Skip to content

GETTING_STARTED.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
91 lines (63 loc) · 2.83 KB

GETTING_STARTED.md

File metadata and controls

91 lines (63 loc) · 2.83 KB
Raw

Setup Guide

This guide gets you from a fresh machine to a running simulation environment. Follow the steps in order.

Already running Ubuntu 24.04 natively on Linux? Skip Step 1 and start at Step 2. Step 1 is only for Windows users.

Step 1 — Install Ubuntu 24.04 (via WSL2) — Windows only

Skip this step entirely if you already have Ubuntu 24.04 installed natively on your machine.

On Windows, we develop inside Ubuntu using WSL2. You can install it from the Microsoft Store or via the command line.

Option A — Microsoft Store (easier): Search for Ubuntu 24.04.x LTS in the Microsoft Store and click Install.

Option B — Command line: Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

Restart your computer if prompted.

Once installed, launch Ubuntu from the Start menu. You will be asked to create a Linux username and password — this is separate from your Windows account.

Step 2 — Install Git and Clone the Repository

Inside your Ubuntu terminal:

  1. Install Git:

    sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y git

  2. Fork this repository to your own GitHub account. (Not sure how? Ask ChatGPT: "how to fork a GitHub repository")

  3. Clone your fork inside your home directory (~) and switch to the task branch:

    cd ~
git clone <your_forked_repo_url>
cd probation_ws
git checkout probation/task

Step 3 — Install Docker

Install Docker using apt inside Ubuntu — do not use Docker Desktop.

  1. Uninstall any older Docker Engine.
  2. Install Docker Engine.
  3. Add your user to the Docker group: 
    sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
  4. Log out and back in so the group change takes effect — on WSL2, run wsl --shutdown in Windows PowerShell and reopen Ubuntu instead. Then cd ~/probation_ws.

Step 4 — Build and Enter the Container

Inside the probation_ws directory:

  1. Build the development image (one-time, ~5 minutes):

    docker compose build dev-core

  2. Start the container and enter it:

    docker compose up -d dev-core
docker compose exec dev-core bash

  3. Inside the container, build the ROS2 workspace:

    colcon build --symlink-install

What colcon build does: Compiles your ROS2 packages in src/ and generates the build/, install/, and log/ workspace directories.

The container entrypoint automatically sources ROS2 and the workspace on every new shell — no manual source needed after the first build.

You're ready. Go to Section 4 of the README to run the simulation.