---

name: docker-ros2-development description: > Best practices for Docker-based ROS2 development including multi-stage Dockerfiles, docker-compose for multi-container robotic systems, DDS discovery across containers, GPU passthrough for perception, and dev-vs-deploy container patterns. Use this skill when containerizing ROS2 workspaces, setting up docker-compose for robot software stacks, debugging DDS communication between containers, configuring NVIDIA Container Toolkit for GPU workloads, forwarding X11/Wayland for rviz2 and GUI tools, or managing USB device passthrough for cameras and serial devices. Trigger whenever the user mentions Docker with ROS2, docker-compose for robots, Dockerfile for colcon workspaces, container networking for DDS, devcontainer for ROS2, multi-stage builds for ROS2, or deploying ROS2 in containers. Also trigger for CI/CD with Docker-based ROS2 builds, CycloneDDS or FastDDS configuration in containers, or shared memory in Docker. Covers Humble, Jazzy, and Rolling distributions across Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04 base images.

Docker-Based ROS2 Development Skill

When to Use This Skill

• Writing Dockerfiles for ROS2 workspaces with colcon builds
• Setting up docker-compose for multi-container robotic systems
• Debugging DDS discovery failures between containers (CycloneDDS, FastDDS)
• Configuring GPU passthrough with NVIDIA Container Toolkit for perception nodes
• Forwarding X11 or Wayland displays for rviz2 and rqt tools
• Managing USB device passthrough for cameras, LiDARs, and serial devices
• Building CI/CD pipelines with Docker-based ROS2 builds and test runners
• Creating devcontainer configurations for VS Code with ROS2 extensions
• Optimizing Docker layer caching for colcon workspace builds
• Designing dev-vs-deploy container strategies with multi-stage builds

ROS2 Docker Image Hierarchy

Official OSRF images follow a layered hierarchy. Always choose the smallest base that satisfies dependencies.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ros:<distro>-desktop-full  (~3.5 GB)                            │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  ros:<distro>-desktop     (~2.8 GB)                        │  │
│  │  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │  │
│  │  │  ros:<distro>-perception (~2.2 GB)                    │  │  │
│  │  │  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │  │  │
│  │  │  │  ros:<distro>-ros-base  (~1.1 GB)              │   │  │  │
│  │  │  │  ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐  │   │  │  │
│  │  │  │  │  ros:<distro>-ros-core (~700 MB)         │  │   │  │  │
│  │  │  │  └──────────────────────────────────────────┘  │   │  │  │
│  │  │  └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │  │  │
│  │  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

| Image Tag | Base OS | Size | Contents | Use Case | |--------------------------|----------------|---------|---------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------| | ros:humble-ros-core | Ubuntu 22.04 | ~700 MB | rclcpp, rclpy, rosout, launch | Minimal runtime for single nodes | | ros:humble-ros-base | Ubuntu 22.04 | ~1.1 GB | ros-core + common_interfaces, rosbag2 | Most production deployments | | ros:humble-perception | Ubuntu 22.04 | ~2.2 GB | ros-base + image_transport, cv_bridge, PCL | Camera/lidar perception pipelines | | ros:humble-desktop | Ubuntu 22.04 | ~2.8 GB | perception + rviz2, rqt, demos | Development with GUI tools | | ros:jazzy-ros-core | Ubuntu 24.04 | ~750 MB | rclcpp, rclpy, rosout, launch | Minimal runtime (Jazzy/Noble) | | ros:jazzy-ros-base | Ubuntu 24.04 | ~1.2 GB | ros-core + common_interfaces, rosbag2 | Production deployments (Jazzy) |

Multi-Stage Dockerfiles for ROS2

Dev Stage

The development stage includes build tools, debuggers, and editor support for interactive use.

FROM ros:humble-desktop AS dev
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    build-essential cmake gdb python3-pip \
    python3-colcon-common-extensions python3-rosdep \
    ros-humble-ament-lint-auto ros-humble-ament-cmake-pytest \
    ccache \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
ENV CCACHE_DIR=/ccache
ENV CC="ccache gcc"
ENV CXX="ccache g++"

Build Stage

Copies only src/ and package.xml files to maximize cache hits during dependency resolution.

FROM ros:humble-ros-base AS build
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    python3-colcon-common-extensions python3-rosdep \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
WORKDIR /ros2_ws
# Copy package manifests first for dependency caching
COPY src/my_pkg/package.xml src/my_pkg/package.xml
RUN . /opt/ros/humble/setup.sh && apt-get update && \
    rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y && \
    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
# Source changes invalidate only this layer and below
COPY src/ src/
RUN . /opt/ros/humble/setup.sh && \
    colcon build --cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
      --event-handlers console_direct+

Runtime Stage

Contains only the built install space and runtime dependencies. No compilers, no source code.

FROM ros:humble-ros-core AS runtime
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    python3-yaml ros-humble-rmw-cyclonedds-cpp \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
COPY --from=build /ros2_ws/install /ros2_ws/install
RUN groupadd -r rosuser && useradd -r -g rosuser -m rosuser
USER rosuser
COPY ros_entrypoint.sh /ros_entrypoint.sh
ENTRYPOINT ["/ros_entrypoint.sh"]
CMD ["ros2", "launch", "my_pkg", "bringup.launch.py"]

Full Multi-Stage Dockerfile

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1
# Usage:
#   docker build --target dev -t my_robot:dev .
#   docker build --target runtime -t my_robot:latest .
ARG ROS_DISTRO=humble
ARG BASE_IMAGE=ros:${ROS_DISTRO}-ros-base

# Stage 1: Dependency base — install apt and rosdep deps
FROM ${BASE_IMAGE} AS deps
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    python3-colcon-common-extensions python3-rosdep \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
WORKDIR /ros2_ws
# Copy only package.xml files for rosdep resolution (maximizes cache reuse)
COPY src/my_robot_bringup/package.xml src/my_robot_bringup/package.xml
COPY src/my_robot_perception/package.xml src/my_robot_perception/package.xml
COPY src/my_robot_msgs/package.xml src/my_robot_msgs/package.xml
COPY src/my_robot_navigation/package.xml src/my_robot_navigation/package.xml
RUN . /opt/ros/${ROS_DISTRO}/setup.sh && \
    apt-get update && \
    rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y && \
    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Stage 2: Development — full dev environment
FROM deps AS dev
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    build-essential gdb valgrind ccache python3-pip python3-pytest \
    ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-ament-lint-auto \
    ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-launch-testing-ament-cmake \
    ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-rviz2 ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-rqt-graph \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
ENV CCACHE_DIR=/ccache CC="ccache gcc" CXX="ccache g++"
COPY src/ src/
COPY ros_entrypoint.sh /ros_entrypoint.sh
ENTRYPOINT ["/ros_entrypoint.sh"]
CMD ["bash"]

# Stage 3: Build — compile workspace
FROM deps AS build
COPY src/ src/
RUN . /opt/ros/${ROS_DISTRO}/setup.sh && \
    colcon build \
      --cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF \
      --event-handlers console_direct+ \
      --parallel-workers $(nproc)

# Stage 4: Runtime — minimal production image
FROM ros:${ROS_DISTRO}-ros-core AS runtime
ARG ROS_DISTRO=humble
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    python3-yaml ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-rmw-cyclonedds-cpp \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
COPY --from=build /ros2_ws/install /ros2_ws/install
RUN groupadd -r rosuser && useradd -r -g rosuser -m -s /bin/bash rosuser
USER rosuser
ENV RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_cyclonedds_cpp
COPY ros_entrypoint.sh /ros_entrypoint.sh
ENTRYPOINT ["/ros_entrypoint.sh"]
CMD ["ros2", "launch", "my_robot_bringup", "robot.launch.py"]

The entrypoint script both dev and runtime stages use:

#!/bin/bash
set -e
source /opt/ros/${ROS_DISTRO}/setup.bash
if [ -f /ros2_ws/install/setup.bash ]; then
    source /ros2_ws/install/setup.bash
fi
exec "$@"

Docker Compose for Multi-Container ROS2 Systems

Basic Multi-Container Setup

Each ROS2 subsystem runs in its own container with process isolation, independent scaling, and per-service resource limits.

# docker-compose.yml
version: "3.8"

x-ros-common: &ros-common
  environment:
    - ROS_DOMAIN_ID=${ROS_DOMAIN_ID:-0}
    - RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_cyclonedds_cpp
    - CYCLONEDDS_URI=file:///cyclonedds.xml
  volumes:
    - ./config/cyclonedds.xml:/cyclonedds.xml:ro
    - /dev/shm:/dev/shm
  network_mode: host
  restart: unless-stopped

services:
  rosbridge:
    <<: *ros-common
    image: my_robot:latest
    command: ros2 launch rosbridge_server rosbridge_websocket_launch.xml port:=9090

  perception:
    <<: *ros-common
    image: my_robot_perception:latest
    command: ros2 launch my_robot_perception perception.launch.py
    deploy:
      resources:
        reservations:
          devices:
            - driver: nvidia
              count: 1
              capabilities: [gpu]
    devices:
      - /dev/video0:/dev/video0            # USB camera passthrough

  navigation:
    <<: *ros-common
    image: my_robot_navigation:latest
    command: >
      ros2 launch my_robot_navigation navigation.launch.py
        use_sim_time:=false map:=/maps/warehouse.yaml
    volumes:
      - ./maps:/maps:ro

  driver:
    <<: *ros-common
    image: my_robot_driver:latest
    command: ros2 launch my_robot_driver driver.launch.py
    devices:
      - /dev/ttyUSB0:/dev/ttyUSB0          # Serial motor controller
      - /dev/ttyACM0:/dev/ttyACM0          # IMU over USB-serial
    group_add:
      - dialout

Service Dependencies with Health Checks

services:
  driver:
    <<: *ros-common
    image: my_robot_driver:latest
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "bash", "-c",
             "source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash && ros2 topic list | grep -q /joint_states"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5
      start_period: 15s

  navigation:
    <<: *ros-common
    image: my_robot_navigation:latest
    depends_on:
      driver:
        condition: service_healthy         # Wait for driver topics

  perception:
    <<: *ros-common
    image: my_robot_perception:latest
    depends_on:
      driver:
        condition: service_healthy         # Camera driver must be ready

Profiles for Dev vs Deploy

services:
  driver:
    <<: *ros-common
    image: my_robot_driver:latest
    command: ros2 launch my_robot_driver driver.launch.py

  rviz:
    <<: *ros-common
    profiles: ["dev"]
    image: my_robot:dev
    command: ros2 run rviz2 rviz2 -d /rviz/config.rviz
    environment:
      - DISPLAY=${DISPLAY}
      - QT_X11_NO_MITSHM=1
    volumes:
      - /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix:rw

  rosbag_record:
    <<: *ros-common
    profiles: ["dev"]
    image: my_robot:dev
    command: ros2 bag record -a --storage sqlite3 --max-bag-duration 300 -o /bags/session
    volumes:
      - ./bags:/bags

  watchdog:
    <<: *ros-common
    profiles: ["deploy"]
    image: my_robot:latest
    command: ros2 launch my_robot_bringup watchdog.launch.py
    restart: always

docker compose --profile dev up          # Dev tools (rviz, rosbag)
docker compose --profile deploy up -