Skirt loops / lines (skirt_count)

Skirt loops / lines is a whole number. Number of loops for the skirt.

What does each slicer call it?

Five slicers, five spellings of one setting. The scope column is which preset the key belongs to, which is what decides whether changing it follows the printer, the filament, or the print profile.

Slicer Key Scope
PrusaSlicer skirts process
Bambu Studio skirt_loops process
OrcaSlicer skirt_loops process
Cura skirt_line_count process
Creality Print skirt_loops process

Where does it live in the file?

All five slicers file this under the process preset, so its value follows the print profile rather than the model. A .3mf is a zip, so unzip it and search for skirts, skirt_loops and skirt_line_count, or open the file in preslice and read the Raw tab, which searches every member at once.

Four of the five slicers write their settings into a sidecar part beside the geometry. Cura writes them into the model XML itself, so there is no config part to open.

Slicer Part Format
PrusaSlicer Metadata/Slic3r_PE.config INI, one key = value per line
Bambu Studio Metadata/project_settings.config JSON, one flat object
OrcaSlicer Metadata/project_settings.config JSON, one flat object
Cura 3D/3dmodel.model XML metadata inside the model part, under a cura namespace
Creality Print Metadata/project_settings.config JSON, one flat object

What values are valid?

Each slicer declares its own type, default, and bounds for its key. They do not always agree, and where they disagree the file is still valid in both: the slicer that wrote it is the one that enforced its own rule.

Slicer Type Unit Default Range
PrusaSlicer float not declared 0 0 or more
Bambu Studio float not declared 0 0 to 10
OrcaSlicer float not declared 2 0 to 10
Cura int not declared 3 not declared
Creality Print float not declared not declared 0 to 10

Cura declares no range for this key, so nothing in the file bounds it.

PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, Cura and Creality Print declare no unit for it either, so the bare number is read as a whole number.

The slicers disagree on the type: PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer and Creality Print as float, Cura as int. preslice reads all of them.

Every type, default, and bound above is read from the slicer's own field definitions rather than from measurement: PrusaSlicer's PrintConfig.cpp, Bambu Studio's PrintConfig.cpp, OrcaSlicer's PrintConfig.cpp, Cura's fdmprinter.def.json and Creality Print's PrintConfig.cpp.

Can I read it from my own file?

Yes, without installing a slicer. Open preslice and drop a .3mf on the page. It unzips and parses the file in your browser, and shows skirt loops / lines under its own name alongside the rest of the print settings. The file never leaves your machine, and nothing uploads.