9.8 KiB
This document provides information on implementing G-Code command sequences in gcode_macro (and similar) config sections.
G-Code Macro Naming
Case is not important for the G-Code macro name - MY_MACRO and my_macro will evaluate the same and may be called in either upper or lower case. If any numbers are used in the macro name then they must all be at the end of the name (eg, TEST_MACRO25 is valid, but MACRO25_TEST3 is not).
Formatting of G-Code in the config
Indentation is important when defining a macro in the config file. To specify a multi-line G-Code sequence it is important for each line to have proper indentation. For example:
[gcode_macro blink_led]
gcode:
SET_PIN PIN=my_led VALUE=1
G4 P2000
SET_PIN PIN=my_led VALUE=0
Note how the gcode:
config option always starts at the beginning of
the line and subsequent lines in the G-Code macro never start at the
beginning.
Add a description to your macro
To help identify the functionality a short description can be added.
Add description:
with a short text to describe the functionality.
Default is "G-Code macro" if not specified.
For example:
[gcode_macro blink_led]
description: Blink my_led one time
gcode:
SET_PIN PIN=my_led VALUE=1
G4 P2000
SET_PIN PIN=my_led VALUE=0
This will be showing is you use the HELP
command or use the autocomplete
function.
Save/Restore state for G-Code moves
Unfortunately, the G-Code command language can be challenging to use.
The standard mechanism to move the toolhead is via the G1
command
(the G0
command is an alias for G1
and it can be used
interchangeably with it). However, this command relies on the "G-Code
parsing state" setup by M82
, M83
, G90
, G91
, G92
, and
previous G1
commands. When creating a G-Code macro it is a good
idea to always explicitly set the G-Code parsing state prior to
issuing a G1
command. (Otherwise, there is a risk the G1
command
will make an undesirable request.)
A common way to accomplish that is to wrap the G1
moves in
SAVE_GCODE_STATE
, G91
, and RESTORE_GCODE_STATE
. For example:
[gcode_macro MOVE_UP]
gcode:
SAVE_GCODE_STATE NAME=my_move_up_state
G91
G1 Z10 F300
RESTORE_GCODE_STATE NAME=my_move_up_state
The G91
command places the G-Code parsing state into "relative move
mode" and the RESTORE_GCODE_STATE
command restores the state to what
it was prior to entering the macro. Be sure to specify an explicit
speed (via the F
parameter) on the first G1
command.
Template expansion
The gcode_macro gcode:
config section is evaluated using the Jinja2
template language. One can evaluate expressions at run-time by
wrapping them in { }
characters or use conditional statements
wrapped in {% %}
. See the
Jinja2 documentation
for further information on the syntax.
An example of a complex macro:
[gcode_macro clean_nozzle]
gcode:
{% set wipe_count = 8 %}
SAVE_GCODE_STATE NAME=clean_nozzle_state
G90
G0 Z15 F300
{% for wipe in range(wipe_count) %}
{% for coordinate in [(275,4),(235,4)] %}
G0 X{coordinate[0]} Y{coordinate[1] + 0.25 * wipe} Z9.7 F12000
{% endfor %}
{% endfor %}
RESTORE_GCODE_STATE NAME=clean_nozzle_state
Macro parameters
It is often useful to inspect parameters passed to the macro when
it is called. These parameters are available via the params
pseudo-variable. For example, if the macro:
[gcode_macro SET_PERCENT]
gcode:
M117 Now at { params.VALUE|float * 100 }%
were invoked as SET_PERCENT VALUE=.2
it would evaluate to M117 Now at 20%
. Note that parameter names are always in upper-case when
evaluated in the macro and are always passed as strings. If performing
math then they must be explicitly converted to integers or floats.
It's common to use the Jinja2 set
directive to use a default
parameter and assign the result to a local name. For example:
[gcode_macro SET_BED_TEMPERATURE]
gcode:
{% set bed_temp = params.TEMPERATURE|default(40)|float %}
M140 S{bed_temp}
The "printer" Variable
It is possible to inspect (and alter) the current state of the printer
via the printer
pseudo-variable. For example:
[gcode_macro slow_fan]
gcode:
M106 S{ printer.fan.speed * 0.9 * 255}
Available fields are defined in the Status Reference document.
Important! Macros are first evaluated in entirety and only then are the resulting commands executed. If a macro issues a command that alters the state of the printer, the results of that state change will not be visible during the evaluation of the macro. This can also result in subtle behavior when a macro generates commands that call other macros, as the called macro is evaluated when it is invoked (which is after the entire evaluation of the calling macro).
By convention, the name immediately following printer
is the name of
a config section. So, for example, printer.fan
refers to the fan
object created by the [fan]
config section. There are some
exceptions to this rule - notably the gcode_move
and toolhead
objects. If the config section contains spaces in it, then one can
access it via the [ ]
accessor - for example:
printer["generic_heater my_chamber_heater"].temperature
.
Note that the Jinja2 set
directive can assign a local name to an
object in the printer
hierarchy. This can make macros more readable
and reduce typing. For example:
[gcode_macro QUERY_HTU21D]
gcode:
{% set sensor = printer["htu21d my_sensor"] %}
M117 Temp:{sensor.temperature} Humidity:{sensor.humidity}
Actions
There are some commands available that can alter the state of the
printer. For example, { action_emergency_stop() }
would cause the
printer to go into a shutdown state. Note that these actions are taken
at the time that the macro is evaluated, which may be a significant
amount of time before the generated g-code commands are executed.
Available "action" commands:
action_respond_info(msg)
: Write the givenmsg
to the /tmp/printer pseudo-terminal. Each line ofmsg
will be sent with a "// " prefix.action_raise_error(msg)
: Abort the current macro (and any calling macros) and write the givenmsg
to the /tmp/printer pseudo-terminal. The first line ofmsg
will be sent with a "!! " prefix and subsequent lines will have a "// " prefix.action_emergency_stop(msg)
: Transition the printer to a shutdown state. Themsg
parameter is optional, it may be useful to describe the reason for the shutdown.action_call_remote_method(method_name)
: Calls a method registered by a remote client. If the method takes parameters they should be provided via keyword arguments, ie:action_call_remote_method("print_stuff", my_arg="hello_world")
Variables
The SET_GCODE_VARIABLE command may be useful for saving state between macro calls. Variable names may not contain any upper case characters. For example:
[gcode_macro start_probe]
variable_bed_temp: 0
gcode:
# Save target temperature to bed_temp variable
SET_GCODE_VARIABLE MACRO=start_probe VARIABLE=bed_temp VALUE={printer.heater_bed.target}
# Disable bed heater
M140
# Perform probe
PROBE
# Call finish_probe macro at completion of probe
finish_probe
[gcode_macro finish_probe]
gcode:
# Restore temperature
M140 S{printer["gcode_macro start_probe"].bed_temp}
Be sure to take the timing of macro evaluation and command execution into account when using SET_GCODE_VARIABLE.
Delayed Gcodes
The [delayed_gcode] configuration option can be used to execute a delayed gcode sequence:
[delayed_gcode clear_display]
gcode:
M117
[gcode_macro load_filament]
gcode:
G91
G1 E50
G90
M400
M117 Load Complete!
UPDATE_DELAYED_GCODE ID=clear_display DURATION=10
When the load_filament
macro above executes, it will display a
"Load Complete!" message after the extrusion is finished. The
last line of gcode enables the "clear_display" delayed_gcode, set
to execute in 10 seconds.
The initial_duration
config option can be set to execute the
delayed_gcode on printer startup. The countdown begins when the
printer enters the "ready" state. For example, the below delayed_gcode
will execute 5 seconds after the printer is ready, initializing
the display with a "Welcome!" message:
[delayed_gcode welcome]
initial_duration: 5.
gcode:
M117 Welcome!
Its possible for a delayed gcode to repeat by updating itself in the gcode option:
[delayed_gcode report_temp]
initial_duration: 2.
gcode:
{action_respond_info("Extruder Temp: %.1f" % (printer.extruder0.temperature))}
UPDATE_DELAYED_GCODE ID=report_temp DURATION=2
The above delayed_gcode will send "// Extruder Temp: [ex0_temp]" to Octoprint every 2 seconds. This can be canceled with the following gcode:
UPDATE_DELAYED_GCODE ID=report_temp DURATION=0
Save Variables to disk
If a
save_variables config section
has been enabled, SAVE_VARIABLE VARIABLE=<name> VALUE=<value>
can be
used to save the variable to disk so that it can be used across
restarts. All stored variables are loaded into the
printer.save_variables.variables
dict at startup and can be used in
gcode macros. to avoid overly long lines you can add the following at
the top of the macro:
{% set svv = printer.save_variables.variables %}
As an example, it could be used to save the state of 2-in-1-out hotend and when starting a print ensure that the active extruder is used, instead of T0:
[gcode_macro T1]
gcode:
ACTIVATE_EXTRUDER extruder=extruder1
SAVE_VARIABLE VARIABLE=currentextruder VALUE='"extruder1"'
[gcode_macro T0]
gcode:
ACTIVATE_EXTRUDER extruder=extruder
SAVE_VARIABLE VARIABLE=currentextruder VALUE='"extruder"'
[gcode_macro START_GCODE]
gcode:
{% set svv = printer.save_variables.variables %}
ACTIVATE_EXTRUDER extruder={svv.currentextruder}