ROS2 Development Environment with Docker and VSCode Remote Explorer

This repository sets up a Docker-based development environment for ROS2 (Humble), enabling you to code, build, and debug ROS2 projects using VSCode Remote Explorer. It includes a multi-container setup with a noVNC GUI container to forward the graphical output from the ROS2 container.

Features

• Dockerized ROS2 Humble Environment based on osrf/ros:humble-desktop-full.
• Pre-configured VSCode Integration: C++/Python linting, shell, and debugging configurations for ROS2 development.
• Multi-Container Setup:
  • ros2 container: Primary container for development.
  • ros2-novnc container: Provides GUI forwarding using noVNC.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

1. Install Docker.
2. Install VSCode.
3. Install the VSCode Remote Explorer extension.

Repository Structure

.
├── README.md
├── Dockerfile                # Dockerfile for `ros2` container
├── compose.yaml              # Multi-container setup
├── .clang-format
├── .gitignore
└── .vscode
    ├── c_cpp_properties.json
    ├── extensions.json
    ├── launch.json
    ├── settings.json
    └── tasks.json

Setting Up the Environment

1. Clone this reposity:

git clone https://github.com/elkuno213/ros2-ws-template.git
cd ros2-ws-template

2. Build and launch the containers:

env USERNAME=nonroot UID=$(id -u) GID=$(id -g) docker compose up -d

• USERNAME: Non-root username inside the container.
• UID/GID: Ensures correct file permissions between the host and container.

3. Open VSCode and connect to the ros2 container using the Remote Explorer extension.

Accessing the GUI

The ros2-novnc container provides GUI access via noVNC. Access it in your browser at http://localhost:8080.

VSCode Configuration

• settings.json: ROS2-related settings for CMake, Clang-Format, Python, and more.
• c_cpp_properties.json: Configures C++ linting with ms-vscode.cpptools.
• tasks.json: Predefined build commands using colcon.
• launch.json: Debug configurations for:
  • ROS2 C++ node.
  • ROS2 Python node.
  • ROS2 Launch of multiple nodes.
  • ROS2 Python launch file.

Development Workflow

1. Open the project folder in VSCode.
2. Connect to the ros2 container via the Remote Explorer extension.
3. Go to /workspaces/ros2 and build your packages by commands or tasks.
4. If debugging, use the corresponding configuration in .vscode/launch.json.

FAQ

How to debug Python launch file?

Create a temporary file <launch-file>.debug.py alongside the origin to debug:

from .<launch-file> import generate_launch_description
from launch import LaunchService


def main():
  ls = LaunchService()
  ld = generate_launch_description()
  ls.include_launch_description(ld)
  return ls.run()


if __name__ == '__main__':
  main()

Contribution

If you have any questions, suggestions, or encounter any issues, feel free to create an issue in the repository. I welcome your feedback and contributions to improve this project!