GAZEBO SIM PLUGINS TUTORIAL

Gazebo Sim standalone system plugins and Gazebo Sim ROS 2 plugins. This repository accompanies a YouTube tutorial series on Gazebo Sim plugins.

YouTube Tutorial

👉 Gazebo Sim Plugin Made Easy – YouTube Playlist

What’s Inside

gazebo-sim-plugins-tutorial/
├── standalone_gz_sim_plugins/
│   ├── plugin_name_1/              # Standalone Gazebo Sim system plugin
│   ├── plugin_name_2/              # Standalone Gazebo Sim system plugin
│   └── ...                         # More standalone plugins
│
├── ros2_ws/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── yt_tutorial_gazebo_ros/      # ROS 2 Gazebo launch & integration
│   │   └── tutorial_gazebo_plugins/     # ROS 2 Gazebo plugins
│   └── ...                               # ROS 2 build, install, log folders
│
└── README.md

1. standalone_gz_sim_plugins/
   Standalone Gazebo Sim system plugins (CMake build)

2. ros2_ws/
   ROS 2 workspace containing Gazebo Sim ROS 2 plugins + launch files

Supported Workflows

A) With Docker (recommended if you already have a prepared docker-compose environment)
B) Without Docker (install ROS 2 + Gazebo Sim on your host machine)

Prerequisites

Common:

• Git
• A Linux environment (Ubuntu recommended)

With Docker:

• Docker
• Docker Compose
• GUI support via X11 (xhost)

Without Docker:

• ROS 2 installed on host
• Gazebo Sim installed on host
• Build tools (CMake / make)
• colcon (for ROS 2 workspace)

Setup

1) With Docker

NOTE:

• You need to clone this repo INSIDE the folder where docker-compose.yml exists (from your other docker repo).

Clone:

cd <inside_docker_repo_folder>
git clone https://github.com/Hrithik-verma/gazebo-sim-plugins-tutorial.git

Enter container (assuming container is already built/running):

xhost +                (required for GUI on host)
docker exec -it <container_name> bash

If you need to start the container first, do it from your docker repo as you normally do (e.g., using docker compose up -d). This repo does not include docker-compose.yml.

2) Without Docker (Host System)

NOTE:

• Make sure you already have ROS 2 + Gazebo Sim installed on your system.
• The main difference vs Docker is simply where your X path points.

Clone:

git clone https://github.com/Hrithik-verma/gazebo-sim-plugins-tutorial.git
cd gazebo-sim-plugins-tutorial

Build & Run

Path Reference (IMPORTANT)

You will see used below:

Without Docker: X = <path-to>/gazebo-sim-plugins-tutorial

With Docker: (inside the container) X = /root

A) Standalone Gazebo Sim Plugins

1. Go to a standalone plugin folder:

cd <X>/standalone_gz_sim_plugins/<plugin_name>

2. Build:

mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make
cd ..

3. Export plugin path (so Gazebo Sim can find it):

export GZ_SIM_SYSTEM_PLUGIN_PATH=$(pwd)/build

4. Launch Gazebo Sim with an SDF:

gazebo sim -v 4 <sdf_file_path>.sdf

Notes:

• "-v 4" prints debug logs (useful while developing)
• If Gazebo can’t find the plugin, re-check GZ_SIM_SYSTEM_PLUGIN_PATH and that build succeeded.

B) ROS 2 Workspace (ros2_ws)

1. Go to the ROS 2 workspace:

cd <X>/ros2_ws

2. Build ROS 2 packages:

colcon build --symlink-install

3. Source the workspace:

source install/setup.bash

4. Launch:

ros2 launch yt_tutorial_gazebo_ros <launch_file>.launch.py

Notes:

• If launch fails, confirm package names exist and build completed successfully.
• Always source the workspace in every new terminal where you run ROS 2 commands.

Troubleshooting

GUI / Gazebo window not opening (Docker):

• Ensure you ran: xhost +
• Ensure DISPLAY is correctly passed into container (depends on your docker setup)

Plugin not loading:

• Re-run export: export GZ_SIM_SYSTEM_PLUGIN_PATH=$(pwd)/build
• Confirm the plugin was built and the build folder contains the compiled library

ROS 2 packages not found:

• Ensure you ran: colcon build --symlink-install source install/setup.bash

Author / Maintainer

Hrithik Verma
GitHub
LinkdIn
Youtube