Streamlining ROS2 Development with Docker and VSCode

Tired of “Works on My Machine” nightmares? Let’s transform your robotics workflow with a bulletproof development setup!

In this post, I will walk you through how to streamline your ROS2 development with Docker and VSCode.

Why ROS2 and Docker? 🤖🐳

Docker offers significant advantages in compatibility, replicability, and isolation, enabling developers to work with multiple ROS distributions, ensure consistent environments, and prevent dependency conflicts.

Key Advantages

Feature	Benefit
Multi-ROS Support	Run Humble, Galactic, and Foxy side-by-side
CI/CD Ready	Identical environments from dev to production
Collaboration	Share reproducible workspaces via Docker images
Legacy Support	Maintain older ROS versions effortlessly

Why Visual Studio Code? 💻

Visual Studio Code (VSCode) offers excellent integration with Docker, making it an ideal choice for a ROS2 development environment. Key benefits include:

• 🐋 Built-in Docker integration via Remote Containers
• 🔧 ROS2-specific extensions (launch files, package.xml support)
• 🐞 Visual debugging for ROS nodes
• 📦 50+ robotics-related extensions

In the next section, I will show you how to set up the development environment for ROS2 and Docker with VSCode.

Setup Guide 🛠️

Installation

Docker

1 .Install Docker Desktop or Docker Engine as you prefer.

1. For Linux users, follow the post-installation instructions here to enable non-root execution.

Visual Studio Code

1. Install Visual Studio Code from the official website here.

2. Install the following extensions:

   • Docker
   • Remote Development

Configuration

Add your ROS2 workspace

Add a workspace in order to build and open them in a container

cd ~/
mkdir -p project_ws/src

Now create a .devcontainer folder inside the root of your workspace and create a devcontainter.json and Dockerfile inside .devcontainer folder. The workspace should look like this:

project_ws
├── .devcontainer
│   ├── devcontainer.json
│   └── Dockerfile
|
├── src
    ├── package1
    └── package2

Edit devcontainer.json

Add the following to the devcontainer.json file:

{
  "name": "ROS 2 Development Container",
  "privileged": true,
  "remoteUser": "ubuntu",
  "build": {
    "dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
    "args": {
      "USERNAME": "ubuntu"
    }
  },
  "workspaceFolder": "/home/ubuntu/ws",
  "workspaceMount": "source=${localWorkspaceFolder},target=/home/ubuntu/ws,type=bind",
  "customizations": {
    "vscode": {
      "extensions": [
        "althack.ament-task-provider",
        "ms-vscode.cpptools",
        "ms-vscode.cpptools-themes",
        "twxs.cmake",
        "donjayamanne.python-extension-pack",
        "eamodio.gitlens",
        "ms-iot.vscode-ros",
        "ms-python.python",
        "betwo.b2-catkin-tools",
        "DotJoshJohnson.xml",
        "ms-azuretools.vscode-docker",
        "redhat.vscode-yaml",
        "smilerobotics.urdf",
        "streetsidesoftware.code-spell-checker",
        "yzhang.markdown-all-in-one",
        "zachflower.uncrustify"
      ]
    }
  },
  "features": {
    "ghcr.io/devcontainers/features/desktop-lite:1": {
      "password": "ubuntu",
      "webPort": "6080",
      "vncPort": "5901"
    }
  },
  "forwardPorts": [6080, 5901],
  "portsAttributes": {
    "6080": {
      "label": "desktop"
    }
  },
  "containerEnv": {
    "ROS_AUTOMATIC_DISCOVERY_RANGE": "LOCALHOST",
    "ROS_DOMAIN_ID": "42"
  },
  "runArgs": ["--net=host", "--pid=host", "--ipc=host", "--shm-size=512M"],
  "postCreateCommand": "sudo chown -R $(whoami) /home/ubuntu/ws/"
}

Edit Dockerfile

Open the Dockerfile and add the following contents:

FROM osrf/ros:humble-desktop-full

ARG USERNAME=ubuntu
ARG USER_UID=1000
ARG USER_GID=$USER_UID

# Delete user if it exists in container
RUN if id -u $USER_UID ; then userdel `id -un $USER_UID` ; fi

# Create the user
RUN groupadd --gid $USER_GID $USERNAME \
    && useradd --uid $USER_UID --gid $USER_GID -m $USERNAME \
    && apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y sudo \
    && echo $USERNAME ALL=\(root\) NOPASSWD:ALL > /etc/sudoers.d/$USERNAME \
    && chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/$USERNAME

RUN apt-get install -y software-properties-common
RUN add-apt-repository ppa:jonathonf/vim -y
RUN apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y
RUN apt-get install -y python3-pip vim \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
RUN echo "source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash" >> /home/$USERNAME/.bashrc
ENV SHELL /bin/bash
# ********************************************************
# * Anything else you wnat to do like clean up goes here *
# ********************************************************

# [Optional] Set the default user. Omit if you want to keep the default as root
USER $USERNAME
CMD ["/bin/bash"]

In .devcontainer.json and Dockerfile, we use ubuntu as the username and humble as the ROS2 distro. You can change them to your own preference.

Usage 🚀

Open the workspace in VSCode

1. Open VSCode and navigate to your project_ws directory.

2. When prompted, select “Reopen in Container” to build and enter the development container.

3. If the popup doesn’t appear, click the blue icon at the bottom left and select “Reopen in Container” manually.

Running GUI Applications (RViZ, etc.)

To use graphical tools like RViZ, access the GUI via VNC:

1. Open a browser and go to http://localhost:6080
2. Click on “Connect” on the NoVNC page.

This method is preferred over X11 forwarding for better performance.

What’s Next? 🔜

Coming soon:

• Linting & Debugging Setup
• CI/CD Pipeline Configuration
• Multi-robot Simulation Guide

Stay tuned!

References 📚

This post is based on the following resources.

1. Docker for Robotics with the Robot Operating System (ROS/ROS2)
2. VSCode, Docker, and ROS2
3. Setup ROS 2 with VSCode and Docker