RosScope

RosScope is a Qt desktop app for ROS 2 runtime monitoring and control on Ubuntu. It provides a single interface for process visibility, ROS graph health, diagnostics, snapshots, and operational actions.

Built and maintained by Prabal Khare.

What It Does

• Monitors Linux processes with ROS-aware filtering
• Maps ROS nodes to domains, PIDs, executables, and workspaces
• Inspects ROS graph state (topics, QoS, TF/Nav2, lifecycle)
• Surfaces runtime health issues (zombies, conflicts, missing links, QoS issues)
• Supports operational controls (terminate/kill/restart actions)
• Exports snapshots and diffs
• Records sessions for later analysis
• Supports remote fleet checks and actions over SSH

Requirements

• Ubuntu 22.04+
• CMake 3.16+
• Qt6 (Core, Widgets, Network)
• iproute2, usbutils
• Optional but recommended:
  • ROS 2 (Humble/Iron/Jazzy) with ros2 in PATH
  • can-utils
  • openssh-client (fleet features)

Install base dependencies:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y \
  build-essential \
  cmake \
  qt6-base-dev \
  qt6-base-dev-tools \
  iproute2 \
  usbutils \
  can-utils \
  openssh-client

Build

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)

Binary: build/RosScope

Run

source /opt/ros/<distro>/setup.bash
# optional overlay:
# source /path/to/ws/install/setup.bash
./build/RosScope

Fleet Targets JSON (resources)

Use resources/example_fleet_targets.json as the template for remote fleet monitoring/actions.

Expected format: JSON array of target objects.

[
  {
    "name": "robot_1",
    "host": "192.168.1.10",
    "user": "ubuntu",
    "port": 22,
    "domain_id": "0",
    "ros_setup": "/opt/ros/humble/setup.bash"
  }
]

Field reference:

• name (required): display name used in Fleet table and actions
• host (required): IP/hostname of the target robot
• user (optional): SSH username (user@host); leave empty to use current user
• port (optional): SSH port, default 22
• domain_id (optional): ROS domain for that target, default "0"
• ros_setup (optional): remote ROS setup script path, default /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash

How to use it:

1. Copy and edit the template: cp resources/example_fleet_targets.json fleet_targets.json
2. Update hosts/users/domain IDs for your robots.
3. In the app, click Fleet -> Load Fleet Targets and select your JSON file.

Auto-load option:

• If fleet_targets.json exists in the project root, RosScope loads it automatically on startup.

SSH notes:

• Use key-based SSH auth (recommended) and ensure host keys are trusted.
• Quick check from your machine: ssh -p 22 <user>@<host> 'echo ok'

UI Modes

• Engineer: full diagnostics and control surface
• Operator: simplified runtime/safety view

Key Output Files

• Snapshots: snapshots/
• Session exports: sessions/
• Presets: presets/
• Telemetry: logs/
• Fleet queue/state: state/

Project Structure

include/rrcc/   # public headers
src/services/   # runtime, diagnostics, control, monitoring services
src/ui/         # main Qt UI
docs/           # architecture and performance notes

Troubleshooting

• If the app shows limited ROS data, verify ros2 is in PATH and environment is sourced.
• If fleet actions fail, verify SSH connectivity and credentials.
• For build issues, remove build/ and reconfigure:

rm -rf build
cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build -j$(nproc)