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 "ros2 source" to:

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

4. Build ROS2 Workspace

Right-click any folder in your ROS2 workspace and select "colcon build" to:

• Automatically find the ROS2 workspace root
• Open a terminal at the workspace root
• Execute colcon build

Smart path detection:

• Right-click xxx_ws/ → build in xxx_ws/
• Right-click xxx_ws/src/ → build in xxx_ws/
• Right-click any sub-folder (e.g. xxx_ws/src/pkg_a) → build in xxx_ws/

How It Works

The extension automatically:

1. Finds the ROS2 workspace by searching for directories whose src/ subdirectory contains at least one package with package.xml
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 → "ros2 source"
   • Any folder → "colcon build"

Commands

Command	Description
ros2-quick-runner.ros2launch	Launch a .launch.py file
ros2-quick-runner.ros2run	Run a Python or C++ node
ros2-quick-runner.getWorkspaceName	Get and source the workspace
ros2-quick-runner.colconBuild	Build the ROS2 workspace

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

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For Chinese documentation, please see: README_zh.md