Native Setup
The native workflow installs ROS 2 Jazzy and Gazebo Harmonic into a self-contained environment inside the repository using pixi, not requiring Docker and using your system directly without another layer, producing better performance.
Supported platforms: Linux (x86-64, ARM64), macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), WSL2.
This way of running the project does not support the Chrono sim, only Gazebo! See Docker
1. Install pixi
curl -fsSL https://pixi.sh/install.sh | bash
Restart your shell after installation!
2. Install dependencies
From the repo root, install all project dependencies using the following command:
pixi install
This downloads ~3–5 GB on first run, and takes a while. Subsequent runs are instant.
3. Launch a simulation
pixi run sim gazebo native arm
This builds the ROS 2 workspace and launches 3 windows, Gazebo, RViz, and the Joint GUI.
See Running Gazebo for full CLI options and flags.
Do not use pixi shell as your regular working shell. It modifies library paths in a way that can break system tools like git on macOS. Use pixi run <command> instead. For example: pixi run sim gazebo native arm.