ROS2 Development Skills

Overview

This skill provides expertise in ROS2 Humble development using the RoboStack/Pixi environment.

Prerequisites

• Active development shell (nom develop or direnv allow)
• Pixi packages installed (pixi install)

Build Commands

Quick Build

cb                                    # colcon build --symlink-install
cbs                                   # colcon build (standard)
colcon build --symlink-install        # Full command

Selective Build

colcon build --packages-select <pkg>  # Build specific package
colcon build --packages-up-to <pkg>   # Build package and dependencies

Test Commands

Run Tests

ct                                    # colcon test
colcon test                           # Full command
colcon test --packages-select <pkg>   # Test specific package

View Results

ctr                                   # colcon test-result --verbose
colcon test-result --verbose          # Full command

ROS2 CLI

Nodes and Topics

ros2 node list                        # List running nodes
ros2 topic list                       # List available topics
ros2 topic echo /topic_name           # Subscribe to topic
ros2 topic info /topic_name           # Topic information
ros2 topic hz /topic_name             # Message frequency

Services and Actions

ros2 service list                     # List services
ros2 service call /srv type '{data}' # Call service
ros2 action list                      # List actions
ros2 action send_goal /action type   # Send action goal

Parameters

ros2 param list                       # List parameters
ros2 param get /node param_name       # Get parameter
ros2 param set /node param_name val   # Set parameter

Launch

ros2 launch <package> <launch.py>     # Launch file
ros2 run <package> <executable>       # Run single node

Package Management

Add ROS2 Packages

pixi add ros-humble-<package-name>    # Add from RoboStack
pixi search ros-humble-*              # Search available packages

Common Packages

• ros-humble-desktop - Full desktop installation
• ros-humble-rviz2 - Visualization tool
• ros-humble-gazebo-ros-pkgs - Gazebo simulation
• ros-humble-nav2-bringup - Navigation stack
• ros-humble-moveit - Motion planning

Environment

Check Environment

ros2-env                              # Show ROS2 environment variables
printenv | grep ROS                   # All ROS-related variables

Workspace Setup

source install/setup.bash             # Source workspace (after build)

Best Practices

1. Always use symlink install for development (--symlink-install)
2. Clean build when changing CMakeLists: rm -rf build install log
3. Check dependencies before building: rosdep check --from-paths src
4. Use colcon mixins for common build configurations

Troubleshooting

Build Failures

• Check log/latest_build/<pkg>/ for detailed errors
• Ensure all dependencies are installed via pixi
• Verify Python path with which python

Runtime Issues

• Source workspace: source install/setup.bash
• Check node status: ros2 node list
• Verify topic publishing: ros2 topic echo /topic

Related Skills

• [DevOps](../devops/SKILL.md) - CI/CD for ROS2 packages
• [Nix Environment](../nix-environment/SKILL.md) - Environment management