Scripts

All scripts live in the scripts/ directory at the repository root. They’re designed to be run from the project root.

launch_sim.sh

The main entry point for running simulations. Builds the ROS 2 workspace and launches Gazebo with the specified robot.

Inside devcontainer

./scripts/launch_sim.sh <robot_name> [flags]

Flags:

Flag	Description
--no-build	Skip the colcon build step
--build-only	Build only, don’t launch
--help	Print usage and exit

What it does:

1. Validates that <robot>_bringup and <robot>_description packages exist in robot-sim/
2. Runs colcon build --packages-up-to targeting the robot’s packages plus sim_worlds and sim_common
3. Sources install/setup.bash
4. Sets GZ_SIM_RESOURCE_PATH for Gazebo world file discovery
5. Runs ros2 launch <robot>_bringup <robot>.launch.py gui:=true

Logging: All output is teed to robot-sim/log/<robot>-gazebo-<timestamp>.log with ANSI codes stripped.

Source: scripts/launch_sim.sh

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start_x_server.sh

Starts a complete headless X11 desktop inside the container so Gazebo, RViz, and other GUI apps can render.

Inside devcontainer

./scripts/start_x_server.sh [-v|--verbose]

What it starts (in order):

1. Xorg — virtual X server using the dummy display driver, configured via /etc/X11/xorg.conf
2. Openbox — lightweight window manager for window decorations and resizing
3. x11vnc — VNC server on port 5900 for remote access to the X display
4. noVNC — web-based VNC client on port 6080, accessible at http://localhost:6080/vnc.html

Environment variables used (set in the Dockerfile):

• DISPLAY — X display identifier (:1)
• VNC_PORT — VNC server port (5900)
• NOVNC_PORT — noVNC web port (6080)

The script traps SIGINT/SIGTERM and cleans up all child processes on exit.

Source: scripts/start_x_server.sh

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clean_build.sh

Deletes ROS 2 build artifacts to resolve unexplained build failures.

Inside devcontainer

./scripts/clean_build.sh

Removes build/, install/, and log/ from the robot-sim/ directory. This is also run automatically as the Dev Container’s postCreateCommand.

Tip

If a build fails and the error doesn’t make sense, run this first. Stale artifacts are the most common cause of mysterious build issues.

Source: scripts/clean_build.sh

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attach_to_container.sh

Opens a new interactive terminal inside a running Dev Container. Run this from the host machine, not inside the container.

Host terminal

./scripts/attach_to_container.sh

It finds the running VS Code Dev Container by matching the image name vsc-gazebo-simulations, then attaches with docker exec as the trickfire user. Useful when you need extra terminal sessions beyond what VS Code provides.

Source: scripts/attach_to_container.sh