Create ROS 2 Packages with Turtle Nest

Turtle Nest

Turtle Nest is a developer tool that simplifies creating new ROS 2 Python and C++ packages. With Turtle Nest, package creation has never been easier, and you can get started faster with the actual development of your robots. Say goodbye to tedious manual package creation that is prone to accidental errors and mistakes. Turtle Nest sets up your workspace and creates a new ROS 2 package with a node, a launch file, and a parameter file lightning-fast!

How to create a ROS 2 package using Turtle Nest

Install Turtle Nest with:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ros-$ROS_DISTRO-turtle-nest

To create a new package, simply run the following command:

turtle-nest

Turtle Nest user interface will pop up and guide you through the rest of the package creation.

Once the package is created, build and source your package normally as with any other ROS 2 packages. After this, you are ready to launch your created node or launch file! 🎉

If you want to learn how to build your packages or launch your nodes, check out the step-by-step Turtle Nest video tutorial below, or visit the Turtle Nest GitHub page.

Why Turtle Nest?

Before Turtle Nest, all the ROS 2 packages needed to be created from the command line, and many things had to be manually created, such as the workspace, ROS 2 nodes, launch file, and parameter file. Seasoned ROS 2 developers already knew their ways around this, but new users had to grasp a lot of information and read pages of documentation to create a fully functional package.

Previously, new ROS 2 users usually had to find answers at least to the following questions:

• How to create a new workspace?
• What is the command to create a new Python or C++ package?
• How to create a Python or C++ node, launch file, and parameter file and add them to CMakeLists.txt or setup.py?
• What the package structure should be?
• What are the naming conventions for the ROS 2 packages, nodes, and files?

Turtle Nest flips this learning process upside down. By being able to create packages easily, new ROS 2 users can now first get a fully functioning package up and running, and then dive deeper into understanding what packages consist of.

Help Make Turtle Nest Better for Everyone!

If you find Turtle Nest useful, give it a star ⭐ on the Turtle Nest GitHub page, or leave a comment below! We’d love to hear your ideas on how to improve Turtle Nest further.