rclnodejs - The ROS 2 Client Library for JavaScript

ROS Distro*	Status
Rolling Kilted Jazzy Humble

Note: rclnodejs development and maintenance is limited to the ROS 2 LTS releases and the Rolling development branch

rclnodejs is a Node.js client library for ROS 2 that provides comprehensive JavaScript and TypeScript APIs for developing ROS 2 solutions.

const rclnodejs = require('rclnodejs');
rclnodejs.init().then(() => {
  const node = new rclnodejs.Node('publisher_example_node');
  const publisher = node.createPublisher('std_msgs/msg/String', 'topic');
  publisher.publish(`Hello ROS 2 from rclnodejs`);
  node.spin();
});

Documentation

• Installation
• rclnodejs-cli
• API Documentation
• Tutorials
• Electron-based Visualization
• Using TypeScript
• ROS2 Interface Message Generation
• Performance Benchmarks
• Efficient Usage Tips
• FAQ and Known Issues
• Building from Scratch
• Contributing

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js version >= 16.13.0
• ROS 2 SDK - Don’t forget to source the setup file

Install rclnodejs

npm i rclnodejs

Note: To install rclnodejs from GitHub: add "rclnodejs":"RobotWebTools/rclnodejs#<branch>" to your package.json dependency section.

Docker: For containerized development, see the included Dockerfile for building and testing with different ROS distributions and Node.js versions.

See the features and try the examples to get started.

rclnodejs-cli

rclnodejs-cli is a companion project we recently launched to provide a commandline interface to a set of developer tools for working with this rclnodejs. You may find rclnodejs-cli particularly useful if you plan to create ROS 2 node(s) and launch files for working with multiple node orchestrations.

Usage: rclnodejs [command] [options]

Options:
  -h, --help                               display help for command

Commands:
  create-package [options] <package-name>  Create a ROS2 package for Nodejs development.
  generate-ros-messages                    Generate JavaScript code from ROS2 IDL interfaces
  help [command]                           display help for command

API Documentation

API documentation is available online or generate locally with npm run docs.

Electron-based Visualization

Create rich, interactive desktop applications using Electron and web technologies like Three.js. Build 3D visualizations, monitoring dashboards, and control interfaces that run on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Demo	Description	Screenshot
🐢 turtle_tf2	Real-time coordinate frame visualization with turtle control. Features TF2 transforms, keyboard control, and dynamic frame updates.
🦾 manipulator	Interactive two-joint robotic arm simulation. Features 3D joint visualization, manual/automatic control, and visual movement markers.

Explore more examples in electron_demo.

Using rclnodejs with TypeScript

TypeScript declaration files are included in the types/ folder. Configure your tsconfig.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "module": "commonjs",
    "moduleResolution": "node",
    "target": "es2020",
  },
}

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