Ship one preset cache per vendor in place of the profile JSONs

Each vendor's system presets serialize into a single <vendor>.opc built at
package time, and a shipped build carries that file alone — the profile JSON
and its sub-file tree are pruned. The vendor loader, the setup wizard's profile
list and the resource installer all read a vendor through its cache, falling
back to parsing whenever one is absent, stale or unreadable, so the cache stays
an optimization and never a source of truth. Caches hold presets in source form
and resolve inheritance at load, through the same code the JSON path uses.

.gitattributes

@@ -1,2 +1,7 @@
 # Set the default behavior, in case people don't have core.autocrlf set.
 * text=auto
+
+# Shell scripts are run by Git Bash on Windows CI, which cannot read a script
+# with CRLF line endings: it fails on the first line. Windows checkouts default
+# to core.autocrlf=true, so keep these LF whatever the platform.
+*.sh text eol=lf

.github/workflows/build_orca.yml

@@ -162,6 +162,14 @@ jobs:
           retention-days: 5
           if-no-files-found: error
 
+      - name: Build system preset cache (macOS)
+        if: runner.os == 'macOS' && !inputs.macos-combine-only
+        working-directory: ${{ github.workspace }}
+        shell: bash
+        # The bundle was already packed from resources/, so the caches have to be
+        # installed into it here; the source tree keeps its JSONs for later jobs.
+        run: ./scripts/build_preset_cache.sh -b build/${{ inputs.arch }} build/${{ inputs.arch }}/OrcaSlicer/OrcaSlicer.app/Contents/Resources/profiles
+
       - name: Pack macOS app bundle ${{ inputs.arch }}
         if: runner.os == 'macOS' && !inputs.macos-combine-only
         working-directory: ${{ github.workspace }}
@@ -390,6 +398,13 @@ jobs:
           if ($arch -eq "arm64") { .\build_release_vs.bat slicer arm64 tests } else { .\build_release_vs.bat slicer tests }
         shell: pwsh
 
+      - name: Build system preset cache (Windows)
+        if: runner.os == 'Windows'
+        shell: cmd
+        # Shipped into both the already-installed tree (portable zip, MSIX) and
+        # the checkout cpack re-installs from when it builds the NSIS installer.
+        run: scripts\build_preset_cache.bat "%BUILD_DIR%" "resources\profiles" "%BUILD_DIR%\OrcaSlicer\resources\profiles"
+
       - name: Pack unit tests Win
         if: runner.os == 'Windows'
         working-directory: ${{ github.workspace }}
@@ -539,6 +554,20 @@ jobs:
           retention-days: 5
           if-no-files-found: error
 
+      - name: Build system preset cache (Linux)
+        if: runner.os == 'Linux'
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          # Both were packed from resources/ before the caches existed, so the
+          # AppImage is unpacked first and the caches shipped into it and into
+          # the package tree; the source tree keeps its JSONs for later steps.
+          appimage=$(find build -maxdepth 1 -name "OrcaSlicer_Linux_AppImage*.AppImage" | head -1)
+          chmod +x "$appimage"
+          "$appimage" --appimage-extract
+          ./scripts/build_preset_cache.sh -b build build/package/resources/profiles squashfs-root/resources/profiles
+          appimagetool=$(find build -name "appimagetool.AppImage" | head -1)
+          ARCH=$(uname -m) "$appimagetool" --appimage-extract-and-run squashfs-root "$appimage"
+          rm -rf squashfs-root
         # Ship the freshly-built validator so slice_check_linux (build_all.yml)
         # can slice-sweep the shipped profiles with this PR's engine. Taken from
         # the aarch64 leg so the sweep also exercises the arm build; x86_64 on

.gitignore

@@ -49,3 +49,4 @@ internal_docs/
 # Python bytecode
 __pycache__/
 *.pyc
+*.opc

build_linux.sh

@@ -567,6 +567,8 @@ if [[ -n "${BUILD_ORCA}" ]] || [[ -n "${BUILD_TESTS}" ]] ; then
 	print_and_run cmake --build $BUILD_DIR --config "${BUILD_CONFIG}" --target OrcaSlicer
 	echo "Building OrcaSlicer_profile_validator .."
 	print_and_run cmake --build $BUILD_DIR --config "${BUILD_CONFIG}" --target OrcaSlicer_profile_validator
+	echo "Building generate_system_cache ..."
+	print_and_run cmake --build $BUILD_DIR --config "${BUILD_CONFIG}" --target generate_system_cache
 	./scripts/run_gettext.sh
     fi
     if [[ -n "${BUILD_TESTS}" ]] ; then

docs/HLSD/preset-cache.md

@@ -0,0 +1,288 @@
+# System Preset Cache — High Level Design
+
+## Why it exists
+
+OrcaSlicer ships tens of thousands of system preset JSON files. Every launch used to
+parse all of them: read each vendor profile, walk its machine, process and filament
+sub-files, resolve inheritance, and build the preset collections from scratch. That
+parse dominated startup, and it produced the same result every time, because system
+presets only change when the app is updated or a profile update is installed.
+
+The preset cache replaces that parse with a read. Each vendor's presets are serialized
+once — at build time, in CI — into a single binary file the app reads in one pass. The
+read replaces the file walk and the JSON parsing, which is where the time went;
+resolving inheritance and registering the presets still runs at load, through the same
+code the JSON path uses, so the result is the parse's result without the parse.
+
+The cache is **only ever an optimization**. Every rule below exists to guarantee that a
+cache is either provably equivalent to parsing the JSONs, or rejected. There is no
+"mostly right" cache.
+
+## The unit is one vendor
+
+A cache covers exactly one vendor. `BBL.opc` sits beside `BBL.json` and holds
+everything `BBL.json` and the `BBL/` sub-file tree would have produced.
+
+Per-vendor granularity is what makes the system practical:
+
+- A vendor whose profile is bumped invalidates only its own cache. The other 60-odd
+  vendors keep theirs — even when the bumped vendor is the shared Orca filament
+  library everyone else inherits from.
+- The setup wizard, which loads vendors one at a time, gets the same speedup as
+  startup without a second code path.
+- A vendor with no cache, or a broken one, costs only that vendor a parse.
+
+A cache holds *system* presets only. User presets, project settings and modified
+presets are never serialized — they have their own storage and their own lifecycle.
+
+## Where the files live
+
+| Location | Contents on a shipped build | Role |
+|---|---|---|
+| `resources/profiles/` | `<vendor>.opc` alone — the profile and its preset JSONs both pruned | What the app ships with; the fallback everything falls back to |
+| `<data_dir>/system/` | `<vendor>.opc` alone, or `<vendor>.json` + `<vendor>/` after an update | What the user has installed |
+| `<data_dir>/system/` (dev build) | `<vendor>.json` + `<vendor>/` + `<vendor>.opc` written at runtime | A developer tree caches as it parses |
+
+Two forms of the same vendor therefore exist, and the system's central rule is that
+**a vendor's cache is the whole of it**. Where a cache ships or is installed, no profile
+and no preset JSONs sit beside it: the cache carries the presets, the vendor profile,
+and the version stamp that says which release it came from. A vendor is "installed" if
+either form is present, and its installed version is read from whichever form is there.
+
+What stays beside the caches in `resources/profiles/` is everything that is not a
+preset: each vendor's directory of printer thumbnails, cover images, bed models and
+hotend meshes, which are read from disk by path and were never part of the cache. Files
+that are not vendors at all, `blacklist.json` chief among them, are untouched.
+
+The alternative — shipping both and treating the cache as a sidecar — was rejected. It
+doubles the installed size, and it creates a class of bug where the two disagree and
+the app's behavior depends on which one a given code path happened to read.
+
+## What a cache file is
+
+A fixed-size header followed by one binary stream.
+
+The header carries a magic number, the cache format version, the payload size and a
+CRC32 of the payload. It exists so that a truncated download, a half-written file or a
+file from an entirely different program is rejected in microseconds, before anything
+tries to interpret it.
+
+The payload opens with the stamps that decide whether the cache may be used at all —
+format version, schema fingerprint, vendor name, vendor version — and then the
+vendor's data: its vendor profile, three lists of preset entries (process, filament,
+machine), and the count of errors the original parse hit.
+
+Each entry is one preset **in source form**: what its JSON sub-file states and nothing
+that resolving it derives — the preset's own config diff, the name of the preset it
+inherits, and the parse metadata (name, sub-path, description, instantiation, setting
+and filament ids, renames). Non-instantiated base presets are stored too; the children
+that inherit from them cannot resolve without them.
+
+Three deliberate choices in the layout:
+
+- **Stamps come first**, so the question "what version is this vendor installed at?"
+  can be answered by reading the first kilobyte. The updater asks that question for
+  every vendor on every launch; reading tens of megabytes to answer it would give back
+  the startup time the cache saved.
+- **Nothing inherited is baked in.** A filament preset that inherits from the shared
+  library is stored as its own diff plus its parent's name, and the parent is looked up
+  when the entry is installed, against whatever library is loaded then. A cache
+  therefore carries no other vendor's values, and no other vendor's update — the
+  library's included — can make it stale.
+- **Nothing derived is stored.** Default presets, flattened configs, aliases and
+  lookup maps are all reconstructed at load by the same code the JSON path runs, and
+  state that path never fills (obsolete-preset lists) is not stored either. This keeps
+  the cache a record of the vendor's data, not a memory image of the program's state.
+
+## When a cache may be used
+
+A cache is accepted only if every gate below passes. Any failure means "parse the
+JSONs instead" — never a hard error, never a partial load.
+
+**1. Integrity.** Magic number, plausible size, CRC32 over the payload.
+
+**2. Cache format version.** A single integer bumped by hand whenever the binary layout
+changes in a way nothing else would catch: reordering or retyping a hand-written
+serialized field, or changing what the cache's own stamps mean.
+
+**3. Schema fingerprint.** A checksum over the app version and the entire print-config
+option schema — every option's key, type, wire ordinal and enum values. This is the
+gate that makes the cache safe across development: adding a config option, changing its
+type, or reordering the enum values of an existing one all change the fingerprint, so
+caches from before the change are rejected without anyone having to remember to bump
+anything. It also means a cache never crosses app versions.
+
+**4. Vendor identity and version.** The cache names the vendor it holds and the profile
+version it was built from. It is accepted only if that version is at least as new as
+the profile now on disk. Where no profile sits beside the cache — the shipped,
+cache-only form — the comparison is skipped, because nothing on disk can be newer than
+a cache that is the installation.
+
+**5. Every entry installs.** Entries are installed as they are read, and an entry that
+cannot be — typically one that inherits a parent the currently loaded filament library
+no longer provides — rejects the whole cache, never just the entry. A partial vendor is
+not a vendor.
+
+There is deliberately no stamp for the shared filament library. A cache stores its
+filaments' inheritance by name and resolves it at load, so a library update changes
+what a cache load *produces*, never whether the cache is *valid* — the same file yields
+the updated result. This matters most on a shipped build, where a vendor is its cache
+and nothing else: a profile update that delivered only the library would otherwise have
+stranded every other vendor with a cache it invalidated and no JSONs to fall back on.
+
+A vendor profile with no parsable version is never cached and never served from a
+cache. There would be no way to tell later whether the cache had gone stale, and a
+cache nothing can invalidate is worse than no cache.
+
+## How a vendor is loaded
+
+Vendors load in a fixed order, because filament inheritance crosses exactly one
+boundary: any vendor's filament may inherit from the shared Orca filament library,
+and nothing else reaches across vendors. The library therefore goes first, alone;
+every other vendor follows in parallel, resolving against it; and the results are
+merged in a stable order:
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart LR
+    lib["1 · OrcaFilamentLibrary<br/>loaded first, synchronously"] --> par["2 · every other vendor in parallel,<br/>each into its own bundle, filaments<br/>resolving against the loaded library"] --> merge["3 · bundles merged into one,<br/>sequentially, in stable vendor order"]
+```
+
+Whether a vendor comes from its cache or from a parse changes nothing in that
+order — both produce the same bundle, so cached and parsed vendors mix freely in
+one startup. Each vendor load — startup's and the setup wizard's alike — tries,
+in order:
+
+1. The cache in the directory it was asked to load from — normally `<data_dir>/system/`.
+2. The shipped cache in `resources/profiles/` — judged against the same installed
+   profile, so it cannot resurrect a version an update has superseded.
+3. Parsing the JSONs — from the data directory if the profile is installed there, and
+   from `resources/profiles/` otherwise, which on a shipped build only has JSONs for a
+   vendor that has no cache.
+
+The same decision drawn out — "the gates" are the five acceptance checks above:
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TB
+    start["load vendor V from a directory dir<br/>— normally &lt;data_dir&gt;/system/"]
+    start --> stamp["installed version = version of dir/V.json<br/>— or ∞ with no profile there,<br/>the cache then being the installation"]
+    stamp --> g1{"dir/V.opc<br/>passes all five gates?"}
+    g1 -- "yes" --> hit(["served from the<br/>installed cache"])
+    g1 -- "no" --> g2{"resources/profiles/V.opc passes them,<br/>against the same installed version?"}
+    g2 -- "yes" --> hit2(["served from the<br/>shipped cache"])
+    g2 -- "no" --> src{"dir/V.json<br/>present?"}
+    src -- "yes" --> pd["parse the JSONs in dir"]
+    src -- "no" --> pr["parse the JSONs in<br/>resources/profiles/"]
+    pd --> ver{"profile version<br/>parsable?"}
+    pr --> ver
+    ver -- "yes" --> save(["loaded; dir/V.opc written back —<br/>the next load takes the top path"])
+    ver -- "no" --> raw(["loaded, never cached"])
+```
+
+Serving from a cache is not a memory-image restore. The entries are deserialized and
+then installed one by one — inheritance resolved against the presets installed before
+them and the currently loaded filament library, configs flattened onto the collection
+defaults, validated and registered — by the same function the JSON path calls straight
+after parsing a sub-file. The two paths share everything below the parse, which is what
+makes a cache-loaded bundle indistinguishable from a JSON-loaded one by construction
+rather than by test coverage. Installation also rebuilds each preset's file path from
+the local data directory, so a shipped cache never carries the generating machine's
+paths.
+
+The second tier is what makes app upgrades work. After an upgrade, a cache the previous
+version installed fails the fingerprint gate; the new build's own shipped cache answers
+instead, and the user never sees a parse. The stale installed file is simply ignored
+until the next profile update overwrites it.
+
+If a parse does happen and the vendor's profile carries a version, the app writes the
+cache back beside where it looked for the vendor. That is how a developer build warms
+itself up on second launch, and how a vendor delivered by a profile update becomes
+cached without waiting for the next release.
+
+## How a vendor is installed
+
+Installing copies from `resources/profiles/` into `<data_dir>/system/`. A shipped build
+offers only a cache and a source tree only JSONs, but a partially-generated tree can
+have both, at different versions, so the installer picks the form that ships at the
+**newer version** and installs only that one:
+
+- Cache newer or equal, and readable → copy the `.opc`, and delete any profile and
+  vendor directory a previous install left behind, so nothing can shadow it.
+- Profile newer, or the cache unreadable or absent → copy the profile and the vendor's
+  preset JSONs exactly as the app did before caches existed, and delete any stale `.opc`.
+
+The result is that only one form of a vendor is ever present, and it is the newest one
+the build has. This matters most for the update check, which compares what is installed
+against what installing *would* lay down: if those two disagreed about which form
+counts, a vendor could reinstall on every launch forever, or silently never update.
+
+Profile updates delivered over the air always arrive as JSONs, and they win — an
+updated vendor's real profile lands in the data directory, the shipped cache is older
+and gets rejected, and the vendor is parsed and re-cached. An update that touches only
+the filament library needs nothing more: every other vendor's cache stays valid and
+simply resolves against the new library on its next load.
+
+## How the caches are produced
+
+Cache generation is a build step, not something a user ever runs.
+
+One script per platform does the whole job, and CI calls it once on each. It builds a
+small dev-utility that loads a profiles directory exactly as the app would, with cache
+writing enabled, dropping a `<vendor>.opc` beside every vendor profile it parses; then
+it copies those caches into each packaged application it was pointed at and deletes
+every preset JSON they replace — the vendor's own profile included. Only a vendor that
+actually has a cache is pruned, so a vendor the generator skipped keeps its JSONs and is
+simply parsed at startup.
+
+Because the schema fingerprint includes the app version, caches must be generated by
+the same build that ships them. Generation runs after the build, in the same job.
+
+## Behavior when things go wrong
+
+The system is designed so that no cache problem is fatal:
+
+- **Corrupt, truncated or foreign file** — rejected at the header, vendor parsed.
+- **Cache from another app version or schema** — rejected at the fingerprint, vendor
+  parsed or served from the shipped cache.
+- **Stale cache** — rejected on the vendor version stamp, vendor parsed and re-cached.
+- **Failure part-way through loading** — a deserialization error, or any entry that
+  fails to install — rejects the whole cache, and the bundle is reset to a clean state
+  before falling back, so a half-loaded cache can never leak into the parsed result.
+- **A vendor that can be neither read nor parsed** — logged, and left out. The setup
+  wizard drops that vendor from its list and opens with the rest; startup records the
+  error alongside the vendors that did load. One broken vendor never takes the app down.
+
+The one genuine limit: on a shipped build a vendor is its cache and nothing else, so a
+rejected cache has nothing to fall back to for that vendor. This is by design — the
+alternative is shipping every preset twice — and it is why the acceptance gates are
+conservative and why CI generates the caches with the same build that ships them. The
+recovery path is a profile update, which delivers real JSONs.
+
+It also means nothing may quietly assume a `<vendor>.json` exists. Discovery, version
+checks and the update decision all read whichever form is present, and a code path that
+enumerates only `*.json` will find no vendors at all in a packaged build.
+
+## Maintenance rules
+
+- **Adding or changing a config option** needs nothing. The fingerprint covers it.
+- **Changing a hand-written `serialize()`** — `PresetBundle::CachedPreset`,
+  `VendorProfile` or its nested types — or the cache's own layout or stamps requires
+  bumping the cache format version by hand. Nothing else is serialized by hand; the
+  config payload is covered by the fingerprint.
+- **Bumping a vendor profile's version** invalidates that vendor's cache and nothing
+  else — the filament library's included. Other vendors' caches resolve against the
+  new library the next time they load.
+- **Caches are never committed.** They are build artifacts, generated per build,
+  ignored by git.
+
+## Where this lives in the tree
+
+| Area | Files |
+|---|---|
+| Cache format, entry serialization, read/write, load and save | `src/libslic3r/PresetBundle.{hpp,cpp}` |
+| Vendor profile serialization | `src/libslic3r/Preset.hpp` |
+| Vendor discovery, installed/shipped versions, installation | `src/libslic3r/PresetBundle.cpp` |
+| Update and reinstall decisions | `src/slic3r/Utils/PresetUpdater.cpp` |
+| Setup wizard and printer-selection dialog | `src/slic3r/GUI/ConfigWizard.cpp`, `src/slic3r/GUI/WebGuideDialog.cpp` |
+| Generator tool | `src/dev-utils/generate_system_cache.cpp` |
+| Build and packaging script | `scripts/build_preset_cache.{sh,bat}` |
+| Tests | `tests/libslic3r/test_vendor_cache.cpp` |

scripts/build_preset_cache.bat

@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+@echo off
+rem Build the per-vendor system preset caches (one <vendor>.opc per vendor) by
+rem running the generate_system_cache.exe dev tool against a profiles directory,
+rem and make every profiles directory named on the command line ship-ready:
+rem install the caches into it and delete the preset JSONs they replace, so a
+rem build ships one copy of its presets instead of two.
+rem
+rem   scripts\build_preset_cache.bat [build_dir] [target_dir ...]
+rem
+rem   build_dir   defaults to "build"
+rem   target_dir  profiles directories to ship into. Caches are generated into
+rem               the source tree's resources\profiles, which is what every
+rem               packaging step copies from; a target may be that same
+rem               directory, which then only gets pruned.
+rem
+rem Shipping deletes, so it is a CI packaging step. A vendor's own <vendor>.json
+rem goes along with its preset JSONs: the cache carries the vendor profile and
+rem the version it was built at, so discovery, version checks and installing all
+rem read it there. Only a vendor that has a cache is pruned, so non-vendor JSONs
+rem (blacklist.json) are left alone, as are the vendor directories themselves -
+rem thumbnails, covers and bed models still live there.
+rem
+rem   set CONFIG=<cfg> to pin the build config for multi-config generators
+rem   (default: the config of the tool already in the build tree, else Release)
+setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
+
+set "REPO_ROOT=%~dp0.."
+set "BUILD_DIR=%~1"
+if "%BUILD_DIR%"=="" set "BUILD_DIR=build"
+if not exist "%BUILD_DIR%\" (
+    echo ERROR: build tree not found: %BUILD_DIR% 1>&2
+    exit /b 1
+)
+if not "%~1"=="" shift
+
+rem Newest match wins: a stale binary silently produces a stale cache layout.
+call :find_tool
+if not defined CONFIG (
+    for %%c in (Debug Release RelWithDebInfo MinSizeRel) do (
+        echo !TOOL! | findstr /i "\\%%c\\" >nul && set "CONFIG=%%c"
+    )
+)
+if not defined CONFIG set "CONFIG=Release"
+
+echo Building generate_system_cache in %BUILD_DIR% (%CONFIG%)
+cmake --build "%BUILD_DIR%" --config %CONFIG% --target generate_system_cache
+if errorlevel 1 (
+    echo ERROR: could not build generate_system_cache - configure the build tree with -DORCA_TOOLS=ON: 1>&2
+    echo        cmake -S "%REPO_ROOT%" -B "%BUILD_DIR%" -DORCA_TOOLS=ON 1>&2
+    exit /b 1
+)
+call :find_tool
+if not defined TOOL (
+    echo ERROR: generate_system_cache.exe not found under %BUILD_DIR% - build with -DORCA_TOOLS=ON 1>&2
+    exit /b 1
+)
+
+set "PROFILES=%REPO_ROOT%\resources\profiles"
+if not exist "%PROFILES%\" (
+    echo ERROR: profiles directory not found: %PROFILES% 1>&2
+    exit /b 1
+)
+for %%d in ("%PROFILES%") do set "PROFILES=%%~fd"
+
+rem Add the slicer's runtime DLL directory to PATH so generate_system_cache.exe
+rem can resolve its dependencies (TKernel.dll etc.) without a full install step.
+set "DLL_DIR="
+for /f "delims=" %%f in ('dir /s /b "%BUILD_DIR%\TKernel.dll" 2^>nul') do (
+    if not defined DLL_DIR set "DLL_DIR=%%~dpf"
+)
+if defined DLL_DIR set "PATH=%DLL_DIR%;%PATH%"
+
+echo Generating per-vendor preset caches in %PROFILES%
+rem Start clean so vendors that went away - and caches written by older tool
+rem versions - don't linger next to the freshly generated ones.
+del /q "%PROFILES%\*.opc" 2>nul
+del /q "%PROFILES%\*.cache" 2>nul
+"%TOOL%" --path "%PROFILES%" --log_level 2
+if errorlevel 1 exit /b %errorlevel%
+
+:next_target
+if "%~1"=="" exit /b 0
+call :ship "%~1"
+if errorlevel 1 exit /b 1
+shift
+goto :next_target
+
+:ship
+set "TARGET=%~1"
+if not exist "%TARGET%\" (
+    echo ERROR: profiles directory not found: %TARGET% 1>&2
+    exit /b 1
+)
+for %%d in ("%TARGET%") do set "TARGET=%%~fd"
+if /i not "%TARGET%"=="%PROFILES%" copy /y "%PROFILES%\*.opc" "%TARGET%\" >nul
+
+set /a SHIPPED=0
+set /a PRUNED=0
+for %%c in ("%PROFILES%\*.opc") do (
+    set /a SHIPPED+=1
+    set "VENDOR=%%~nc"
+    if exist "%TARGET%\!VENDOR!.json" (
+        del /q "%TARGET%\!VENDOR!.json"
+        set /a PRUNED+=1
+    )
+    if exist "%TARGET%\!VENDOR!\" (
+        for /f %%n in ('dir /s /b "%TARGET%\!VENDOR!\*.json" 2^>nul ^| find /c /v ""') do set /a PRUNED+=%%n
+        del /s /q "%TARGET%\!VENDOR!\*.json" >nul 2>&1
+        rem Deepest first, so a directory the delete above emptied goes too; rd
+        rem refuses the ones still holding covers or meshes.
+        for /f "delims=" %%d in ('dir /s /b /ad "%TARGET%\!VENDOR!" 2^>nul ^| sort /r') do rd "%%d" 2>nul
+    )
+)
+echo %TARGET%: !SHIPPED! caches, dropped !PRUNED! preset JSONs
+exit /b 0
+
+:find_tool
+set "TOOL="
+for /f "delims=" %%f in ('dir /s /b /o-d "%BUILD_DIR%\generate_system_cache.exe" 2^>nul') do (
+    if not defined TOOL set "TOOL=%%f"
+)
+exit /b 0

scripts/build_preset_cache.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Build the per-vendor system preset caches (one <vendor>.opc per vendor) by
+# running the generate_system_cache dev tool against a profiles directory, and
+# make every profiles directory named on the command line ship-ready: install
+# the caches into it and delete the preset JSONs they replace, so a build ships
+# one copy of its presets instead of two.
+#
+#   ./scripts/build_preset_cache.sh                     # caches into resources/profiles
+#   ./scripts/build_preset_cache.sh -b build/arm64      # search this build tree for the tool
+#   ./scripts/build_preset_cache.sh <dir> [<dir> ...]   # and ship into these profiles dirs
+#
+# Caches are generated into the source tree's resources/profiles, which is what
+# every packaging step copies from. Shipping deletes, so it is a CI packaging
+# step: pass packaged output directories, or the checkout of a build that is
+# about to be packaged from it.
+#
+# A vendor's own <vendor>.json goes along with its preset JSONs: the cache
+# carries the vendor profile and the version it was built at, so discovery,
+# version checks and installing all read it there. A shipped vendor is its cache
+# and nothing else. Only a vendor that has a cache is pruned, so an ungenerated
+# vendor keeps its JSONs and is simply parsed at startup; non-vendor JSONs
+# (blacklist.json) are left alone, as are the vendor directories themselves —
+# thumbnails, covers and bed models still live there.
+#
+#   -b <dir>    build tree holding the tool
+#               (default: build/arm64, build/x86_64, or build — first that exists)
+#   -p <dir>    profiles directory to generate caches into
+#               (default: <repo>/resources/profiles)
+#   -c <cfg>    build config for multi-config generators
+#               (default: the config of the tool already in the build tree, else
+#               the build tree's CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
+#   -n          skip the rebuild and run the tool already in the build tree
+#   -l <level>  tool log level (default: 2)
+set -euo pipefail
+
+repo_root="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"
+build_dir=""
+profiles_dir=""
+config=""
+build_tool=1
+log_level=2
+
+while getopts "b:p:c:l:nh" opt; do
+    case $opt in
+        b) build_dir="$OPTARG" ;;
+        p) profiles_dir="$OPTARG" ;;
+        c) config="$OPTARG" ;;
+        n) build_tool=0 ;;
+        l) log_level="$OPTARG" ;;
+        h) sed -n '2,${/^#/!q;p;}' "$0" | sed 's/^# \{0,1\}//'; exit 0 ;;
+        *) exit 1 ;;
+    esac
+done
+shift $((OPTIND - 1))
+
+if [ -z "$build_dir" ]; then
+    for candidate in "$repo_root/build/arm64" "$repo_root/build/x86_64" "$repo_root/build"; do
+        if [ -d "$candidate" ]; then build_dir="$candidate"; break; fi
+    done
+fi
+if [ -z "$build_dir" ] || [ ! -d "$build_dir" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: build tree not found (pass -b <build_dir>)" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Newest match wins: multi-config trees keep one binary per config, and a stale
+# one silently produces a stale cache layout.
+find_tool() {
+    local best="" f
+    while IFS= read -r f; do
+        [ -n "$f" ] || continue
+        if [ -z "$best" ] || [ "$f" -nt "$best" ]; then best="$f"; fi
+    done < <(find "$build_dir" -name generate_system_cache -type f 2>/dev/null)
+    printf '%s' "$best"
+}
+
+tool=$(find_tool)
+if [ -z "$config" ]; then
+    case "$tool" in
+        */Debug/*)          config=Debug ;;
+        */Release/*)        config=Release ;;
+        */RelWithDebInfo/*) config=RelWithDebInfo ;;
+        */MinSizeRel/*)     config=MinSizeRel ;;
+        *) config=$(sed -n 's/^CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE:[A-Z]*=\(.\+\)$/\1/p' "$build_dir/CMakeCache.txt" 2>/dev/null | head -1 || true) ;;
+    esac
+fi
+
+if [ "$build_tool" = 1 ]; then
+    echo "Building generate_system_cache in $build_dir${config:+ ($config)}"
+    build_args=(--build "$build_dir" --target generate_system_cache)
+    if [ -n "$config" ]; then build_args+=(--config "$config"); fi
+    if ! cmake "${build_args[@]}"; then
+        echo "ERROR: could not build generate_system_cache — configure the build tree with -DORCA_TOOLS=ON:" >&2
+        echo "       cmake -S \"$repo_root\" -B \"$build_dir\" -DORCA_TOOLS=ON" >&2
+        exit 1
+    fi
+    tool=$(find_tool)
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$tool" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: generate_system_cache not found under $build_dir — build with -DORCA_TOOLS=ON" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$profiles_dir" ]; then profiles_dir="$repo_root/resources/profiles"; fi
+if [ ! -d "$profiles_dir" ]; then
+    echo "ERROR: profiles directory not found: $profiles_dir" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+profiles_dir=$(cd "$profiles_dir" && pwd -P)
+
+# Start clean so vendors that went away — and caches written by older tool
+# versions — don't linger next to the freshly generated ones.
+echo "Generating per-vendor preset caches in $profiles_dir"
+rm -f "$profiles_dir"/*.opc "$profiles_dir"/*.cache
+"$tool" --path "$profiles_dir" --log_level "$log_level"
+
+for target in "$@"; do
+    resolved=$(cd "$target" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P) || {
+        echo "ERROR: profiles directory not found: $target" >&2
+        exit 1
+    }
+    if [ "$resolved" != "$profiles_dir" ]; then
+        cp "$profiles_dir"/*.opc "$resolved"/
+    fi
+
+    pruned=0
+    shipped=0
+    for cache in "$profiles_dir"/*.opc; do
+        vendor=$(basename "$cache" .opc)
+        shipped=$(( shipped + 1 ))
+        if [ -f "$resolved/$vendor.json" ]; then
+            rm -f "$resolved/$vendor.json"
+            pruned=$(( pruned + 1 ))
+        fi
+        [ -d "$resolved/$vendor" ] || continue
+        n=$(find "$resolved/$vendor" -name '*.json' | wc -l)
+        find "$resolved/$vendor" -name '*.json' -delete
+        find "$resolved/$vendor" -type d -empty -delete
+        pruned=$(( pruned + n ))
+    done
+    echo "$resolved: $shipped caches, dropped $pruned preset JSONs"
+done

src/dev-utils/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -20,6 +20,16 @@ if (SLIC3R_ENC_CHECK)
     )
 endif()
 
+if (ORCA_TOOLS)
+    set(_DEV_DEFS -DBOOST_ALL_NO_LIB -DBOOST_USE_WINAPI_VERSION=0x602 -DBOOST_SYSTEM_USE_UTF8)
+
+    # generate_system_cache: pre-generates per-vendor <vendor>.opc files under resources/profiles for CI bundling.
+    add_executable(generate_system_cache generate_system_cache.cpp)
+    target_link_libraries(generate_system_cache libslic3r boost_headeronly)
+    target_compile_definitions(generate_system_cache PRIVATE ${_DEV_DEFS})
+
+endif()
+
 # Function that adds source file encoding check to a target
 # using the above encoding-check binary
 

src/dev-utils/generate_system_cache.cpp

@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#include "libslic3r/PresetBundle.hpp"
+#include "libslic3r/Preset.hpp"
+#include "libslic3r/Utils.hpp"
+
+#include <boost/algorithm/string/predicate.hpp>
+#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
+#include <boost/log/trivial.hpp>
+#include <boost/program_options.hpp>
+#include <iostream>
+
+using namespace Slic3r;
+namespace fs = boost::filesystem;
+namespace po = boost::program_options;
+
+int main(int argc, char* argv[])
+{
+    po::options_description desc("OrcaSlicer System Cache Generator\nUsage");
+    // clang-format off
+    desc.add_options()
+        ("help,h", "Show help")
+#ifdef __APPLE__
+        ("path,p", po::value<std::string>()->default_value("../../../../../../../resources/profiles"), "Path to profiles directory")
+#else
+        ("path,p", po::value<std::string>()->default_value("../../../resources/profiles"), "Path to profiles directory")
+#endif
+        ("log_level,l", po::value<int>()->default_value(2), "Log level (0=trace, 2=info, 4=error)");
+    // clang-format on
+
+    po::variables_map vm;
+    try {
+        po::store(po::parse_command_line(argc, argv, desc), vm);
+        if (vm.count("help")) { std::cout << desc << "\n"; return 0; }
+        po::notify(vm);
+    } catch (const po::error& e) {
+        std::cerr << "Error: " << e.what() << "\n" << desc << "\n";
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    const std::string profiles_path = vm["path"].as<std::string>();
+    const int         log_level     = vm["log_level"].as<int>();
+
+    if (!fs::exists(profiles_path) || !fs::is_directory(profiles_path)) {
+        std::cerr << "Error: '" << profiles_path << "' is not a valid directory\n";
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    set_logging_level(log_level);
+    set_data_dir(profiles_path);
+    set_resources_dir(fs::path(profiles_path).parent_path().make_preferred().string());
+
+    const fs::path user_dir = fs::path(data_dir()) / PRESET_USER_DIR;
+    if (!fs::exists(user_dir))
+        fs::create_directories(user_dir);
+
+    AppConfig app_config;
+    app_config.set("preset_folder", "default");
+
+    auto preset_bundle = std::make_unique<PresetBundle>();
+    preset_bundle->set_is_validation_mode(true);
+    preset_bundle->set_default_suppressed(true);
+    preset_bundle->set_generate_vendor_caches(true);
+
+    std::cout << "Loading system presets from: " << profiles_path << "\n";
+
+    try {
+        // In validation mode data_dir() is the profiles directory set above, so the
+        // loader writes each <vendor>.opc next to its <vendor>.json as it parses it.
+        preset_bundle->load_presets(app_config, ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule::EnableSilent);
+    } catch (const std::exception& ex) {
+        std::cerr << "Failed to load presets: " << ex.what() << "\n";
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    size_t cache_count = 0;
+    for (auto& entry : fs::directory_iterator(profiles_path))
+        if (boost::iends_with(entry.path().string(), ".opc"))
+            ++ cache_count;
+    if (cache_count == 0) {
+        std::cerr << "No vendor cache files were generated under " << profiles_path << "\n";
+        return 1;
+    }
+    std::cout << "Generated " << cache_count << " vendor cache file(s) under " << profiles_path << "\n";
+    return 0;
+}

src/libslic3r/Config.hpp

@@ -28,6 +28,9 @@
 
 #include <cereal/access.hpp>
 #include <cereal/types/base_class.hpp>
+// The serialize() members below archive ConfigOption hierarchies through
+// cereal::base_class, whose registration machinery lives in polymorphic.hpp.
+#include <cereal/types/polymorphic.hpp>
 
 namespace Slic3r {
     struct FloatOrPercent

src/libslic3r/Preset.cpp

@@ -147,6 +147,9 @@ Semver get_version_from_json(std::string file_path)
         return Semver();
         //throw ConfigurationError(format("Failed loading configuration file \"%1%\": %2%", file_path, err.what()));
     }
+    catch(...) {
+        return Semver();
+    }
 }
 
 //BBS: add a function to load the key-values from xxx.json
@@ -261,18 +264,28 @@ void extend_default_config_length(DynamicPrintConfig& config, const bool set_nil
         }
     };
 
+    // The four variant sets are immutable after static init and probed for every
+    // key of every preset loaded; one merged map makes that a single lookup.
+    // emplace keeps the first insertion, preserving the first-set-wins priority
+    // of the else-if chain this replaces.
+    static const std::unordered_map<std::string, int> variant_class = [] {
+        std::unordered_map<std::string, int> m;
+        for (const std::string& k : print_options_with_variant)     m.emplace(k, 0);
+        for (const std::string& k : filament_options_with_variant)  m.emplace(k, 1);
+        for (const std::string& k : printer_options_with_variant_1) m.emplace(k, 2);
+        for (const std::string& k : printer_options_with_variant_2) m.emplace(k, 3);
+        return m;
+    }();
+
     for(auto& key :config.keys()){
-        if(auto iter = print_options_with_variant.find(key); iter != print_options_with_variant.end()){
-            replace_nil_and_resize(key, process_variant_length);
-        }
-        else if(auto iter = filament_options_with_variant.find(key); iter != filament_options_with_variant.end()){
-            replace_nil_and_resize(key, filament_variant_length);
-        }
-        else if(auto iter = printer_options_with_variant_1.find(key); iter != printer_options_with_variant_1.end()){
-            replace_nil_and_resize(key, machine_variant_length);
-        }
-        else if(auto iter = printer_options_with_variant_2.find(key); iter != printer_options_with_variant_2.end()){
-            replace_nil_and_resize(key, machine_variant_length * 2);
+        auto iter = variant_class.find(key);
+        if (iter == variant_class.end())
+            continue;
+        switch (iter->second) {
+        case 0: replace_nil_and_resize(key, process_variant_length); break;
+        case 1: replace_nil_and_resize(key, filament_variant_length); break;
+        case 2: replace_nil_and_resize(key, machine_variant_length); break;
+        case 3: replace_nil_and_resize(key, machine_variant_length * 2); break;
         }
     }
 }

src/libslic3r/Preset.hpp

@@ -131,6 +131,10 @@ public:
         PrinterVariant() {}
         PrinterVariant(const std::string &name) : name(name) {}
         std::string                 name;
+
+        // All fields, declaration order — keep in sync; bump CACHE_VERSION on change.
+        template<class Archive>
+        void serialize(Archive& ar) { ar(name); }                       // PrinterVariant
     };
 
     struct PrinterModel {
@@ -139,7 +143,7 @@ public:
         std::string                 name;
         //BBS: this is internal id for the printer. Currently only used for searching in database
         std::string                 model_id;
-        PrinterTechnology           technology;
+        PrinterTechnology           technology = ptFFF;
         std::string                 family;
         std::vector<PrinterVariant> variants;
         std::vector<std::string>	default_materials;
@@ -162,6 +166,17 @@ public:
         }
 
         const PrinterVariant* variant(const std::string &name) const { return const_cast<PrinterModel*>(this)->variant(name); }
+
+        // All fields, declaration order — keep in sync; bump CACHE_VERSION on change.
+        template<class Archive>
+        void serialize(Archive& ar)                                     // PrinterModel
+        {
+            ar(id, name, model_id, technology, family, variants, default_materials,
+               not_support_bed_types, bed_model, bed_texture, image_bed_type,
+               bottom_texture_end_name, use_double_extruder_default_texture,
+               bottom_texture_rect, bottom_texture_rect_longer, middle_texture_rect,
+               hotend_model);
+        }
     };
     std::vector<PrinterModel>          models;
 
@@ -173,6 +188,14 @@ public:
 
     bool 		valid() const { return ! name.empty() && ! id.empty() && config_version.valid(); }
 
+    // All fields, declaration order — keep in sync; bump CACHE_VERSION on change.
+    template<class Archive>
+    void serialize(Archive& ar)                                         // VendorProfile
+    {
+        ar(name, id, config_version, config_update_url, changelog_url,
+           models, default_filaments, default_sla_materials);
+    }
+
     // Load VendorProfile from an ini file.
     // If `load_all` is false, only the header with basic info (name, version, URLs) is loaded.
     static VendorProfile from_ini(const boost::filesystem::path &path, bool load_all=true);
@@ -427,10 +450,10 @@ public:
     Preset(Type type, const std::string &name, bool is_default = false) : type(type), is_default(is_default), name(name) {}
 
 protected:
-    Preset() = default;
-
     friend class        PresetCollection;
     friend class        PresetBundle;
+
+    Preset() = default;
 };
 
 bool is_compatible_with_print  (const PresetWithVendorProfile &preset, const PresetWithVendorProfile &active_print, const PresetWithVendorProfile &active_printer);

src/libslic3r/PresetBundle.hpp

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 #include "enum_bitmask.hpp"
 
 #include <memory>
+#include <set>
 #include <shared_mutex>
 #include <unordered_map>
 #include <optional>
@@ -170,6 +171,73 @@ struct PresetBundleMetadata
 class PresetBundle
 {
 public:
+    // ---- Per-vendor preset cache --------------------------------------------
+    // One cache file per vendor (plus the Orca filament library), stamped with
+    // the vendor's own profile version rather than a directory scan.
+
+    // The cache is not something a caller loads from: a vendor is loaded with
+    // load_vendor_configs_from_json, which comes from the cache whenever one covers
+    // it. What is public here is what the cache's own tests drive directly.
+
+    // One preset as its JSON subfile states it: the config diff, the name of the
+    // preset it inherits, and the parse metadata — everything the parse phase of
+    // load_vendor_configs_from_json extracts and nothing it derives. Inheritance
+    // is resolved when the entry is installed, against whatever filament library
+    // is loaded then, so a cache carries no other vendor's values and no other
+    // vendor's update can make it stale.
+    // All fields, declaration order — keep in sync; bump CACHE_VERSION on change.
+    struct CachedPreset
+    {
+        std::string              name;
+        std::string              sub_path;       // path under the vendor's directory
+        DynamicPrintConfig       config_src;     // the preset's own diff, nothing inherited
+        std::string              inherits;
+        std::string              description;
+        std::string              instantiation;  // "true"/"false" as stated; anything else was already counted as a parse error
+        std::string              setting_id;
+        std::string              filament_id;
+        std::vector<std::string> renamed_from;
+
+        template<class Archive>
+        void serialize(Archive& ar)
+        {
+            ar(name, sub_path, config_src, inherits, description, instantiation,
+               setting_id, filament_id, renamed_from);
+        }
+    };
+
+    // Save one vendor (vendor_name at vendor_version): its vendor profile and its
+    // presets in source form, plus how many errors their parse counted.
+    static bool save_vendor_cache(const std::string& cache_path, const std::string& vendor_name,
+                          const std::string& vendor_version, const VendorMap& vendors,
+                          const std::vector<CachedPreset>& process_entries,
+                          const std::vector<CachedPreset>& filament_entries,
+                          const std::vector<CachedPreset>& machine_entries,
+                          uint64_t parse_errors);
+
+    // Load a validated per-vendor cache into this bundle by installing its
+    // entries, with base_bundle's filament library as the inheritance base.
+    // Rejects (returns false, with this bundle left clean) unless the cache
+    // version, schema fingerprint and vendor name match, the cache was built
+    // from a vendor profile at least as new as the expected one, and every
+    // entry installs. An invalid expected version (a profile whose version
+    // cannot be judged) is never served from cache; Semver::inf() (no profile
+    // beside the cache at all) accepts whatever is cached.
+    bool load_vendor_cache(const std::string& cache_path, const std::string& expected_vendor_name,
+                          const Semver& expected_vendor_version, const PresetBundle* base_bundle = nullptr);
+
+    // Read the profile version a cache was stamped with, without deserializing its
+    // presets. Empty if the file is unreadable, not a cache this build understands,
+    // or not this vendor's. This is how an installed vendor's version is known when
+    // only its cache is installed.
+    static std::string peek_vendor_cache_version(const std::string& cache_path, const std::string& expected_vendor_name);
+
+    // Enable writing a per-vendor cache after a JSON parse (off by default). Cache
+    // content is pure parse output, so the guard is policy, not correctness: only
+    // the deliberate generators (load_system_presets_from_json, the cache build
+    // tool) write files, not every incidental load a dialog performs.
+    void set_generate_vendor_caches(bool enable) { m_generate_vendor_caches = enable; }
+
     static DynamicPrintConfig construct_full_config(Preset                         &in_printer_preset,
                                                     Preset                         &in_print_preset,
                                                     const DynamicPrintConfig       &project_config,
@@ -444,8 +512,12 @@ public:
     /*std::pair<PresetsConfigSubstitutions, size_t> load_configbundle(
         const std::string &path, LoadConfigBundleAttributes flags, ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule compatibility_rule);*/
     //Orca: load config bundle from json, pass the base bundle to support cross vendor inheritance
+    // Orca: `dir` is where the vendor is looked for — its own directory, whether or
+    // not the profile JSONs are still there. A whole-vendor load comes from the
+    // vendor's preset cache whenever one covers the profile on disk, and is parsed
+    // from the JSONs (falling back to the ones in resources) only when none does.
     std::pair<PresetsConfigSubstitutions, size_t> load_vendor_configs_from_json(
-        const std::string &path, const std::string &vendor_name, LoadConfigBundleAttributes flags, ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule compatibility_rule, const PresetBundle* base_bundle = nullptr);
+        const std::string &dir, const std::string &vendor_name, LoadConfigBundleAttributes flags, ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule compatibility_rule, const PresetBundle* base_bundle = nullptr);
 
     // Export a config bundle file containing all the presets and the names of the active presets.
     //void                        export_configbundle(const std::string &path, bool export_system_settings = false, bool export_physical_printers = false);
@@ -517,11 +589,56 @@ public:
     // Orca: for validation only.
     bool has_errors(bool check_duplicate_filament_subtypes = false) const;
 
+    // Errors the last load recorded. What the cache's error accounting promises —
+    // a cache-served vendor reports what its parse would — is pinned against this.
+    int error_count() const { return m_errors; }
+
     // Orca: for validation only. Flag any system preset whose inherits / compatible_printers /
     // compatible_prints references a deleted (unknown) or renamed (old) preset name.
     bool check_preset_references() const;
 
+    // Merge one vendor's presets with the other vendor's presets, report duplicates.
+    // Public so per-vendor-cache consumers (e.g. the setup wizard) can assemble a
+    // bundle out of several per-vendor caches loaded into separate PresetBundle instances.
+    std::vector<std::string>    merge_presets(PresetBundle &&other);
+
 private:
+    // Load one vendor from its preset cache: the one in `dir`, or — when that is
+    // missing or stale — the one shipped in resources/profiles, both judged against
+    // the vendor as installed in `dir`. False, with this bundle left clean, when
+    // neither is usable and the vendor has to be parsed. This is how
+    // load_vendor_configs_from_json reads a cache.
+    bool load_vendor_cache(const boost::filesystem::path& dir, const std::string& vendor_name, const PresetBundle* base_bundle);
+
+    // Read raw cache blob: verify magic, size, CRC.
+    static bool read_cache_blob(const std::string& path, std::string& out_blob);
+    // Write a cache blob with the standard 20-byte file header. False when the
+    // file could not be opened or written whole.
+    static bool write_cache_blob(const std::string& path, const std::string& blob);
+
+    // Install one source-form preset entry into this bundle: resolve `inherits`,
+    // flatten, validate and register the preset. Returns the reason installation
+    // failed, empty on success. See the definition for the sharing contract
+    // between the JSON parse and the cache load.
+    // retain_configs, when non-null, names the only presets registered into
+    // config_maps (a full config copy each). The cache load passes the names its
+    // entries inherit — the only ones ever looked up again; the JSON parse
+    // retains all, not knowing what later subfiles inherit.
+    std::string install_vendor_preset(const CachedPreset& entry,
+        const std::string& path, const std::string& vendor_name,
+        const PresetBundle* base_bundle,
+        LoadConfigBundleAttributes flags,
+        ConfigSubstitutionContext& substitution_context, PresetsConfigSubstitutions& substitutions,
+        std::map<std::string, DynamicPrintConfig>& config_maps, std::map<std::string, std::string>& filament_id_maps,
+        PresetCollection* presets_collection, size_t& count, bool is_from_lib,
+        const std::set<std::string>* retain_configs = nullptr);
+
+    // Clear every collection's m_printer_hold_alias, which reset() leaves alone.
+    void clear_printer_hold_aliases();
+
+    // Whether to (re)write a per-vendor cache after a JSON parse.
+    bool m_generate_vendor_caches { false };
+
     // Orca: validation only - flag any printer with two or more compatible
     // filament presets sharing one filament_id (ambiguous AMS subtype match).
     bool check_duplicate_filament_subtypes() const;
@@ -529,8 +646,6 @@ private:
     //std::pair<PresetsConfigSubstitutions, std::string> load_system_presets(ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule compatibility_rule);
     //BBS: add json related logic
     std::pair<PresetsConfigSubstitutions, std::string> load_system_presets_from_json(ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule compatibility_rule);
-    // Merge one vendor's presets with the other vendor's presets, report duplicates.
-    std::vector<std::string>    merge_presets(PresetBundle &&other);
     // Update the multicolor information for filaments.
     void update_filament_multi_color();
     // Update renamed_from and alias maps of system profiles.
@@ -565,6 +680,38 @@ private:
 
 ENABLE_ENUM_BITMASK_OPERATORS(PresetBundle::LoadConfigBundleAttribute)
 
+// True if `vendor` is installed in data_dir()/system. A build that ships preset
+// caches installs the cache alone, so it — not the profile — marks a vendor
+// installed, and either one on its own counts.
+extern bool is_vendor_installed(const std::string& vendor);
+
+// The version of the installed vendor: what its profile claims, or what its cache
+// was stamped with where only the cache is installed. Invalid Semver if neither is.
+extern Semver installed_vendor_version(const std::string& vendor);
+
+// Remove every form `vendor` can be installed as from data_dir()/system: its
+// profile, its preset cache, and its preset directory.
+extern void remove_installed_vendor(const std::string& vendor);
+
+// The vendors `dir` holds, sorted: one is named by its profile or, in a build that
+// ships preset caches instead of the raw profile JSONs, by its cache alone.
+extern std::set<std::string> vendor_names_in(const boost::filesystem::path& dir);
+
+// The version a build ships `vendor` at: whichever of its preset cache and its
+// profile is newer, that being the one installing lays down. Invalid Semver if the
+// build ships neither.
+extern Semver resource_vendor_version(const std::string& vendor);
+
+// Install vendors from the resources directory into the data directory, each as
+// its preset cache or as its profile and preset JSONs — whichever of the two the
+// build ships at the newer version. Anything the previous install of that vendor
+// left behind goes, so only the form just installed is there to be loaded.
+// bundle_names: vendor names, without extension.
+// Returns false on the first vendor that cannot be installed.
+extern bool install_vendor_bundles_from_resources(const std::vector<std::string>& bundle_names,
+                                                  const std::string& resource_subdir = "profiles",
+                                                  const std::string& data_subdir     = "system");
+
 } // namespace Slic3r
 
 #endif /* slic3r_PresetBundle_hpp_ */

src/libslic3r/PrintConfig.hpp

@@ -2412,7 +2412,8 @@ namespace cereal {
             archive(serialization_key_ordinal);
             assert(serialization_key_ordinal > 0);
             auto it = Slic3r::print_config_def.by_serialization_key_ordinal.find(serialization_key_ordinal);
-            assert(it != Slic3r::print_config_def.by_serialization_key_ordinal.end());
+            if (it == Slic3r::print_config_def.by_serialization_key_ordinal.end())
+                throw std::runtime_error("VendorCache: unknown serialization_key_ordinal " + std::to_string(serialization_key_ordinal) + " - cache is stale");
             config.set_key_value(it->second->opt_key, it->second->load_option_from_archive(archive));
         }
     }

src/libslic3r/Semver.hpp

@@ -190,6 +190,19 @@ public:
 		os << self.to_string();
 		return os;
 	}
+
+	// cereal: round-trip through the standard 3-part string (major.minor.patch).
+	// to_string() uses a BBS 4-part format that semver_parse() cannot read back.
+	template<class Archive>
+	std::string save_minimal(const Archive&) const { return to_string_sf(); }
+	template<class Archive>
+	void load_minimal(const Archive&, const std::string& s) {
+		auto v = Semver::parse(s);
+		if (! v)
+			throw std::runtime_error("Semver: cannot parse serialized version: " + s);
+		*this = std::move(*v);
+	}
+
 private:
 	semver_t ver;
 

src/libslic3r/Utils.hpp

@@ -722,15 +722,6 @@ void copy_directory_recursively(const boost::filesystem::path& source,
                                 std::function<bool(const std::string)> filter = nullptr,
                                 bool merge_mode                               = false);
 
-// Install vendor bundles from resources directory to data directory
-// bundle_names: vector of vendor bundle names (without .json extension)
-// resource_subdir: subdirectory under resources_dir() (default: "profiles")
-// data_subdir: subdirectory under data_dir() (default: "system")
-// Returns: true if all bundles installed successfully, false otherwise
-bool install_vendor_bundles_from_resources(const std::vector<std::string>& bundle_names,
-                                           const std::string& resource_subdir = "profiles",
-                                           const std::string& data_subdir     = "system");
-
 // Orca: Since 1.7.9 Boost deprecated save_string_file and load_string_file, copy and modified from boost 1.7.8
 void save_string_file(const boost::filesystem::path& p, const std::string& str);
 void load_string_file(const boost::filesystem::path& p, std::string& str);

src/libslic3r/utils.cpp

@@ -1724,76 +1724,6 @@ void copy_directory_recursively(const boost::filesystem::path& source,
     return;
 }
 
-bool install_vendor_bundles_from_resources(
-    const std::vector<std::string>& bundle_names,
-    const std::string& resource_subdir,
-    const std::string& data_subdir)
-{
-    namespace fs = boost::filesystem;
-
-    fs::path rsrc_path = fs::path(Slic3r::resources_dir()) / resource_subdir;
-    fs::path vendor_path = fs::path(Slic3r::data_dir()) / data_subdir;
-
-    BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(info) << "Installing " << bundle_names.size() << " bundles from resources...";
-
-    for (const auto &bundle : bundle_names) {
-        try {
-            // Install the JSON file
-            auto path_in_rsrc = (rsrc_path / bundle).replace_extension(".json");
-            auto path_in_vendors = (vendor_path / bundle).replace_extension(".json");
-
-            if (!fs::exists(path_in_rsrc)) {
-                BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(warning) << "Bundle not found in resources: " << bundle;
-                return false;
-            }
-
-            // Create target directory if needed
-            if (!fs::exists(vendor_path))
-                fs::create_directories(vendor_path);
-
-            // Copy JSON file
-            std::string error_message;
-            CopyFileResult cfr = copy_file(path_in_rsrc.string(), path_in_vendors.string(), error_message, false);
-            if (cfr != CopyFileResult::SUCCESS) {
-                BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << "Failed to copy " << bundle << ".json: " << error_message;
-                return false;
-            }
-
-            // Copy the vendor directory (if it exists)
-            auto dir_in_rsrc = rsrc_path / bundle;
-            auto dir_in_vendors = vendor_path / bundle;
-
-            if (fs::exists(dir_in_rsrc) && fs::is_directory(dir_in_rsrc)) {
-                // Remove existing directory
-                if (fs::exists(dir_in_vendors))
-                    fs::remove_all(dir_in_vendors);
-                fs::create_directories(dir_in_vendors);
-
-                // Copy with file filter (same as PresetUpdater::install_bundles_rsrc)
-                // Filter out certain file types: .stl, .png, .svg, .jpeg, .jpg, .3mf
-                auto file_filter = [](const std::string name) -> bool {
-                    return boost::iends_with(name, ".stl") ||
-                           boost::iends_with(name, ".png") ||
-                           boost::iends_with(name, ".svg") ||
-                           boost::iends_with(name, ".jpeg") ||
-                           boost::iends_with(name, ".jpg") ||
-                           boost::iends_with(name, ".3mf");
-                };
-
-                copy_directory_recursively(dir_in_rsrc, dir_in_vendors, file_filter);
-            }
-
-            BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(info) << "Successfully installed bundle: " << bundle;
-
-        } catch (const std::exception& e) {
-            BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << "Exception installing bundle " << bundle << ": " << e.what();
-            return false;
-        }
-    }
-
-    return true;
-}
-
 void save_string_file(const boost::filesystem::path& p, const std::string& str)
 {
     boost::nowide::ofstream file;

src/slic3r/Config/Snapshot.cpp

@@ -432,14 +432,9 @@ const Snapshot&	SnapshotDB::take_snapshot(const AppConfig &app_config, Snapshot:
                 cfg.models_variants_installed.erase(it ++);
             else
                 ++ it;
-        // Read the active config bundle, parse the config version.
-        PresetBundle bundle;
-        //BBS: change directoties by design
-        //bundle.load_configbundle((data_dir / PRESET_SYSTEM_DIR / (cfg.name + ".ini")).string(), PresetBundle::LoadConfigBundleAttribute::LoadVendorOnly, ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule::EnableSilent);
-        bundle.load_vendor_configs_from_json((data_dir/PRESET_SYSTEM_DIR).string(), cfg.name, PresetBundle::LoadConfigBundleAttribute::LoadVendorOnly, ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule::EnableSilent);
-        for (const auto &vp : bundle.vendors)
-            if (vp.second.id == cfg.name)
-                cfg.version.config_version = vp.second.config_version;
+        // Orca: the version the vendor is installed at, read from its profile or —
+        // where the cache is the whole installation — from the cache's own stamp.
+        cfg.version.config_version = installed_vendor_version(cfg.name);
         snapshot.vendor_configs.emplace_back(std::move(cfg));
     }
 

src/slic3r/GUI/ConfigWizard.cpp

@@ -66,41 +66,41 @@ using Config::SnapshotDB;
 
 // Configuration data structures extensions needed for the wizard
 //BBS: set BBL as default
-bool Bundle::load(fs::path source_path, bool ais_in_resources, bool ais_bbl_bundle)
+bool Bundle::load(fs::path dir, const std::string &vendor_name, bool ais_in_resources, bool ais_bbl_bundle)
 {
     this->preset_bundle = std::make_unique<PresetBundle>();
     this->is_in_resources = ais_in_resources;
     this->is_bbl_bundle = ais_bbl_bundle;
 
-    std::string path_string = source_path.string();
-    std::string parent_path = source_path.parent_path().string();
     //BBS: add json logic for vendor bundles
-    std::string vendor_name = source_path.filename().string();
-    if (Slic3r::is_json_file(path_string)) {
-        // Remove the .json suffix.
-        vendor_name.erase(vendor_name.size() - 5);
-    }
-    else
+    // Orca: served from the vendor's preset cache where one covers it — which is
+    // how a shipped build carries its vendors — and parsed from the JSONs otherwise.
+    // A vendor that can be neither read nor parsed — a cache the build cannot use
+    // with the preset JSONs behind it pruned, say — is one the wizard cannot offer.
+    // Every other vendor still can be, so it is left out rather than thrown over.
+    size_t presets_loaded = 0;
+    try {
+        auto [config_substitutions, loaded] = preset_bundle->load_vendor_configs_from_json(
+            dir.string(), vendor_name, PresetBundle::LoadConfigBundleAttribute::LoadSystem, ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule::Disable);
+        UNUSED(config_substitutions);
+        // No substitutions shall be reported when loading a system config bundle, no substitutions are allowed.
+        assert(config_substitutions.empty());
+        presets_loaded = loaded;
+    } catch (const std::exception &e) {
+        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(fatal) << boost::format("Vendor bundle: `%1%`: cannot be loaded, leaving it out: %2%") % vendor_name % e.what();
         return false;
-
-    // Throw when parsing invalid configuration. Only valid configuration is supposed to be provided over the air.
-    //BBS: add json logic for vendor bundles
-    auto [config_substitutions, presets_loaded] = preset_bundle->load_vendor_configs_from_json(
-        parent_path, vendor_name, PresetBundle::LoadConfigBundleAttribute::LoadSystem, ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule::Disable);
-    UNUSED(config_substitutions);
-    // No substitutions shall be reported when loading a system config bundle, no substitutions are allowed.
-    assert(config_substitutions.empty());
+    }
     auto first_vendor = preset_bundle->vendors.begin();
     if (first_vendor == preset_bundle->vendors.end()) {
-        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << boost::format("Vendor bundle: `%1%`: No vendor information defined, cannot install.") % path_string;
+        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << boost::format("Vendor bundle: `%1%`: No vendor information defined, cannot install.") % vendor_name;
         return false;
     }
     if (presets_loaded == 0) {
-        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << boost::format("Vendor bundle: `%1%`: No profile loaded.") % path_string;
+        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << boost::format("Vendor bundle: `%1%`: No profile loaded.") % vendor_name;
         return false;
-    } 
+    }
 
-    BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(trace) << boost::format("Vendor bundle: `%1%`: %2% profiles loaded.") % path_string % presets_loaded;
+    BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(trace) << boost::format("Vendor bundle: `%1%`: %2% profiles loaded.") % vendor_name % presets_loaded;
     this->vendor_profile = &first_vendor->second;
     return true;
 }
@@ -125,15 +125,10 @@ BundleMap BundleMap::load()
 
     //Orca: add custom as default
     //Orca: add json logic for vendor bundle
-    auto orca_bundle_path = (vendor_dir / PresetBundle::ORCA_DEFAULT_BUNDLE).replace_extension(".json");
-    auto orca_bundle_rsrc = false;
-    if (!boost::filesystem::exists(orca_bundle_path)) {
-        orca_bundle_path = (rsrc_vendor_dir / PresetBundle::ORCA_DEFAULT_BUNDLE).replace_extension(".json");
-        orca_bundle_rsrc = true;
-    }
     {
+        const bool from_rsrc = ! is_vendor_installed(PresetBundle::ORCA_DEFAULT_BUNDLE);
         Bundle bbl_bundle;
-        if (bbl_bundle.load(std::move(orca_bundle_path), orca_bundle_rsrc, true))
+        if (bbl_bundle.load(from_rsrc ? rsrc_vendor_dir : vendor_dir, PresetBundle::ORCA_DEFAULT_BUNDLE, from_rsrc, true))
             res.emplace(PresetBundle::ORCA_DEFAULT_BUNDLE, std::move(bbl_bundle));
     }
 
@@ -141,18 +136,13 @@ BundleMap BundleMap::load()
     // and then additionally from resources/profiles.
     bool is_in_resources = false;
     for (auto dir : { &vendor_dir, &rsrc_vendor_dir }) {
-        for (const auto &dir_entry : boost::filesystem::directory_iterator(*dir)) {
-            //BBS: add json logic for vendor bundle
-            if (Slic3r::is_json_file(dir_entry.path().string())) {
-                std::string id = dir_entry.path().stem().string();  // stem() = filename() without the trailing ".json" part
+        for (const std::string &id : vendor_names_in(*dir)) {
+            // Don't load this bundle if we've already loaded it.
+            if (res.find(id) != res.end()) { continue; }
 
-                // Don't load this bundle if we've already loaded it.
-                if (res.find(id) != res.end()) { continue; }
-
-                Bundle bundle;
-                if (bundle.load(dir_entry.path(), is_in_resources))
-                    res.emplace(std::move(id), std::move(bundle));
-            }
+            Bundle bundle;
+            if (bundle.load(*dir, id, is_in_resources))
+                res.emplace(id, std::move(bundle));
         }
 
         is_in_resources = true;

src/slic3r/GUI/ConfigWizard_private.hpp

@@ -71,9 +71,11 @@ struct Bundle
 	Bundle() = default;
 	Bundle(Bundle&& other);
 
+	// Load the vendor `vendor_name` as it is installed in `dir`, from its preset
+	// cache or its profile JSONs, whichever is usable.
 	// Returns false if not loaded. Reason for that is logged as boost::log error.
 	//BBS: set BBL as default
-	bool load(fs::path source_path, bool is_in_resources, bool is_bbl_bundle = false);
+	bool load(fs::path dir, const std::string &vendor_name, bool is_in_resources, bool is_bbl_bundle = false);
 
 	const std::string& vendor_id() const { return vendor_profile->id; }
 };

src/slic3r/GUI/CreatePresetsDialog.cpp

@@ -2201,25 +2201,14 @@ bool CreatePrinterPresetDialog::load_system_and_user_presets_with_curr_model(Pre
     } else {
         selected_vendor_id = m_printer_preset_vendor_selected.id;
 
-        if (boost::filesystem::exists(boost::filesystem::path(Slic3r::data_dir()) / PRESET_SYSTEM_DIR / selected_vendor_id)) {
-            preset_path = (boost::filesystem::path(Slic3r::data_dir()) / PRESET_SYSTEM_DIR).string();
-        } else if (boost::filesystem::exists(boost::filesystem::path(Slic3r::resources_dir()) / "profiles" / selected_vendor_id)) {
-            preset_path = (boost::filesystem::path(Slic3r::resources_dir()) / "profiles").string();
-        }
-
-        if (preset_path.empty()) {
-            BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(info) << "Preset path was not found";
-            MessageDialog dlg(this, _L("Preset path was not found; please reselect vendor."), wxString(SLIC3R_APP_FULL_NAME) + " - " + _L("Info"),
-                              wxYES_NO | wxYES_DEFAULT | wxCENTRE);
-            dlg.ShowModal();
-            return false;
-        }
-
         try {
             // Pass the app's preset bundle (which already holds OrcaFilamentLibrary) as the base
             // bundle so vendor filaments that inherit OFL bases resolve via the existing
             // cross-vendor inheritance path.
-            temp_preset_bundle.load_vendor_configs_from_json(preset_path, selected_vendor_id,
+            // Orca: served from the vendor's preset cache where one covers it — a shipped
+            // build carries that instead of the raw preset JSONs — and parsed otherwise.
+            temp_preset_bundle.load_vendor_configs_from_json((boost::filesystem::path(Slic3r::data_dir()) / PRESET_SYSTEM_DIR).string(),
+                                                             selected_vendor_id,
                                                              PresetBundle::LoadConfigBundleAttribute::LoadSystem,
                                                              ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule::EnableSilent,
                                                              wxGetApp().preset_bundle);

src/slic3r/GUI/WebGuideDialog.cpp

@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 #include "WebGuideDialog.hpp"
 #include "ConfigWizard.hpp"
 
+#include <boost/algorithm/string/join.hpp>
 #include <boost/filesystem/operations.hpp>
+#include <boost/nowide/fstream.hpp>
 #include <boost/filesystem/path.hpp>
 #include <boost/iostreams/detail/select.hpp>
 #include <boost/log/trivial.hpp>
@@ -9,6 +11,7 @@
 #include "I18N.hpp"
 #include "libslic3r/AppConfig.hpp"
 #include "libslic3r/Config.hpp"
+#include "libslic3r/Preset.hpp"
 #include "libslic3r/PresetBundle.hpp"
 #include "slic3r/GUI/wxExtensions.hpp"
 #include "slic3r/GUI/GUI_App.hpp"
@@ -41,8 +44,6 @@ using namespace nlohmann;
 
 namespace Slic3r { namespace GUI {
 
-json m_ProfileJson;
-
 static wxString update_custom_filaments()
 {
     json m_Res                                                                     = json::object();
@@ -190,12 +191,10 @@ GuideFrame::GuideFrame(GUI_App *pGUI, long style)
 
 GuideFrame::~GuideFrame()
 {
-    m_destroy = true;
-    if (m_load_task && m_load_task->joinable()) {
+    *m_cancel_token = true; // stop the loading thread and any queued CallAfter lambdas before join
+    if (m_load_task && m_load_task->joinable())
         m_load_task->join();
-        delete m_load_task;
-        m_load_task = nullptr;
-    }
+    m_load_task.reset();
     if (m_browser) {
         delete m_browser;
         m_browser = nullptr;
@@ -301,15 +300,71 @@ void GuideFrame::OnNavigationRequest(wxWebViewEvent &evt)
 /**
  * Callback invoked when a navigation request was accepted
  */
+// The empty shape every profile-loading path starts from or falls back to.
+void GuideFrame::reset_profile_json()
+{
+    m_ProfileJson["model"]    = json::array();
+    m_ProfileJson["machine"]  = json::object();
+    m_ProfileJson["filament"] = json::object();
+    m_ProfileJson["process"]  = json::array();
+}
+
+void GuideFrame::init_guide_paths()
+{
+    m_ProfileJson = json::parse("{}");
+    reset_profile_json();
+
+    vendor_dir      = (boost::filesystem::path(Slic3r::data_dir()) / PRESET_SYSTEM_DIR).make_preferred();
+    rsrc_vendor_dir = (boost::filesystem::path(resources_dir()) / "profiles").make_preferred();
+    orca_bundle_rsrc = true;
+
+    if (boost::filesystem::exists(vendor_dir)) {
+        for (const auto& entry : boost::filesystem::directory_iterator(vendor_dir)) {
+            if (!boost::filesystem::is_directory(entry) &&
+                boost::iequals(entry.path().extension().string(), ".json") &&
+                !boost::iequals(entry.path().stem().string(), PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY)) {
+                orca_bundle_rsrc = false;
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    auto lib_json = boost::filesystem::path(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY).replace_extension(".json");
+    m_OrcaFilaLibPath = boost::filesystem::exists(vendor_dir / lib_json)
+        ? (vendor_dir      / PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY).string()
+        : (rsrc_vendor_dir / PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY).string();
+}
+
+void GuideFrame::on_profile_loaded()
+{
+    // Must be called on the main thread.
+    SaveProfileData();
+    const std::string strAll = m_ProfileJson.dump(-1, ' ', false, json::error_handler_t::ignore);
+    BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(info) << __FUNCTION__ << ", finished, json contents:\n" << strAll;
+    json res;
+    res["command"]     = "userguide_profile_load_finish";
+    res["sequence_id"] = "10001";
+    RunScript(wxString::Format("HandleStudio(%s)", res.dump(-1, ' ', true)));
+}
+
 void GuideFrame::OnNavigationComplete(wxWebViewEvent &evt)
 {
     //wxLogMessage("%s", "Navigation complete; url='" + evt.GetURL() + "'");
     if (!bFirstComplete) {
-        m_load_task = new boost::thread(boost::bind(&GuideFrame::LoadProfileData, this));
-       // boost::thread LoadProfileThread(boost::bind(&GuideFrame::LoadProfileData, this));
-        //LoadProfileThread.detach();
-
         bFirstComplete = true;
+        try {
+            init_guide_paths();
+            if (BuildProfileDataFromPresetBundle()) {
+                if (!*m_cancel_token)
+                    on_profile_loaded();
+            } else {
+                // Presets not yet in memory — delegate to background thread.
+                m_load_task = std::make_unique<boost::thread>(boost::bind(&GuideFrame::LoadProfileData, this));
+            }
+        } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+            BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << __FUNCTION__ << ", init error: " << e.what();
+            m_load_task = std::make_unique<boost::thread>(boost::bind(&GuideFrame::LoadProfileData, this));
+        }
     }
 
     m_browser->Show();
@@ -762,11 +817,9 @@ bool GuideFrame::apply_config(AppConfig *app_config, PresetBundle *preset_bundle
     bool check_unsaved_preset_changes = false;
     std::vector<std::string> install_bundles;
     std::vector<std::string> remove_bundles;
-    const auto vendor_dir = (boost::filesystem::path(Slic3r::data_dir()) / PRESET_SYSTEM_DIR).make_preferred();
     for (const auto &it : enabled_vendors) {
         if (it.second.size() > 0) {
-            auto vendor_file = vendor_dir/(it.first + ".json");
-            if (!fs::exists(vendor_file)) {
+            if (!is_vendor_installed(it.first)) {
                 install_bundles.emplace_back(it.first);
             }
         }
@@ -777,8 +830,7 @@ bool GuideFrame::apply_config(AppConfig *app_config, PresetBundle *preset_bundle
         if (it.second.size() > 0) {
             if (enabled_vendors.find(it.first) != enabled_vendors.end())
                 continue;
-            auto vendor_file = vendor_dir/(it.first + ".json");
-            if (fs::exists(vendor_file)) {
+            if (is_vendor_installed(it.first)) {
                 remove_bundles.emplace_back(it.first);
             }
         }
@@ -1127,99 +1179,244 @@ int GuideFrame::GetFilamentInfo( std::string VendorDirectory, json & pFilaList,
     return status;
 }
 
-int GuideFrame::LoadProfileData()
+bool GuideFrame::BuildProfileJson(const PresetBundle& bundle, bool require_all_resource_vendors)
 {
     try {
-        m_ProfileJson             = json::parse("{}");
-        m_ProfileJson["model"]    = json::array();
-        m_ProfileJson["machine"]  = json::object();
-        m_ProfileJson["filament"] = json::object();
-        m_ProfileJson["process"]  = json::array();
+        // Models from vendor profiles
+        for (const auto& [vendor_id, vp] : bundle.vendors) {
+            for (const auto& model : vp.models) {
+                std::string nozzle_str;
+                for (const auto& v : model.variants) {
+                    if (!nozzle_str.empty()) nozzle_str += ";";
+                    nozzle_str += v.name;
+                }
+                const std::string materials_str = boost::algorithm::join(model.default_materials, ";");
+                boost::filesystem::path cover_path =
+                    (boost::filesystem::path(resources_dir()) / "profiles" / vp.id / (model.id + "_cover.png"))
+                        .make_preferred();
+                if (!boost::filesystem::exists(cover_path))
+                    cover_path =
+                        (boost::filesystem::path(resources_dir()) / "web/image/printer" / (model.id + "_cover.png"))
+                            .make_preferred();
 
-        vendor_dir      = (boost::filesystem::path(Slic3r::data_dir()) / PRESET_SYSTEM_DIR).make_preferred();
-        rsrc_vendor_dir = (boost::filesystem::path(resources_dir()) / "profiles").make_preferred();
-
-        // Orca: add custom as default
-        // Orca: add json logic for vendor bundle
-        orca_bundle_rsrc = true;
-
-        // search if there exists a .json file in vendor_dir folder, if exists, set orca_bundle_rsrc to false
-        for (const auto& entry : boost::filesystem::directory_iterator(vendor_dir)) {
-            if (!boost::filesystem::is_directory(entry) && boost::iequals(entry.path().extension().string(), ".json") && !boost::iequals(entry.path().stem().string(), PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY)) {
-                orca_bundle_rsrc = false;
-                break;
+                json entry;
+                entry["model"]           = model.id;
+                entry["name"]            = model.name;
+                entry["vendor"]          = vp.id;
+                entry["nozzle_diameter"] = nozzle_str;
+                entry["materials"]       = materials_str;
+                entry["cover"]           = cover_path.string();
+                entry["nozzle_selected"] = "";
+                entry["sub_path"]        = "";
+                m_ProfileJson["model"].push_back(entry);
             }
         }
 
-        // load the default filament library first
-        std::set<std::string> loaded_vendors;
-        auto filament_library_name = boost::filesystem::path(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY).replace_extension(".json");
-        if (boost::filesystem::exists(vendor_dir / filament_library_name)) {
-            m_OrcaFilaLibPath = (vendor_dir / PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY).string();
-            LoadProfileFamily(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY, (vendor_dir / filament_library_name).string());
-        } else {
-            m_OrcaFilaLibPath = (rsrc_vendor_dir / PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY).string();
-            LoadProfileFamily(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY, (rsrc_vendor_dir / filament_library_name).string());
-        }
-        loaded_vendors.insert(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY);
+        // Machine map: preset name -> {model, nozzle variant}
+        for (const Preset& p : bundle.printers()) {
+            if (!p.is_system || !p.vendor) continue;
+            const auto* printer_model   = p.config.option<ConfigOptionString>("printer_model");
+            const auto* printer_variant = p.config.option<ConfigOptionString>("printer_variant");
+            if (!printer_model || printer_model->value.empty() || !printer_variant) continue;
 
-        //load custom bundle from user data path
-        boost::filesystem::directory_iterator endIter;
-        for (boost::filesystem::directory_iterator iter(vendor_dir); iter != endIter; iter++) {
-            if (!boost::filesystem::is_directory(*iter)) {
-                wxString strVendor = from_u8(iter->path().string()).BeforeLast('.');
-                strVendor          = strVendor.AfterLast('\\');
-                strVendor          = strVendor.AfterLast('/');
-
-                wxString strExtension = from_u8(iter->path().string()).AfterLast('.').Lower();
-                if(strExtension.CmpNoCase("json") != 0 || loaded_vendors.find(w2s(strVendor)) != loaded_vendors.end())
-                    continue;
-
-                LoadProfileFamily(w2s(strVendor), iter->path().string());
-                loaded_vendors.insert(w2s(strVendor));
-            }
-            if (m_destroy)
-                return 0;
+            json mach;
+            mach["model"]  = printer_model->value;
+            mach["nozzle"] = printer_variant->value;
+            m_ProfileJson["machine"][p.name] = mach;
         }
 
-        boost::filesystem::directory_iterator others_endIter;
-        for (boost::filesystem::directory_iterator iter(rsrc_vendor_dir); iter != others_endIter; iter++) {
-            if (!boost::filesystem::is_directory(*iter)) {
-                wxString strVendor = from_u8(iter->path().string()).BeforeLast('.');
-                strVendor          = strVendor.AfterLast('\\');
-                strVendor          = strVendor.AfterLast('/');
-                wxString strExtension = from_u8(iter->path().string()).AfterLast('.').Lower();
-                if (strExtension.CmpNoCase("json") != 0 || loaded_vendors.find(w2s(strVendor)) != loaded_vendors.end())
-                    continue;
+        // Filament map from system filament presets (vendor/type already resolved in config)
+        const json& machines = m_ProfileJson["machine"];
+        for (const Preset& p : bundle.filaments()) {
+            if (!p.is_system || !p.vendor) continue;
+            const auto* fila_vendor     = p.config.option<ConfigOptionStrings>("filament_vendor");
+            const auto* fila_type       = p.config.option<ConfigOptionStrings>("filament_type");
+            const auto* compat_printers = p.config.option<ConfigOptionStrings>("compatible_printers");
 
-                LoadProfileFamily(w2s(strVendor), iter->path().string());
-                loaded_vendors.insert(w2s(strVendor));
+            std::string vendor = (fila_vendor && !fila_vendor->values.empty()) ? fila_vendor->values[0] : "";
+            std::string type   = (fila_type   && !fila_type->values.empty())   ? fila_type->values[0]   : "";
+
+            std::string model_list;
+            if (compat_printers) {
+                for (const std::string& pname : compat_printers->values) {
+                    auto it = machines.find(pname);
+                    if (it != machines.end()) {
+                        const std::string m = (*it)["model"];
+                        const std::string n = (*it)["nozzle"];
+                        model_list += "[" + m + "++" + n + "]";
+                    }
+                }
             }
-            if (m_destroy)
-                return 0;
+
+            json ff;
+            ff["name"]     = p.name;
+            ff["sub_path"] = p.file;
+            ff["vendor"]   = vendor;
+            ff["type"]     = type;
+            ff["models"]   = model_list;
+            ff["selected"] = 0;
+            m_ProfileJson["filament"][p.name] = ff;
         }
 
-        wxGetApp().CallAfter([this] {
-            if (!m_destroy) {
-                //sync to appconfig first to populate current selections
-                SaveProfileData();
+        // Process list from visible system print presets
+        for (const Preset& p : bundle.prints()) {
+            if (!p.is_system || !p.vendor || !p.is_visible) continue;
+            json entry;
+            entry["name"]     = p.name;
+            entry["sub_path"] = p.file;
+            m_ProfileJson["process"].push_back(entry);
+        }
 
-                //sync to web after selections are populated
-                std::string strAll = m_ProfileJson.dump(-1, ' ', false, json::error_handler_t::ignore);
+        if (require_all_resource_vendors) {
+            // If rsrc_vendor_dir has vendors (profile JSONs, or the preset caches a
+            // packaged build ships instead) not covered by the current bundle, the
+            // bundle is incomplete (e.g. dev env where data_dir/system only has
+            // OrcaFilamentLibrary+Custom). Fall back so the slow path reads both dirs.
+            try {
+                for (const std::string& name : vendor_names_in(rsrc_vendor_dir)) {
+                    if (bundle.vendors.find(name) == bundle.vendors.end()) {
+                        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(info) << "GuideFrame: vendor '" << name
+                            << "' in resources but not in preset_bundle — falling back to JSON loading";
+                        reset_profile_json();
+                        return false;
+                    }
+                }
+            } catch (const std::exception&) {}
+        }
 
-                BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(info) << __FUNCTION__ << ", finished, json contents: " << std::endl << strAll;
-                json m_Res           = json::object();
-                m_Res["command"]     = "userguide_profile_load_finish";
-                m_Res["sequence_id"] = "10001";
-                wxString strJS       = wxString::Format("HandleStudio(%s)", m_Res.dump(-1, ' ', true));
+        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(info) << "GuideFrame: built profile data ("
+                                << m_ProfileJson["model"].size()    << " models, "
+                                << m_ProfileJson["machine"].size()  << " machines, "
+                                << m_ProfileJson["filament"].size() << " filaments)";
+        return !m_ProfileJson["machine"].empty();
+    } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(warning) << "GuideFrame::BuildProfileJson failed: " << e.what()
+                                   << " — falling back to JSON loading";
+        reset_profile_json();
+        return false;
+    }
+}
 
-                RunScript(strJS);
+bool GuideFrame::BuildProfileDataFromPresetBundle()
+{
+    PresetBundle* pb = wxGetApp().preset_bundle;
+    if (!pb || pb->vendors.empty())
+        return false;
+    return BuildProfileJson(*pb, /*require_all_resource_vendors=*/true);
+}
+
+bool GuideFrame::BuildProfileDataFromVendors()
+{
+    try {
+        // Same vendor set and precedence as the JSON scan in LoadProfileData: a
+        // vendor in the user's system dir shadows the bundled one of that name.
+        // A vendor is named by its profile or, where a build ships preset caches
+        // instead, by its cache alone — so both forms name one here.
+        std::map<std::string, boost::filesystem::path> vendor_files;
+        auto collect = [&vendor_files](const boost::filesystem::path& dir) {
+            boost::system::error_code ec;
+            if (!boost::filesystem::exists(dir, ec))
+                return;
+            for (const auto& e : boost::filesystem::directory_iterator(dir, ec))
+                if (Slic3r::is_json_file(e.path().string()) || e.path().extension() == ".opc")
+                    vendor_files.emplace(e.path().stem().string(), e.path());   // first wins
+        };
+        collect(vendor_dir);
+        collect(rsrc_vendor_dir);
+
+        // Each vendor comes from its preset cache where one covers it, which is what
+        // makes this worth doing instead of the scan below; the filament library goes
+        // first because the others' filaments inherit from it, and resolving those on
+        // the vendors the cache does not cover needs it already loaded.
+        PresetBundle bundle;
+        auto load_vendor = [this](PresetBundle& into, const std::string& vendor, const PresetBundle* base) {
+            into.load_vendor_configs_from_json(vendor_dir.string(), vendor, PresetBundle::LoadSystem,
+                                               ForwardCompatibilitySubstitutionRule::EnableSilent, base);
+        };
+        const std::string filament_library(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY);
+        if (vendor_files.count(filament_library))
+            load_vendor(bundle, filament_library, nullptr);
+        for (const auto& entry : vendor_files) {
+            if (*m_cancel_token)
+                return false;   // as in the scan below: a vendor without a cache is parsed, and that takes time
+            const std::string& vendor = entry.first;
+            // A cache is only ever written for a versioned vendor; a JSON has to be
+            // asked, so that an unversioned one (blacklist.json) carrying no presets
+            // is passed over.
+            if (vendor == filament_library ||
+                (entry.second.extension() != ".opc" && ! get_version_from_json(entry.second.string()).valid()))
+                continue;
+            PresetBundle tmp;
+            load_vendor(tmp, vendor, &bundle);
+            bundle.merge_presets(std::move(tmp));
+        }
+        if (bundle.vendors.empty())
+            return false;
+        return BuildProfileJson(bundle, /*require_all_resource_vendors=*/false);
+    } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << __FUNCTION__ << " failed: " << e.what();
+        reset_profile_json();
+        return false;
+    }
+}
+
+int GuideFrame::LoadProfileData()
+{
+    // Background thread: the fast path in OnNavigationComplete failed (presets not yet loaded).
+    // Loading order (fastest to slowest):
+    //   1. Load every vendor, from its preset cache wherever one covers it
+    //   2. Read all vendor JSONs by hand
+    try {
+        if (!BuildProfileDataFromVendors()) {
+            // Last resort — read all vendor JSONs
+            std::set<std::string> loaded_vendors;
+            auto filament_library_name = boost::filesystem::path(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY).replace_extension(".json");
+            if (boost::filesystem::exists(vendor_dir / filament_library_name))
+                LoadProfileFamily(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY, (vendor_dir / filament_library_name).string());
+            else
+                LoadProfileFamily(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY, (rsrc_vendor_dir / filament_library_name).string());
+            loaded_vendors.insert(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY);
+
+            boost::filesystem::directory_iterator endIter;
+            for (boost::filesystem::directory_iterator iter(vendor_dir); iter != endIter; iter++) {
+                if (!boost::filesystem::is_directory(*iter)) {
+                    wxString strVendor = from_u8(iter->path().string()).BeforeLast('.');
+                    strVendor          = strVendor.AfterLast('\\');
+                    strVendor          = strVendor.AfterLast('/');
+                    wxString strExtension = from_u8(iter->path().string()).AfterLast('.').Lower();
+                    if (strExtension.CmpNoCase("json") != 0 || loaded_vendors.find(w2s(strVendor)) != loaded_vendors.end())
+                        continue;
+                    LoadProfileFamily(w2s(strVendor), iter->path().string());
+                    loaded_vendors.insert(w2s(strVendor));
+                }
+                if (*m_cancel_token) return 0;
             }
+
+            boost::filesystem::directory_iterator others_endIter;
+            for (boost::filesystem::directory_iterator iter(rsrc_vendor_dir); iter != others_endIter; iter++) {
+                if (!boost::filesystem::is_directory(*iter)) {
+                    wxString strVendor = from_u8(iter->path().string()).BeforeLast('.');
+                    strVendor          = strVendor.AfterLast('\\');
+                    strVendor          = strVendor.AfterLast('/');
+                    wxString strExtension = from_u8(iter->path().string()).AfterLast('.').Lower();
+                    if (strExtension.CmpNoCase("json") != 0 || loaded_vendors.find(w2s(strVendor)) != loaded_vendors.end())
+                        continue;
+                    LoadProfileFamily(w2s(strVendor), iter->path().string());
+                    loaded_vendors.insert(w2s(strVendor));
+                }
+                if (*m_cancel_token) return 0;
+            }
+        }
+
+        // Capture the cancel token by value (shared_ptr) so the lambda doesn't
+        // touch `this` if GuideFrame is destroyed before the event fires.
+        auto tok = m_cancel_token;
+        wxGetApp().CallAfter([this, tok] {
+            if (!*tok)
+                on_profile_loaded();
         });
-    } catch (std::exception& e) {
-        // wxLogMessage("GUIDE: load_profile_error  %s ", e.what());
-        //  wxMessageBox(e.what(), "", MB_OK);
-        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << __FUNCTION__ << ", error: " << e.what() << std::endl;
+    } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(error) << __FUNCTION__ << ", error: " << e.what();
     }
 
     filament_info_cache.clear();

src/slic3r/GUI/WebGuideDialog.hpp

@@ -30,10 +30,14 @@
 #include "libslic3r/PresetBundle.hpp"
 #include "slic3r/Utils/PresetUpdater.hpp"
 
+#include <atomic>
+#include <memory>
 #include <unordered_map>
 
 #include <nlohmann/json.hpp>
 
+#include <boost/thread.hpp>
+
 namespace Slic3r { namespace GUI {
 
 class GuideFrame : public DPIDialog
@@ -78,6 +82,12 @@ public:
     int LoadProfileData();
     int SaveProfileData();
     int LoadProfileFamily(std::string strVendor, std::string strFilePath);
+    void init_guide_paths();
+    void on_profile_loaded();
+    bool BuildProfileJson(const PresetBundle& bundle, bool require_all_resource_vendors);
+    bool BuildProfileDataFromPresetBundle();
+    bool BuildProfileDataFromVendors();
+    void reset_profile_json();
     int SaveProfile();
     int GetFilamentInfo( std::string VendorDirectory,json & pFilaList, std::string filepath, std::string &sVendor, std::string &sType);
 
@@ -112,8 +122,11 @@ private:
 
     //First Load
     bool bFirstComplete{false};
-    bool m_destroy{false};
-    boost::thread* m_load_task{ nullptr };
+    // Set once in the destructor. Read through `this` by the loading thread
+    // (joined before `this` dies) and captured as the shared_ptr by CallAfter
+    // lambdas so they don't touch `this` after the object is freed.
+    std::shared_ptr<std::atomic<bool>> m_cancel_token{std::make_shared<std::atomic<bool>>(false)};
+    std::unique_ptr<boost::thread> m_load_task;
 
     // User Config
     bool PrivacyUse;
@@ -123,6 +136,7 @@ private:
     bool InstallNetplugin;
     bool network_plugin_ready {false};
 
+    json m_ProfileJson;
     json m_OrcaFilaList;
     std::string m_OrcaFilaLibPath;
 

src/slic3r/Utils/PresetUpdater.cpp

@@ -1044,46 +1044,42 @@ void PresetUpdater::priv::check_installed_vendor_profiles() const
     std::set<std::string> bundles;
     // Orca: always install filament library
     bundles.insert(PresetBundle::ORCA_FILAMENT_LIBRARY);
-    for (auto &dir_entry : boost::filesystem::directory_iterator(rsrc_path)) {
-        const auto &path = dir_entry.path();
-        std::string file_path = path.string();
-        if (is_json_file(file_path)) {
-            const auto path_in_vendor = vendor_path / path.filename();
-            std::string vendor_name = path.filename().string();
-            // Remove the .json suffix.
-            vendor_name.erase(vendor_name.size() - 5);
-            if (bundles.find(vendor_name) != bundles.end())continue;
+    // A vendor is named by its profile or, where the build ships preset caches
+    // instead of the raw profile JSONs, by its cache alone.
+    for (const std::string &vendor_name : vendor_names_in(rsrc_path)) {
+        if (bundles.find(vendor_name) != bundles.end())continue;
 
-            const auto is_vendor_enabled = (vendor_name == PresetBundle::ORCA_DEFAULT_BUNDLE) // always update configs from resource to vendor for ORCA_DEFAULT_BUNDLE
-                                           || (enabled_vendors.find(vendor_name) != enabled_vendors.end());
-            if (enabled_config_update) {
-                if ( fs::exists(path_in_vendor)) {
-                    if (is_vendor_enabled) {
-                        Semver resource_ver = get_version_from_json(file_path);
-                        Semver vendor_ver = get_version_from_json(path_in_vendor.string());
+        const auto is_vendor_enabled = (vendor_name == PresetBundle::ORCA_DEFAULT_BUNDLE) // always update configs from resource to vendor for ORCA_DEFAULT_BUNDLE
+                                       || (enabled_vendors.find(vendor_name) != enabled_vendors.end());
+        if (enabled_config_update) {
+            if (is_vendor_installed(vendor_name)) {
+                if (is_vendor_enabled) {
+                    // Orca: whichever form of the vendor resources ships at the newer
+                    // version is the one installing lays down, and the one to judge
+                    // what is installed against.
+                    Semver resource_ver = resource_vendor_version(vendor_name);
+                    // Orca: a vendor installed as a preset cache has no profile
+                    // beside it; the version it was installed at is in the cache.
+                    Semver vendor_ver = installed_vendor_version(vendor_name);
 
-                        if (vendor_ver < resource_ver) {
-                            BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(info) << "[Orca Updater]:found vendor " << vendor_name << " newer version "
-                                                    << resource_ver.to_string() << " from resource, old version " << vendor_ver.to_string();
-                            bundles.insert(vendor_name);
-                        }
-                    }
-                    else {
-                        //need to be removed because not installed
-                        fs::remove(path_in_vendor);
-                        const auto path_of_vendor = vendor_path / vendor_name;
-                        if (fs::exists(path_of_vendor))
-                            fs::remove_all(path_of_vendor);
+                    if (vendor_ver < resource_ver) {
+                        BOOST_LOG_TRIVIAL(info) << "[Orca Updater]:found vendor " << vendor_name << " newer version "
+                                                << resource_ver.to_string() << " from resource, old version " << vendor_ver.to_string();
+                        bundles.insert(vendor_name);
                     }
                 }
-                else if (is_vendor_enabled) {
-                    bundles.insert(vendor_name);
+                else {
+                    //need to be removed because not installed
+                    remove_installed_vendor(vendor_name);
                 }
             }
             else if (is_vendor_enabled) {
                 bundles.insert(vendor_name);
             }
         }
+        else if (is_vendor_enabled) {
+            bundles.insert(vendor_name);
+        }
     }
 
     if (bundles.size() > 0) {
@@ -1163,11 +1159,12 @@ Updates PresetUpdater::priv::get_config_updates(const Semver &old_slic3r_version
             auto filament_in_cache = (cache_profile_path / vendor_name / PRESET_FILAMENT_NAME);
             auto machine_in_cache = (cache_profile_path / vendor_name / PRESET_PRINTER_NAME);
 
-            if (( fs::exists(path_in_vendor))
+            if (is_vendor_installed(vendor_name)
                 || fs::exists(print_in_cache)
                 || fs::exists(filament_in_cache)
                 || fs::exists(machine_in_cache)) {
-                Semver vendor_ver = get_version_from_json(path_in_vendor.string());
+                // Orca: a vendor installed as a preset cache carries its version there.
+                Semver vendor_ver = installed_vendor_version(vendor_name);
 
                 std::map<std::string, std::string> key_values;
                 std::vector<std::string> keys(3);

tests/libslic3r/CMakeLists.txt

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ add_executable(${_TEST_NAME}_tests
     test_preset_bundle_loading.cpp
     test_preset_setting_id.cpp
     test_preset_diff.cpp
+    test_vendor_cache.cpp
     test_elephant_foot_compensation.cpp
     test_fill_plane_path.cpp
     test_geometry.cpp

tests/libslic3r/test_preset_bundle_loading.cpp

@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ TEST_CASE("Current vendor type tolerates missing printer model", "[Preset][Bundl
 {
     PresetBundle bundle;
 
-    VendorProfile orca_vendor("ORCA");
+    VendorProfile orca_vendor; orca_vendor.id = "ORCA";
     VendorProfile::PrinterModel model;
     model.name = "Orca Test";
     orca_vendor.models.emplace_back(model);