catkin-lint 1.3.10

Check catkin packages for common errors

Overview

catkin_lint checks package configurations for the catkin build system of ROS.

Installation

Install Ubuntu Packages

Prebuilt packages are available from the ROS repository. If you have installed ROS already, downloading catkin_lint is as simple as:

sudo apt-get install python-catkin-lint

Alternatively, you can use Timo’s PPA on Launchpad:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:roehling/latest
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install python-catkin-lint

Download from PyPI

You can download and install catkin_lint from the Python Package Index with:

sudo pip install catkin_lint

Install from Source

You can clone catkin_lint from GitHub:

git clone https://github.com/fkie/catkin_lint
cd catkin_lint
sudo python setup.py install

Build status of latest version:

Build your own Debian packages

If your distribution is not supported, you can build your own packages:

sudo apt-get install dpkg-dev
git clone https://github.com/fkie/catkin_lint
cd catkin_lint
git checkout debian
./debian/rules make-orig-tar
dpkg-buildpackage -tc -uc -us -i\\..*
sudo dpkg -i ../python-catkin-lint_*_all.deb

Build status of packaging branch:

Running

catkin_lint runs a static analysis of the package.xml and CMakeLists.txt files. It can detect and report a number of common problems.

If catkin_lint is invoked with one or more paths as parameters, it searches for packages recursively and checks all of them. Alternatively, the --pkg option can be used to add the path of a particular ROS package.

If neither paths nor packages are specified, catkin_lint looks for a package in the current working directory.

A more detailed list of command line options can be obtained by running catkin_lint --help.

Limitations

catkin_lint emulates a limited subset of CMake. It does not evaluate boolean expressions in if() clauses, emulates find_package() calls with mock values, and ignores function() definitions.

Catkin Build Integration

It is recommended to run catkin_lint at workspace configuration time. The simplest way is to symlink /opt/ros/$ROS_DISTRO/share/catkin/cmake/toplevel.cmake to your $WSDIR/src folder manually (do not use catkin_init_workspace). Then add the following CMakeLists.txt:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 2.8.3)
find_program(CATKIN_LINT catkin_lint)
if(CATKIN_LINT)
    execute_process(COMMAND "${CATKIN_LINT}" "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}" RESULT_VARIABLE lint_result)
    if(NOT ${lint_result} EQUAL 0)
        message(FATAL_ERROR "catkin_lint failed")
    endif()
endif()
include(toplevel.cmake)

Diagnostic Levels

catkin_lint has messages in three different categories: errors, warnings, and notices. The -W option controls which problems are reported to the user:

• -W0: only errors are reported (this is the default)

• -W1: errors and warnings are reported

• -W2: errors, warnings, and notices are reported

Normally, catkin_lint returns a non-zero exit code if and only if errors occurred. The --strict option causes catkin_lint to treat any reported problem as error.

Errors

Errors are severe enough to break the build and/or produce unintended side effects. Usually, they violate the rules outlined in the catkin manual

Warnings

Potential errors which may indicate a bug in your package but may be justified for reasons catkin_lint cannot discern. Constructs which trigger a warning can usually be modified in a way that is functionally equivalent but more robust.

Notices

Issues which are not objectionable from a technical view point but should be addressed to improve the quality of the package. Many notices highlight violations of the recommendations and best practises from the catkin manual.

Contribution

If you would like to contribute, you are very welcome to do so. Please contact @roehling first to avoid any duplication of work.

Known Issues

• Ubuntu distributions which have reached their End-of-Life will no longer receive updated package versions.