browsable immediately; duplicate analysis is a separate pass you start | Runs on the NAS itself; NFS and SMB volumes supported |
| Account required | No account: a license key, nothing else | Self-managed accounts; optional OIDC/SSO, API keys, per-printer grants |
| Open source | No | Yes (AGPL-3.0) |
| Maturity | Indexes a 118,270-model library over a NAS in about 90 seconds | v0.14.0 (29 Sep 2026): pre-1.0, releasing every few weeks |
The differences that matter.
A server you administer versus an app you install
PrintStash is a containerised web app: a Compose file, a data volume, a port, and a reverse proxy with TLS if you want it reachable, since its docs say it is designed for a trusted home network first. It runs on 1 CPU core and 1 GB of RAM, Raspberry Pi included, but it is still a service you keep running, backed up and upgraded. Meshory is a desktop installer for macOS, Windows and Linux: point it at your folders and the scan starts, offline, with nothing listening on your network.
Print tracking versus the library
PrintStash is built around the print: it keeps every sliced file linked to its source model, parses the slicer’s own metadata out of it, tags each revision Printed OK / Recommended / Needs Test, and diffs two revisions side by side. Meshory is built around the library: it previews every mesh in eight formats, archives included, matches duplicates by geometry, and keeps a filament library of brand, material and color per model beside a Print queue of lists with a board per printer, where you mark prints printed or failed by hand. One answers which profile printed well; the other answers what you own, which copy to print, and what is still left to make.
Printers versus slicers
Meshory hands off to slicers: 16+ auto-detected, resin included, one click from library to slicer. PrintStash opens models in OrcaSlicer or Bambu Studio and is built mainly around printers: Moonraker/Klipper is its stable integration and pulls measured filament use and actual duration back onto the revision after a job, with OctoPrint, PrusaLink, Bambu LAN and Elegoo Centauri in beta. Meshory does not connect to printers.
Formats, archives and finding things
Meshory views FBX, GLB and Rhino 3DM (saved render meshes) as well as STL, 3MF, OBJ and STEP, opens PLY, Fusion F3D/F3Z and, experimentally, Lychee LYS files in 3D, opens multi-plate Bambu 3MF projects plate by plate, previews DXF, DWG, SVG, xTool and LightBurn files in 2D, and treats ZIP, RAR, 7Z and TAR/TGZ archives as browsable folders without extracting them. PrintStash imports ZIPs with per-file selection, and its release notes say DXF drawing previews are not yet available. Meshory groups duplicates by geometry as well as content hash and can tag and describe every model with AI, optionally, on your own key (OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic or Google Gemini), a local Ollama model or Codex CLI; PrintStash added geometry matching and AI search in v0.14.0 as opt-in betas running locally on its server, with AI search CPU-only and no AI tagging.
Meshory's side of these claims is documented, not asserted: how duplicate detection works, and which formats get thumbnails, a viewer and duplicate matching.
Choose Meshory if…
- You want a library manager working in minutes, with no container, port or reverse proxy to maintain
- Your models live across local drives and NAS mounts rather than one server’s storage
- You want to browse ZIP, RAR, 7Z and TAR/TGZ bundles (Patreon drops, Kickstarter archives) without extracting them
- You want AI tags and descriptions for every model, and duplicates grouped by geometry, without running a server for it
Choose PrintStash if…
- You iterate on slicer profiles and want sliced files, their settings and their outcomes kept as revisions against each model
- You run Klipper and want measured filament and print duration written back automatically after a job
- Several people share the library and you want per-printer grants, OIDC/SSO, API keys and audit logs
Meshory vs PrintStash: common questions
What does Meshory add over PrintStash?
A desktop install with no container, reverse proxy or backups to run, ZIP, RAR, 7Z and TAR/TGZ browsed in place, FBX, GLB and Rhino 3DM in the viewer, 2D previews for DXF, DWG, SVG and xTool files, AI tagging and descriptions for every model, geometry-aware duplicate grouping, and 16+ auto-detected slicers. Meshory is a $34.99 one-time license with a 14-day full-featured trial.
Does PrintStash tag models with AI?
No. Its v0.14.0 beta (September 2026) adds AI search only: opt-in local models index text, images and geometry on the server's CPU, with no GPU acceleration, and its release notes say the text model is English-focused. Meshory generates tags and a description for every model on your own API key, a local Ollama model or Codex CLI, and with an OpenRouter key search by meaning works even where you never tagged anything.
Does Meshory track G-code and print history like PrintStash?
Print history, yes; G-code revisions, no. Meshory's Print queue keeps lists of what to print, plans each plate on a board per printer, adds up the slicer's time and filament for what is left, and exports a PDF or CSV checklist. Marking a print printed or failed builds a Made history on the model, and the library can be filtered to what you have or have never printed. Meshory keeps no sliced-file revisions and never connects to a printer; PrintStash attaches sliced files to their source model as status-tagged revisions and pulls measured filament and duration back from Moonraker.
Is PrintStash hard to run?
It is a single Docker Compose file, and the project states it runs on one CPU core and 1 GB of RAM, Raspberry Pi included. Its docs describe it as designed for a trusted home network first, to be put behind TLS before exposing it. If Compose files and volumes are familiar, it is an evening. Meshory is a normal desktop installer with no server component.
Or skip the reading and scan your own library.
One-time purchase for Mac, Windows and Linux. 14-day money-back guarantee. Pricing details