Setup ROS 2 with VSCode and Docker [community-contributed]

Install VS Code and Docker

Using Visual Studio Code and Docker Containers will enable you to run your favorite ROS 2 Distribution without the necessity to change your operating system or use a virtual machine. With this tutorial you can set up a docker container, which can be used for your future ROS 2 projects.

Install Docker

To install docker and set the correct user rights please use the following commands.

sudo apt install docker.io git python3-pip
pip3 install vcstool
echo export PATH=$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
sudo groupadd docker
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

Now you can check if the installation was successful by running the following command:

docker run hello-world

You might need to start the Docker Daemon first, if you cannot run hello-world out of the box:

sudo systemctl start docker

Install VS Code

To install VS Code please use the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install software-properties-common apt-transport-https wget -y
wget -q https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/vscode stable main"
sudo apt install code

You can run VS Code by typing code in a terminal.

Install Remote Development Extension

Within VS Code search in Extensions (CTRL+SHIFT+X) for the “Remote Development” Extension and install it.

Configure workspace in Docker and VS Code

Add your ROS 2 workspace

Add a workspace in order to build and open them in a container, e.g.:

cd ~/
mkdir ws
cd ws
mkdir src

Now create a .devcontainer folder in the root of your workspace and add a devcontainer.json and Dockerfile to this .devcontainer folder. The workspace structure should look like this:

ws
├── .devcontainer
│   ├── devcontainer.json
│   └── Dockerfile
├── src
    ├── package1
    └── package2

With File->Open Folder... or Ctrl+K Ctrl+O, open the ws folder of your workspace in VS Code.

Edit devcontainer.json for your environment

For the Dev Container to function properly, we have to build it with the correct user. Therefore add the following to .devcontainer/devcontainer.json:

{
    "name": "ROS 2 Development Container",
    "privileged": true,
    "remoteUser": "YOUR_USERNAME",
    "build": {
        "dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
        "args": {
            "USERNAME": "YOUR_USERNAME"
        }
    },
    "workspaceFolder": "/home/ws",
    "workspaceMount": "source=${localWorkspaceFolder},target=/home/ws/src,type=bind",
    "customizations": {
        "vscode": {
            "extensions":[
                "ms-vscode.cpptools",
                "ms-vscode.cpptools-themes",
                "twxs.cmake",
                "donjayamanne.python-extension-pack",
                "eamodio.gitlens",
                "ms-iot.vscode-ros"
            ]
        }
    },
    "containerEnv": {
        "DISPLAY": "unix:0",
        "ROS_AUTOMATIC_DISCOVERY_RANGE": "LOCALHOST",
        "ROS_DOMAIN_ID": "42"
    },
    "runArgs": [
        "--net=host",
        "-e", "DISPLAY=${env:DISPLAY}"
    ],
    "mounts": [
       "source=/tmp/.X11-unix,target=/tmp/.X11-unix,type=bind,consistency=cached",
        "source=/dev/dri,target=/dev/dri,type=bind,consistency=cached"
    ],
    "postCreateCommand": "sudo rosdep update && sudo rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -y && sudo chown -R $(whoami) /home/ws/"
}

Use Ctrl+F to open the search and replace menu. Search for YOUR_USERNAME and replace it with your Linux username. If you do not know your username, you can find it by running echo $USERNAME in the terminal.

Edit Dockerfile

Open the Dockerfile and add the following contents:

FROM ros:ROS_DISTRO
ARG USERNAME=USERNAME
ARG USER_UID=1000
ARG USER_GID=$USER_UID

# Create the user
RUN groupadd --gid $USER_GID $USERNAME \
    && useradd --uid $USER_UID --gid $USER_GID -m $USERNAME \
    #
    # [Optional] Add sudo support. Omit if you don't need to install software after connecting.
    && apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y sudo \
    && echo $USERNAME ALL=\(root\) NOPASSWD:ALL > /etc/sudoers.d/$USERNAME \
    && chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/$USERNAME
RUN apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y
RUN apt-get install -y python3-pip
ENV SHELL /bin/bash

# ********************************************************
# * Anything else you want to do like clean up goes here *
# ********************************************************

# [Optional] Set the default user. Omit if you want to keep the default as root.
USER $USERNAME
CMD ["/bin/bash"]

Replace ROS_DISTRO with the ROS 2 distribution you wish to use as base image above, for example rolling.

Open and Build Development Container

Use View->Command Palette... or Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette. Search for the command Dev Containers: Reopen in Container and execute it. This will build your development docker container for your. It will take a while - sit back or go for a coffee.

Test Container

To test if everything worked correctly, open a terminal in the container using View->Terminal or Ctrl+Shift+` and New Terminal in VS Code. Inside the terminal do the following:

sudo apt install ros-$ROS_DISTRO-rviz2 -y
source /opt/ros/$ROS_DISTRO/setup.bash
rviz2

Note

There might be a problem with displaying RVIZ. If no window pops up, then check the value of echo $DISPLAY - if the output is 1, you can fix this problem with echo "export DISPLAY=unix:1" >> /etc/bash.bashrc and then test it again. You can also change the DISPLAY value in the devcontainer.json and rebuild it.