Development Manager for ROS 2

A terminal-based development manager for ROS 2. Designed to streamline workflows, reduce errors, and accelerate development. Compatible with any ROS 2 distro.

Tested with:

• ROS 2 Humble in Ubuntu 22.04
• ROS 2 Jazzy in Ubuntu 24.04

Known issue:

• In Ubuntu 24.04, you may face "EXTERNALLY-MANAGED" error when using python pip package installer and rosdep. Two solutions:
  1. Use python environment as suggested. OR
  2. Remove /usr/lib/python3.XX/EXTERNALLY-MANAGED file.

First Time Basic Setup Tutorial

1) Prepare Project Folder

1. Create an empty folder anywhere in your system. (This is the PROJECTS_FOLDER as shown in the [Folder Structure] section below. This will be the folder where you will place the dev_manager and project repos.)
2. cd into the created folder.
3. Clone this repo as dev_manager:

   git clone https://github.com/mnmahir/ROS_2_DEV_MANAGER.git dev_manager
   

2) Create New ROS 2 Project using Template

1. cd into dev_manager dir and run:

   source dev_init.bash
   

   Note:
   • This will initialize a temporary session.
   • The default ROS distro is shown in terminal. You can change the ROS 2 distro supported by your current Ubuntu system by changing the ROS_DISTRO parameter in ../dev_manager/temp/config/settings.bash.
2. Open development manager menu by running this command:

   r2dev
   

   Note:
   • You should see development the menu looking like this:

     =================================================
           DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
     =================================================
     [ACTION] Select an option:
     =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =
     [1] Install ROS2
     [2] Install Recommended Software
     [3] Clone a project from GitHub
     [4] Create a new project using template
     [5] Add alias to .bashrc
     =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =
     [Q] TO EXIT
     

3. Choose option [3].
   • Expected output:

     [ACTION] Select compatible project repository to clone:
     =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =   =
     [0] Use custom URL
     [1] https://github.com/mnmahir/ROS_2_DEV_MANAGER.git project_template my_new_project
     PRESS [CTRL] + [C] TO EXIT
     

4. Choose option [1].
   • Note:
     • This will create a my_new_project folder and clone the content from project_template branch.
5. It will ask whether you want to add an alias to ~/.bashrc which is a shortcut to access your project and initialize this manager from terminal. For this tutorial, just type y.
   • Note:
     • This will add an alias to your ~/.bashrc file. Depending where your PROJECTS_FOLDER is located, there will be lines in your ~/.bashrc looking something like this:

       # TEMPLATE Development Path
       alias wst='source /media/L/ros/dev_manager/dev_init.bash /my_new_project /ws_robot'
       

     • In example above, my PROJECTS_FOLDER is /media/L/ros.
     • The alias added here is wst.
     • By default, your workspace will be in ws_robot folder inside my_new_project folder.
6. Done! Now you can just type wst to access your project workspace. Read the [[Useful Aliases]] section below for shortcuts.

3) Modify the Project Settings

1. Go to your../my_new_project/config folder, and open settings.bash.
2. You can change the default value to your need such as DEV_PROJECT_NAME, ROS_DISTRO, ROS_DOMAIN_ID, etc. or you can add your own.
   • Note:
     • Do not rename or remove the default variable name in ENVIRONMENT and ROS SETTINGS as it is required by this manager. But, you may change the value.
3. After modifying, type wst to re initialize.

Advanced Setup Tutorial

• Will write full detail soon!
  • For now, explore the my_new_project folder:
    • You can change the alias or add more alias in ~/.bahsrcif you have more than 1 workspace in a single project. Remember to match your directory name and follow the format as shown in [Folder Structure] section below. If your project folder name is not my_new_project then change it as well.
    • Inside pkg directory of the project, you can change, remove or add the folder name that starts with _. This manager will smartly identify the folders inside pkg that follow this folder naming format. An example pkg_list.bash in the folder can be modified.
    • pkg_list.bash is where you can add your frequently used packages and dependencies. See the examples inside the file.
    • I will try write more details about what each files in pkg and config means in project_template branch.

Recommendation

1) Install GitHub CLI

If you want to use this manager with your private GitHub repo, I recommend using GitHub CLI so that this manager can clone your private without issue.

1. Install git and gh:

   sudo apt install git gh -y
   

2. Login to github account:

   gh auth login
   

Useful Aliases

After initializing the workspace, these are useful aliases you can use. Adding or modifying aliases can be done in project repo under config folder.

Alias	Description
r2dev	To open development manager.
r2pkg	To open package manager.
r2s	Source the setup.bash or local_setup.bash of ROS environment, currently initialized workspace, pkg directories and active workspace (eg: ws_robot) workspace.
r2sros	Source ROS environment.
r2info	Show information of current active project and workspace.
r2alias	Currently only show list of aliases that begins with r2.

Operation on project repo directory.

Alias	Description
r2b	Colcon build in the initialized ws_... workspace.
r2bf	Same as r2b but will run rosdep update and install first (Install dependencies). Recommended for first time setup so that all dependencies is installed before building the package.
r2del	Delete build, install and optional log directory from active ws_... workspace directory. Recommended to restart terminal to completely remove traces of sourced packages.
r2cdw	Change directory to active workspace directory (ws_...).
r2cdr	Change directory to active project directory (eg: project_repo).

Folder Structure

Recommended to place this development manager repo within the same directory as project repo as shown below:

PROJECTS_FOLDER
├── dev_manager (development manager repo)
|   ├── config
|   ├── scripts
|   ├── dev_init.bash
|   └── ...
├── project_repo_1 (project repo)
|   ├── config
|   ├── pkg
|   ├── ws_robot
|   ├── ws_my_stuff
|   └── ...
├── project_repo_2 (project repo)
|   ├── config
|   ├── pkg
|   ├── ws_robot
|   ├── ws_another_one
|   └── ...
└── project_repo_3 (project repo)
    ├── config
    ├── pkg
    ├── ws_robot
    └── ...

To use the dev manager, add alias using below format into .bashrc:

alias <alias>='source <dev_init_path> <repo dir> <ws dir>'

where <repo dir> dir is relative to PROJECTS_FOLDER dir and <ws dir> dir is relative to working repo dir. Make sure the spaces and placement of / character is correct.

eg:

alias wsr1='source /PROJECTS_FOLDER/dev_manager/dev_init.bash /project_repo_1 /ws_robot'
alias wsr1ms='source /PROJECTS_FOLDER/dev_manager/dev_init.bash /project_repo_1 /ws_mystuff'
alias wsproject2='source /PROJECTS_FOLDER/dev_manager/dev_init.bash /project_repo /ws_robot'

You can test the alias and check the Project Path, Project Package Path and Active Workspace is correct. It should look like this for wsr1 alias:

[INFO] Project Path: /PROJECTS_FOLDER/project_repo_1
[INFO] Project Package Path: /PROJECTS_FOLDER/project_repo_1/pkg
[INFO] Active Workspace: /ws_robot

Project Repo Guideline

The project repo must follow the same structure as template. Inside the template contains pre-defined variables for development manager to consume.

Please use the template given if you are creating a new project.

Future Plan

1. Add Docker support.
2. Add Python environment support.
3. Substitute git repo in pkg with git submodule.
4. r2b selected package.
5. Better automatic project creation using template. (For now, read tutorial above)
6. Automatic install and integration of the new Gazebo Sim.

SUPPORT! :D

Love this project? Consider buying me a coffee to fuel more late-night coding sessions! Your support helps keep the innovation going. 🙌