URDF Studio

Inspect, visualize, and interact with URDF & xacro robot models — directly inside VS Code.

Features

🖥️ Interactive 3D Viewer

A full Three.js viewport embedded in VS Code with orbit, pan, and zoom controls. Supports preset camera angles (Front, Right, Top, Iso) and a one-click Fit to frame the entire robot.

🤖 URDF & Xacro Support

Opens .urdf, .urdf.xacro, and .xacro files natively as a custom editor. Xacro files are expanded on-the-fly with full argument support — edit xacro args and hit Reload xacro to see changes instantly.

🦾 Joint Controls

Interactive sliders and numeric inputs for every movable joint. Supports revolute, continuous, and prismatic joint types with proper limits. Toggle Ignore limits mode to freely explore the full range of motion.

📦 ROS Package Resolution

Automatically discovers package.xml files across your workspace and resolves package:// URIs for meshes. Add custom package search roots via settings for multi-workspace setups.

🎨 Render Modes

Switch between three geometry layers:

Toggle wireframe mode to inspect mesh topology. Show or hide the grid and axes helpers.

🌲 Link Tree & Inspector

Browse the full kinematic tree in a collapsible hierarchy. Click any link in the tree or directly in the 3D viewport to inspect it — view parent/child joints, joint type, axis, limits, and associated meshes.

🩺 Model Diagnostics

Real-time analysis of your robot model surfaced as VS Code diagnostics (errors, warnings, info). Catches issues like:

• Missing mesh files
• Undefined joints or links
• Xacro expansion problems
• Invalid joint limits

Diagnostics also appear in the Checks panel inside the preview for quick triage.

📐 SRDF & Named States

Load SRDF or YAML semantic files to define joint groups and named states (e.g., "home", "ready", "tucked"). Apply named states with a single click to pose the robot instantly.

💾 Pose Save & Export

• Save Pose — persists the current joint configuration and camera so it's restored on next open.
• Export Pose — opens a JSON document with the full joint pose and camera snapshot for use in launch files or configuration.

📸 Screenshot Capture

Capture a PNG screenshot of the current viewport and save it to your workspace. Perfect for documentation, PRs, or sharing robot configurations.

⚙️ Mesh Format Support

Loads common robotics mesh formats out of the box:

• STL — with auto-generated normals
• COLLADA (.dae)
• OBJ
• glTF / GLB

🔧 Configurable Up Axis

Set the world up axis to +X, +Y, or +Z depending on your robot's coordinate convention. The grid, camera, and orbit controls adjust automatically.

Quick Start

1. Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
2. Open any .urdf or .xacro file
3. The 3D preview opens automatically, or use the command URDF Studio: Open Preview

Commands

Settings

Development

npm install
npm run compile

Open this folder in VS Code and press F5 to launch the Extension Host. Use URDF Studio: Open Preview on any .urdf, .urdf.xacro, or .xacro file.

npm run test:unit       # Run unit tests
npm run test:renderer   # Run Playwright renderer tests

License

MIT