ROS2 Package Wizard

ROS2 Package Wizard is a Visual Studio Code extension that helps you create clean, production-ready ROS 2 packages using an interactive wizard. It focuses on correct structure, good defaults, and ROS 2 best practices, without forcing rigid assumptions about your workspace layout.

✨ Features

• 📦 Create ROS 2 C++ packages from VS Code
• 🧭 Interactive wizard for:
  • Package name
  • Node name
  • Dependencies (multi-select)
  • Optional launch file generation
• 🧱 Generates a clean ROS 2 structure:
  • Library-based node implementation
  • Separate main() entry point
• 🧩 Optional launch file (launch/*.launch.py)
• 📚 Auto-generated Apache 2.0–compliant Doxygen headers
• 🛠 Idiomatic ament_cmake CMakeLists.txt
• 🎯 No assumptions about workspace layout (works even if you open src/ directly)

📁 Generated Package Structure

<your-package>/
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── package.xml
├── include/<pkg>/<node>.hpp
├── src/
│   ├── <node>.cpp          # Node implementation
│   └── <pkg>_node.cpp      # main()
└── launch/                 # (optional)
    └── <pkg>.launch.py

This structure matches real-world ROS 2 and Nav2 codebases and is easy to extend later.

🚀 Usage

1. Open a folder in VS Code (workspace root, src/, or any subfolder)
2. Open the Command Palette:

   Ctrl + Shift + P
   

3. Run:

   ROS2: Create Package
   

4. Follow the wizard prompts
5. Build and run as usual:

   colcon build
   ros2 run <pkg> <pkg>_node
   

📦 Dependency Selection

• Choose from common ROS 2 dependencies via multi-select
• If none are selected, the wizard defaults to:

  rclcpp
  

• Dependencies are:
  • Added to package.xml
  • Declared once in CMake and reused

📄 Doxygen & Documentation

All generated source and header files include:

• @file, @brief, and detailed descriptions
• @ingroup <package>
• Author and year (from Git config)
• Apache License 2.0 header

This works seamlessly with:

• Doxygen
• rosdoc2
• Sphinx + Breathe

🎯 Design Philosophy

• Explicit is better than implicit
• No hidden assumptions about workspace layout
• Templates are simple, readable, and extensible
• Optimized for real ROS 2 development, not demos

This extension is intentionally minimal in v1 and designed to grow based on real usage.

🛣 Roadmap

Planned future enhancements:

• Python node templates
• Lifecycle / composable nodes
• Parameter YAML generation
• Remember user preferences
• rosdoc2 config generation

📜 License

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.

👤 Author

Anikesh Rajendran
ROS 2 | Navigation | Tooling

If you find this extension useful or have ideas for improvement, feel free to open an issue or contribute!