Quickstart¶

Audience¶

This page gives two short paths:

install lifecore_ros2 from PyPI when using the library in an application
clone this repository when running the bundled examples or contributing

The repository path uses the smallest composed lifecycle example already in the repository: examples/minimal_node.py.

Before You Start¶

ROS 2 Jazzy must already be installed on the system.
uv must already be available in your shell.
rclpy comes from the system ROS installation, not from PyPI.

Install from PyPI¶

Use this path when adding lifecore_ros2 to an application project:

source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
uv add lifecore-ros2

1. Clone the Repository¶

git clone https://github.com/apajon/lifecore_ros2.git
cd lifecore_ros2

2. Install Development Dependencies¶

Sync the local project environment with the repository’s development tools:

uv sync --extra dev

3. Build the ROS 2 Workspace¶

This repository does not currently ship a colcon package or generate a local install/setup.bash overlay. The build command supported by the project today is the package build below:

uv run python -m build

4. Source the Workspace¶

Because this repository does not generate a local overlay setup script today, source the system ROS 2 environment so rclpy and the ROS CLI are available:

source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash

5. Run the Minimal Composed Lifecycle Example¶

Start the node in one terminal:

uv run python examples/minimal_node.py

In a second terminal, from the same repository, source ROS 2 Jazzy again and drive the lifecycle transitions:

source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 lifecycle set /minimal_lifecore_node configure
ros2 lifecycle set /minimal_lifecore_node activate

You can then stop the node cleanly with:

ros2 lifecycle set /minimal_lifecore_node deactivate
ros2 lifecycle set /minimal_lifecore_node cleanup
ros2 lifecycle set /minimal_lifecore_node shutdown

Expected Behavior¶

At a high level, you should observe the following:

the node starts and waits for lifecycle commands
configure triggers the component’s _on_configure hook and logs [logger_component] on_configure called
activate succeeds without extra component output because the base activation hook is silent by design
there are no publishers or subscribers in this example; it exists to show the smallest explicit composition pattern

Next Step¶

After this minimal composed example works, continue with Examples to run the subscriber, publisher, telemetry, and composed pipeline walkthroughs.

If you want the next applied step instead of another minimal example, open the sensor watchdog comparison in lifecore_ros2_examples for a side-by-side run of plain ROS 2, classic lifecycle, and lifecore_ros2.