ROS2 Quick Runner

A VS Code extension for quickly running ROS2 launch files, Python nodes, and C++ nodes.

Note: This document is available in Chinese (中文版请查阅 README_zh.md)

Features

1. Launch ROS2 Files

Right-click any .launch.py file and select "ROS2: Launch" to:

• Automatically find the ROS2 workspace
• Source the workspace's install/setup.bash
• Execute ros2 launch <package_name> <launch_file>

2. Run ROS2 Nodes

Right-click any .py or .cpp file and select "ROS2: Run" to:

• Automatically find the ROS2 workspace and package name
• Source the workspace's install/setup.bash
• Execute ros2 run <package_name> <node_name>

3. Get Workspace Name

Right-click any file and select "Get ROS2 Workspace Name" to:

• Display the workspace name
• Source the workspace in a new terminal

How It Works

The extension automatically:

1. Finds the ROS2 workspace by searching for directories containing both src/ and install/ folders
2. Extracts the package name by parsing the package.xml file in the package directory
3. Executes commands in a new VS Code terminal

Directory Structure

The extension expects a standard ROS2 workspace structure:

~/ros2_ws/
├── src/           # Source packages
├── install/       # Built packages (after colcon build)
├── build/         # Build files
└── log/           # Log files

Therefore, you need to run colcon build first before using this extension. If you only have source packages without building, the extension will not be able to find the correct package name.

Usage

1. Search for ros2-quick-runner in VS Code extensions and install it
2. Open your ROS2 project in VS Code
3. Right-click on a file in the explorer:
   • .launch.py files → "ROS2: Launch"
   • .py or .cpp files → "ROS2: Run"
   • Any file → "Get ROS2 Workspace Name"

Commands

Requirements

• VS Code 1.80.0 or higher
• ROS2 installed (e.g., ROS 2 Humble)
• A compiled ROS2 workspace with install/ directory

Release Notes

For detailed changelog, please see: CHANGELOG.md

0.0.2

• Initial release
• Support for ROS2 launch files, Python nodes, and C++ nodes
• Automatic workspace detection
• Automatic package name extraction

For Chinese documentation, please see: README_zh.md