How to enable USB-C host mode on Raspberry Pi

If you want to connect an USB device such as a 3D printer mainboard to your Raspberry Pi 4 using the USB-C connector as opposed to the larger USB-A connector, you need to first configure the Raspberry Pi kernel to use host mode for the USB-C connector.

To temporarily enable it:

sudo modprobe -r dwc2 && sudo dtoverlay dwc2 dr_mode=host && sudo modprobe dwc2

This method has the advantage of not requiring a reboot.

To permanently enable it:

Edit /boot/config.txt and add

dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host

at the end of the file (in the [all] section). Then

reboot