devcontainer template for ros2 colcon workspace

#devcontainer_template_for_ros2_colcon_workspace.md

• Create a directory for your new workspace

  mkdir dev_ros2
  cd dev_ros2

• Download the zip and extract inside your workspace directory as .devcontainer

  wget -qO- https://gist.github.com/zflat/445b2ef3427dd947e2a3d46b61420b9b/archive/main.tar.gz | tar -xz --transform "s/^445b2e.*main/.devcontainer/"

• Create the workspace volume. Run from the root of your workspace:

  docker volume create "$(basename $(pwd))_colcon_ws_volume"

• Clone repositories into the workspace
• Run and attach to the devcontainer

  devcontainer up --workspace-folder .
  devcontainer exec --workspace-folder . bash

create_workspace.sh

#!/bin/bash

mkdir -p /opt/colcon_ws/src

ln -sf $CONTAINER_WS_DIR /opt/colcon_ws/src/

devcontainer.json

// For format details, see https://aka.ms/devcontainer.json. For config options, see the
// examples at: https://github.com/devcontainers/templates
{
  "name": "${localWorkspaceFolderBasename}-dev",

  "runArgs": [
    "--name=${localWorkspaceFolderBasename}-dev",
    "--workdir=/opt/colcon_ws"
  ],

  "build": {
    "dockerfile": "Dockerfile"
  },

  "containerEnv": {
    "CONTAINER_WS_DIR": "${containerWorkspaceFolder}"
  },

  // Features to add to the dev container. More info: https://containers.dev/features.
  // "features": {},

  // Use 'forwardPorts' to make a list of ports inside the container available locally.
  // "forwardPorts": [],

  // Use 'postCreateCommand' to run commands after the container is created.
  "postCreateCommand": "/tmp/create_workspace.sh",

  // Configure tool-specific properties.
  // "customizations": {},

  // Uncomment to connect as root instead. More info: https://aka.ms/dev-containers-non-root.
  // "remoteUser": "root"

  "mounts": [
    "source=${localWorkspaceFolderBasename}_colcon_ws_volume,target=/opt/colcon_ws,type=volume,consistency=cached"
  ]
}

Dockerfile

FROM osrf/ros:rolling-desktop-full

RUN apt-get update && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y \
    byobu \
    && apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

COPY ./create_workspace.sh /tmp/
RUN chmod +x /tmp/create_workspace.sh
RUN echo  "alias ws='cd /opt/colcon_ws && [ -e /opt/colcon_ws/install/setup.bash ] && . /opt/colcon_ws/install/setup.bash'" >> /root/.bashrc