ROS PROJECT CREATION TOOL

• ROS PROJECT CREATION TOOL
  • Description
  • Installation of the package ros_project_creator as a user
    • Prerequisites
    • Installation Steps
  • Running the scripts inside the package ros_project_creator as a user
    • create_ros_project
    • create_vscode_project
  • Uninstalling the package ros_project_creator as a user
  • Installation of the package ros_project_creator as a developer
    • 1. Install uv
    • 2. Install the package ros_project_creator using uv
    • 3. Verify the installation of the package ros_project_creator
  • Uninstalling the package ros_project_creator as a developer
  • Contact

Description

The ros_project_creator package provides scripts for creating and configuring ROS projects and setting up VSCode development environments.

Installation of the package ros_project_creator as a user

The package ros_project_creator is installed using uv, an extremely fast Python package and project manager written in Rust. uv provides better dependency resolution, caching, and performance compared to traditional pip.

This tool helps you create reproducible ROS projects with Docker and VSCode integration.

Prerequisites

• Linux (tested on Ubuntu)
• Git installed
• Python ≥ 3.8
• curl installed
• A Bash or Zsh shell

Installation Steps

1. Clone this repository (if you haven't already):

   git clone https://github.com/jfrascon/ros_project_creator.git
   cd ros_project_creator

2. Install uv and uvx These tools are used to manage isolated Python environments and install packages cleanly:

   mkdir -vp "${HOME}/.local/bin"
   curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | env XDG_BIN_HOME="${HOME}/.local/bin" UV_NO_MODIFY_PATH=1 sh

3. Add ${HOME}/.local/bin to your shell's PATH (Only once, if not already present):

   # For Bash
   echo '[[ -d "${HOME}/.local/bin" && ":${PATH}:" != *":${HOME}/.local/bin:"* ]] && export PATH="${HOME}/.local/bin:${PATH}"' >> ~/.bashrc
   
   # For Zsh
   echo '[[ -d "${HOME}/.local/bin" && ":${PATH}:" != *":${HOME}/.local/bin:"* ]] && export PATH="${HOME}/.local/bin:${PATH}"' >> ~/.zshrc

4. Install ros_project_creator locally:

   This installs the tool under ${HOME}/.local:

   uv pip install --system --prefix "${HOME}/.local" ./ros_project_creator

5. Restart your terminal:

   Close and reopen your terminal to apply changes to your environment.

Check if the scripts inside the package ros_project_creator are found in your system.

pip list --user | grep ros_project_creator
ros_project_creator        1.0.0

which create_ros_project
~/.local/bin/create_ros_project

which create_vscode_project
~/.local/bin/create_vscode_project

Running the scripts inside the package ros_project_creator as a user

Once installed, you can run the scripts inside the package ros_project_creator directly from the command line.

create_ros_project

This script creates a structured ROS project based on predefined templates.

create_vscode_project

This script initializes a VSCode workspace.

> create_ros_project -h
usage: create_ros_project [--img-id IMG_ID] [--no-vscode] [--no-pre-commit] [--no-console-log]
                          [--log-file LOG_FILE] [--log-level LOG_LEVEL] [-h]
                          project_id project_dir ros_distro base_img platform img_user

Creates a new ROS project based on templates

positional arguments:
  project_id             Short, descriptive project identifier for internal reference (e.g. 'robproj')
  project_dir            Path where the project will be created (e.g. '~/projects/robproj')
  ros_distro             ROS distro to use: noetic (ros1), humble (ros2), jazzy (ros2)
  base_img               Base Docker image to use (e.g. 'ros:humble')
  platform               Platform to use for the resulting Docker image (e.g. 'linux/amd64').
                         Supported platforms:
                           linux/amd64    - 64-bit x86_64 (e.g. Intel/AMD PCs and servers)
                           linux/arm/v7   - 32-bit ARMv7-A (e.g. Raspberry Pi 2/3 with 32-bit OS)
                           linux/arm64    - 64-bit ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi 4)
  img_user               Active user to use in the resulting Docker image

options:
  --img-id IMG_ID        ID of the resulting Docker image (e.g. 'robproj:humble'). If not set, defaults to '<project-id>:latest'
  --no-vscode            Do not create VSCode project
  --no-pre-commit        Do not use pre-commit hooks
  --no-console-log       Disable logging to console. Console logging is enabled by default
  --log-file LOG_FILE    File to log output
  --log-level LOG_LEVEL  Logging level (Default is DEBUG)
  -h, --help             Show this help message and exit

Uninstalling the package ros_project_creator as a user

If you need to uninstall the package ros_project_creator, run the following command:

uv pip uninstall --system --prefix ~/.local ros_project_creator

To ensure the package is completely uninstalled, run:

pip list --user | grep ros_project_creator

If no output appears, the package has been successfully removed.

If the commands create_ros_project or create_vscode_project are still available after uninstallation, remove them manually:

rm -f ~/.local/bin/create_ros_project
rm -f ~/.local/bin/create_vscode_project

Then, verify that the scripts are no longer accessible:

which create_ros_project

which create_vscode_project

Installation of the package ros_project_creator as a developer

1. Install uv

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

2. Install the package ros_project_creator using uv

Install the package ros_project_creator in a virtual environment, using the --editable flag, so the installed scripts will be linked to the source scripts. This way, any change in the source code will be reflected when executing the scripts for debugging purposes.

git https://github.com/jfrascon/ros_project_creator.git ~/ros_project_creator
uv venv ~/.venv
source ~/.venv/bin/activate
uv pip install --editable ~/ros_project_creator
deactivate

3. Verify the installation of the package ros_project_creator

Check if the scripts inside the package ros_project_creator are found in your virtual environment.

source ~/.venv/bin/activate
which create_ros_project
  ~/.venv/bin/create_ros_project

which create_vscode_project
  ~/.venv/bin/create_vscode_project
deactivate

Uninstalling the package ros_project_creator as a developer

If you need to uninstall the package ros_project_creator, run the following commands:

source ~/.venv/bin/activate
uv pip uninstall ros_project_creator
which create_ros_project

which create_vscode_project

deactivate

Contact

For any questions or suggestions, please reach out to:

• Juan Francisco Rascon
• Email: jfrascon@gmail.com