LinuxCNC G17 Plane Select XY

G17 is a LinuxCNC G-code that sets the current working plane to XY, which is also the default plane. The selected plane determines the orientation of circular arcs in G2/G3 and the axis used by the canned cycles G81 to G89. The document recommends placing a plane selection command in the preamble of each G-code file.

Source checked3/3 values · 2026-10-26

Specification

1 source

Language	gcode
Code	G17
Group	plane select
Syntax	G17
Dialect	LinuxCNC

Study notes

G17 selects the XY plane; G18 selects ZX and G19 selects YZ.
G17 is the default plane at power up.
Planes G17.1 (UV), G18.1 (WU) and G19.1 (VW) do not support arcs; planes 17.1, 18.1 and 19.1 are not currently supported.
The selected plane affects G2/G3 arc motion and the G81-G89 canned cycles.
To program a helix in the G17 plane, add a Z word to the G2/G3 arc command.
G5 cubic spline and G5.1 quadratic spline are errors if the active plane is not G17.
G41/G42 cutter compensation may be performed when the XY plane or XZ plane is active.