5.1.3. RHEL (RPM packages)¶

RPM packages for ROS 2 Kilted Kolumbo are currently available for RHEL 9. The target platforms are defined in REP 2000.

5.1.3.1. Resources¶

Status Page:
- ROS 2 kilted (RHEL 9): amd64
Jenkins Instance
Repositories

5.1.3.2. System setup¶

5.1.3.2.1. Set locale¶

Make sure you have a locale which supports UTF-8. If you are in a minimal environment (such as a docker container), the locale may be something minimal like C. We test with the following settings. However, it should be fine if you’re using a different UTF-8 supported locale.

$ locale  # check for UTF-8

$ sudo dnf install langpacks-en glibc-langpack-en
$ export LANG=en_US.UTF-8

$ locale  # verify settings

5.1.3.2.2. Enable required repositories¶

You will need to enable the EPEL repositories and the PowerTools repository:

$ sudo dnf install 'dnf-command(config-manager)' epel-release -y
$ sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb

Note

This step may be slightly different depending on the distribution you are using. Check the EPEL documentation

Next, download the ros2-release package and install it:

$ sudo dnf install curl
$ export ROS_APT_SOURCE_VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/ros-infrastructure/ros-apt-source/releases/latest | grep -F "tag_name" | awk -F\" '{print $4}')
$ sudo dnf install "https://github.com/ros-infrastructure/ros-apt-source/releases/download/${ROS_APT_SOURCE_VERSION}/ros2-release-${ROS_APT_SOURCE_VERSION}-1.noarch.rpm"

The ros2-release package provides keys and repo configuration for the various ROS repositories. Updates to repository configuration will occur automatically when new versions of this package are released to the ROS repositories.

5.1.3.2.3. Install development tools (optional)¶

If you are going to build ROS packages or otherwise do development, you can also install the development tools:

$ sudo dnf install -y \
  cmake \
  gcc-c++ \
  git \
  make \
  patch \
  python3-colcon-common-extensions \
  python3-mypy \
  python3-pip \
  python3-pydocstyle \
  python3-pytest \
  python3-pytest-repeat \
  python3-pytest-rerunfailures \
  python3-rosdep \
  python3-setuptools \
  python3-vcstool \
  wget

~ install some pip packages needed for testing and
~ not available as RPMs
$ python3 -m pip install -U --user \
  flake8-blind-except==0.1.1 \
  flake8-class-newline \
  flake8-deprecated

5.1.3.3. Install ROS 2¶

ROS 2 packages are built on frequently updated RHEL systems. It is always recommended that you ensure your system is up to date before installing new packages.

$ sudo dnf update

Desktop Install (Recommended): ROS, RViz, demos, tutorials.

$ sudo dnf install ros-kilted-desktop

ROS-Base Install (Bare Bones): Communication libraries, message packages, command line tools. No GUI tools.

$ sudo dnf install ros-kilted-ros-base

5.1.3.3.1. Install additional RMW implementations (optional)¶

The default middleware that ROS 2 uses is Fast DDS, but the middleware (RMW) can be replaced at runtime. See the guide on how to work with multiple RMWs.

5.1.3.4. Setup environment¶

Set up your environment by sourcing the following file.

$ source /opt/ros/kilted/setup.bash

Note

Replace .bash with your shell if you’re not using console. Possible values are: setup.bash, setup.sh, setup.zsh.

5.1.3.5. Try some examples¶

If you installed ros-kilted-desktop above you can try some examples.

In one terminal, source the setup file and then run a C++ talker:

$ source /opt/ros/kilted/setup.bash
$ ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp talker

In another terminal source the setup file and then run a Python listener:

$ source /opt/ros/kilted/setup.bash
$ ros2 run demo_nodes_py listener

You should see the talker saying that it’s Publishing messages and the listener saying I heard those messages. This verifies both the C++ and Python APIs are working properly. Hooray!

5.1.3.6. Next steps after installing¶

Continue with the tutorials and demos to configure your environment, create your own workspace and packages, and learn ROS 2 core concepts.

5.1.3.7. Troubleshoot¶

Troubleshooting techniques can be found here.

5.1.3.8. Uninstall¶

If you need to uninstall ROS 2 or switch to a source-based install once you have already installed from binaries, run the following command:

$ sudo dnf remove ros-kilted-*

To remove the repository configuration run

$ sudo dnf remove ros2-release