Install RoboStack packages with Conda

First, install conda

To get started, you’ll need a base conda installation. We recommend using the Miniforge installer.

On Debian- and RPM-based distributions, you can also use the Debian and RPM repository for miniconda. To source the base environment:

source /opt/conda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh

Avoid using the defaults channel

The packages from the defaults channel (https://www.anaconda.com), set up by Anaconda and Miniconda, are subject to the Anaconda Terms of Service. See Conda Package Repository and Channels for details.

To avoid accidental violation of the Anaconda ToS, remove the defaults channel:

conda config --env --remove channels defaults

Do not install ROS packages in the base environment

Make sure to not install the ROS packages in your base environment as this leads to issues down the track. On the other hand, conda and mamba must not be installed in the ros_env, they should only be installed in base.

Do not source the system ROS environment

When there is an installation available of ROS on the system, in non-conda environments, there will be interference with the environments as the PYTHONPATH set in the setup script conflicts with the conda environment.

Installing ROS

There are different channels depending on the version of ROS that you wish to install, to add these channels and install your desired version, you can run the following:

ROS 1 Noetic

# Create a ros-noetic desktop environment
conda create -n ros_env -c conda-forge -c robostack-noetic ros-noetic-desktop
# Activate the environment
conda activate ros_env
# Add the robostack channel to the environment
conda config --env --add channels robostack-noetic

ROS 2 Humble

# Create a ros-humble desktop environment
conda create -n ros_env -c conda-forge -c robostack-humble ros-humble-desktop
# Activate the environment
conda activate ros_env
# Add the robostack channel to the environment
conda config --env --add channels robostack-humble

ROS 2 Jazzy

# Create a ros-jazzy desktop environment
conda create -n ros_env -c conda-forge -c robostack-jazzy ros-jazzy-desktop
# Activate the environment
conda activate ros_env
# Add the robostack channel to the environment
conda config --env --add channels robostack-jazzy

ROS 2 Kilted

# Create a ros-kilted desktop environment
conda create -n ros_env -c conda-forge -c robostack-kilted ros-kilted-desktop
# Activate the environment
conda activate ros_env
# Add the robostack channel to the environment
conda config --env --add channels robostack-kilted

ROS 2 Lyrical

# Create a ros-lyrical desktop environment
conda create -n ros_env -c conda-forge -c robostack-lyrical ros-lyrical-desktop
# Activate the environment
conda activate ros_env
# Add the robostack channel to the environment
conda config --env --add channels robostack-lyrical

ROS 2 Rolling

# Create a ros-rolling desktop environment
conda create -n ros_env -c conda-forge -c robostack-rolling ros-rolling-desktop
# Activate the environment
conda activate ros_env
# Add the robostack channel to the environment
conda config --env --add channels robostack-rolling

Installing tools for local development

Default tools to help with local development of ROS packages

conda activate ros_env
conda install -c conda-forge ros-dev-tools

Developing on Windows

• Windows users also need Visual Studio 2022 with C++ support
• You can download them here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/build/vscpp-step-0-installation?view=msvc-170

Testing installation

After installation, you should test if you are able to run rviz/rviz2 and other ROS tools.

Reminder

The ROS environment activation is included automatically. There is no need to add a source command in the ~/.bashrc

ROS 1

First terminal

conda activate ros_env
roscore

Second terminal

conda activate ros_env
rviz

ROS 2

Note

ROS 2 has the benefit of not needing a roscore, so only a single terminal is needed to run a tool.

Terminal

conda activate ros_env
rviz2

If you run into any issues or for any frequently asked questions, you can check the FAQ page

Updating

Updating all packages in your environment is as easy as:

conda update --all

Deactivating

The (de)activation of the ros workspace goes in together with the conda environment. So running the corresponding (de)activation command will also (un)source the ros environment.

conda deactivate