GCode Sentinel + NC Studio for macOS
The whole suite in one download. GCode Sentinel is the control platform — jog, 3D toolpath, part nesting, mesh mapping, job cycles, macros, vision safety, MCP for AI agents, and a built-in simulator so you can run everything before wiring a machine. NC Studio is the CAM half — STEP import with auto-setup, one-button rough-plus-finish toolpaths, a 3-view removal sim, and one-click hand-off into the controller. See what NC Studio does →
New in v1.7.0 — the queue tells you the truth. If a program file goes missing or isn’t actually G-code (a CAD file dropped into the queue by mistake), its row now wears a plain chip saying so — and the transfer machinery refuses to ship it. A push to your node is all-or-nothing: a bad file can never silently wipe or shrink the program the machine is holding. The bake-mismatch banner finally has a Re-push button (plus POST /program/repush and an MCP tool for agents), every refusal names the exact file and reason, and a built-in self-test guards the whole path on every build. v1.6.0’s remote overhaul is still the backbone: hash-based transfers, delta status (~100× less traffic), and effective-modifier truth from the node.
Node Agent — the PC that runs your machine
The machine-side half of the suite. Bolt a small PC next to the CNC and this turns it into the machine’s controller — it owns the USB serial link and holds the whole job: coordinates, program queue, bed mesh. It streams the cut itself, so a sleeping laptop or a dropped WiFi connection can’t ruin a part. Your Mac drives it over LAN or VPN, and so can an AI agent.
- Runs the program — multi-file cycles with per-part zeros, loops, in-cycle tool changes, IO/wait script steps and JavaScript steps in a real V8 runtime.
- Owns the coordinates — park-relative bed and setup frames that survive a power cycle, so the shop-floor setup is never lost.
- Bed mesh, standalone — probes and applies Z-warp compensation itself, because it sees the probe contact the network can’t.
- Guards every move — anything that would leave the bed envelope faults and parks. A move is never silently skipped.
- Heals its own link — a controller that stops answering is reported and recovered instead of quietly looking Idle, and a finished job can’t sit stuck saying “running”.
- Hosts the camera — live feed to the Mac for the motion watchdog and the vision model.
- Up to four machines from one node, each with its own camera and coordinates.
- Browser jog UI built in at
http://<node-ip>:17896/— no app needed to move the machine.
Compatibility. Linux installs headless as a systemd service and starts at boot (recommended) — sudo ./install.sh also hardens the serial port against the usual Linux footguns. Windows 10/11 registers an auto-start scheduled task via install.ps1. Any x86-64 or ARM box with a USB port will do — a mini-PC, a NUC, or an old laptop; no GPU, no display, under 100 MB of RAM. Speaks to grblHAL and GRBL 1.1 boards over CH340, CP210x, FTDI or CDC-ACM adapters. Camera support is optional.
GCode Sentinel for Windows & Linux
The same control platform on your shop PC. The Windows build already runs in internal testing; Linux follows it. Both arrive here as free beta downloads — drop your email above and we’ll tell you the day they land.
Sentinel Remote for iPhone
The machine in your pocket. Jog it standing at the bed, watch the live camera from anywhere in the building, park it, re-register it, and hit a full-width E-STOP without hunting for a keyboard — the same node your Mac talks to, no cloud in between. In development against a real machine. See it →
Vision Model Pack
One-command setup scripts that install llama.cpp and pull the vision model that powers setup checks and camera questions. Runs entirely on your Mac — any OpenAI-compatible vision endpoint works too.
Example Cycles & Programs
Working examples of automated job cycles: load-and-clamp scripts with vision checks, arm flip and re-clamp sequences, IO routines, and sample programs to run against the simulator on day one.
Hardware Bring-Up Guide
The safety-first path from unboxing to first cut: serial link, first motion, remote mode, IO wiring, alarm inputs, camera — each phase with explicit pass criteria before you move to the next.