The firmware Assets on this branch are precompiled for the stock configurations of the Creality CR-6 SE and CR-6 MAX printers only.
If you are comfortable using Visual Code Studio and Platformio, you may be able to edit the Configuration.h, Configuration_adv.h and Platformio.ini files provided in the config folder to compile a custom version of this firmware for a non-stock printer (e.g. a CR6 printer converted to direct-drive) - please check the development and compile it yourself section below.
Please find official releases in the Releases section. WARNING: ONLY FLASH THE FILES FROM THE LATEST RELEASE. EARLIER RELEASES MAY DISABLE YOUR DISPLAY!
Please read the release notes very carefully - the online version on the repo contains all the instructions you need.
NOTE: the display firmware instructions and files bundled with the original firmware releases were not compatible with newer Creality CR6 printer displays. We have therefore rebundled the mainboard firmware release files as Release 6.1.1, to remove the display firmware and have instead provided links to a Refactored version of the display firmware.
Ensure you download the Asset for your printer: the firmware[suffix].bin. You should not download the Source code archive if you are downloading with the purpose of directly flashing your printer.
-
Support for the BTT SKR board is available.*
-
The v4.5.3 firmware configuration also supports the Creality v1.1.03 (ERA) board.*
PLEASE NOTE: The unreleased code from this repository has now been downloaded, patched, and uploaded to a new repository, by Thinkersbluff: https://github.com/Thinkersbluff/CR6Community-Marlin_TB/tree/main-release, as Release 6.2
Release 6.2 has been confirmed to work correctly on one Kickstarter CR6-SE with a CR-ERA-1.1.0.3 motherboard It should also run on the 4.5.3 motherboard and on CR-MAX printers.
There is however one report from a user with a 4.5.2 motherboard that their printer throws a Thermal Runaway error and so their printer will not run Release 6.2. Your results may vary...
Users who prefer to modify the Release 6.1 Configuration.h and/or Configuration_adv.h files and recompile the version 6.1 firmware (e.g. to increase the maximum nozzle temperature setting) will need to download and unpack the Source.zip or Source.tar file from the latest formal release section. As a result of recent updates to Visual Studio Code and Platormio, you will also need to modify the marlin.py file and platformio.ini file (or download the modified versions from the most recent CODE and overwrite those files in the unpacked Source files.) Please always check the Wiki for the latest info, before raising a new Issue on this or other problems you encounter.
There are several example configurations available for your convenience which can be found in the config directory. Copy the files from the config subdirectory which reflects the needed hardware configuration to the root of the Marlin directory. To build the firmware Visual Studio Code with the Platform.io plugin installed is needed. Please set the Platform.io environment variable default_envs in the file platformio.ini to the string found in the previous copied file platformio-environment.txt.
Examples for the following hardware configurations are currently available:
- Creality stock TFT with:
- Creality v4.5.2 motherboard (CR-6 SE)
- Creality v4.5.3 and 1.1.0.3 ERA motherboard (CR-6 SE and CR-6 MAX)
- BigTreeTech SKR CR-6 (CR-6 SE)
- BigTreeTech SKR CR-6 with BigTreeTech TFT v3.0
Legacy branches:
creality-cr6-merge-attempt- initial branch based on Creality v1.0.3.7 firmware source code release and upgraded until the community firmware 3 release. All new releases are released from theextuibranch.
Original source code tracking:
-
cr6-creality-changes- tracks the changes from the Creality source code dump against Marlin upstream. As of now we have the Creality v1.0.3.7 firmware on this branch, based on Marlin pre-2.0. -
cr6-btt-dump- tracks the changes from the Big Tree Tech SKR board firmware source code (which does not have any git history). It appears the for the moment BTT source code is based on the Creality v1.0.3.7 source code release.
Original Purpose of this Community Firmware
This fork of Marlin was originally meant for:
- Providing up to date and stable Marlin for the CR-6 SE native and BTT SKR CR6 motherboard
- Expanding the features of the limited Creality CR-6 stock touch screen
Once upstream Marlin supported the strain gauge, per this PR @Sebazzz submitted, the future of this project was expected to be:
- Still expanding the features of the touch screen and merge upstream
- Continuously update this fork to the latest Marlin stable versions
- Provide builds for the CR-6 and SKR boards for the less technically inclined
Unfortunately, the upstream team did not pull release 6.1 into the main Marlin code. They instead pulled release 3.0 in error, leaving this branch dead-ended and unsupported.
In 2025, Thinkersbluff began trying to reintegrate the Community Firmware UI with Marlin bugfix 2.1.x (approximately 2.1.3-beta3) If ever that work results in a useable build, Thinkersbluff will update this text with a pointer to that new release.
Please always check the Wiki for the latest info, before raising a new Issue on any problems you encounter.
Get in touch with the developers! We have our own Discord server.
The following CR-6 communities exist:
Communities hosted by Creality:
Other communities:
For general Marlin support, please check:
- Marlin Documentation - Official Marlin documentation
- Marlin Discord - Discuss issues with Marlin users and developers
- Facebook Group "Marlin Firmware"
- RepRap.org Marlin Forum
- Facebook Group "Marlin Firmware for 3D Printers"
- Marlin Configuration on YouTube
- Submit bug fixes as pull requests to the current active default branch (
extui) - Follow the coding standards
- Please submit your questions and concerns in the issue tracker
The current core CR-6 Community firmware dev team consists of:
- Sebastiaan Dammann [@Sebazzz] - Netherlands (Donate (Profile) | Website)
- Juan Rodriguez [@Nushio] - Mexico
- Romain [@grobux] - France (Donate)
- Nick Acker [@nickacker] - USA
- And more...
We stand on the shoulders of giants. Don't forget to send your love upstream too!
Marlin and the Creality CR-6 Community Firmware is published under the GPL license because we believe in open development. The GPL comes with both rights and obligations. Whether you use Marlin firmware as the driver for your open or closed-source product, you must keep Marlin open, and you must provide your compatible Marlin source code to end users upon request. The most straightforward way to comply with the Marlin license is to make a fork of Marlin on Github, perform your modifications, and direct users to your modified fork.
While we can't prevent the use of this code in products (3D printers, CNC, etc.) that are closed source or crippled by a patent, we would prefer that you choose another firmware or, better yet, make your own.