colcon-runner

Continuous Integration Status

Colcon runner is a minimal CLI wrapper for colcon that provides concise and flexible commands for common build, test, and clean tasks in ROS workspaces. It supports colcon defaults for consistent configuration.

Installation

You can install colcon-runner using pip:

pip install colcon-runner

Enable Auto-Source After Commands (Optional)

To automatically re-source your environment after any successful cr command, install the shell integration:

cr --install-shell-integration
source ~/.bashrc  # Or start a new terminal

This will automatically re-source your workspace after any successful cr command, ensuring your environment always reflects the latest workspace state while preserving your ROS installation and any underlay workspaces.

The installation is idempotent - running it multiple times is safe and won't create duplicates.

CR(1)                         User Commands                        CR(1)

NAME
    cr - Colcon Runner: concise CLI for common colcon tasks.

SYNOPSIS
    cr [PKG] [VERB] [OPTIONS]
    cr [VERB] [PKG] [OPTIONS]
    cr --help | -h
    cr --version | -v
    cr --install-shell-integration

DESCRIPTION
    A minimal wrapper around colcon providing short, mnemonic commands
    for build, test, clean, and package selection operations.

    Both argument orders are supported.  If the first positional
    argument cannot be parsed as a verb string and matches a known
    package in the workspace, it is used as the target package (package-
    first mode).  Otherwise it is treated as a verb string (verb-first
    mode).

STATE
    s       set a default package for subsequent commands.

VERBS
    b       build packages.
    t       test packages.
    c       clean packages.
    i       install dependencies using rosdep.

SPECIFIER
    o       only (--packages-select)
    u       upto (--packages-up-to)
    a       all

    If a package is given, the default specifier is "u" (up-to).
    If no package is given, the default specifier is "a" (all).

USAGE EXAMPLES

  No arguments:
    cr
        Build all packages. (default action when no arguments provided)

  Package only (tab-completable):
    cr pkg_1
        Build up to 'pkg_1' and its dependencies. (default action)

  Package with verb:
    cr pkg_1 b
        Build up to 'pkg_1' and its dependencies.

    cr pkg_1 bo
        Build only 'pkg_1'.

    cr pkg_1 bu
        Build up to 'pkg_1' and its dependencies. (explicit)

    cr pkg_1 t
        Test up to 'pkg_1' and its dependencies.

    cr pkg_1 to
        Test only 'pkg_1'.

    cr pkg_1 c
        Clean up to 'pkg_1'.

    cr pkg_1 co
        Clean only 'pkg_1'.

    cr pkg_1 ca
        Clean all. (explicit "a" overrides package default)

    cr pkg_1 i
        Install dependencies for 'pkg_1' and its dependencies.

    cr pkg_1 io
        Install dependencies only for 'pkg_1'.

    cr pkg_1 s
        Set 'pkg_1' as the default package for subsequent commands.

  Verb only (operates on all packages):
    cr b
        Build all packages.

    cr t
        Test all packages.

    cr c
        Clean workspace (build/, install/, log/, and test_result/).

    cr i
        Install all dependencies using rosdep.

  Compound commands:
    cr pkg_1 bt
        Build up to 'pkg_1', then test up to 'pkg_1'.

    cr pkg_1 boto
        Build only 'pkg_1', then test only 'pkg_1'.

    cr pkg_1 cbt
        Clean up to 'pkg_1', build up to 'pkg_1', test up to 'pkg_1'.

    cr cbt
        Clean all, build all, test all.

    cr pkg_1 cabuto
        Clean all, build up to 'pkg_1', test only 'pkg_1'.

OPTIONS
    --help, -h
        Show this help message and exit.

    --version, -v
        Show the version number and exit.

    --install-shell-integration
        Install bash shell integration to ~/.bashrc for auto-sourcing
        after successful cr commands and tab completion of package names.

NOTES
    - If the first positional argument cannot be parsed as a verb
      string and matches a known workspace package, it is used as the
      target package with a default specifier of "u" (up-to).
      Otherwise it is parsed as a verb string with a default specifier
      of "a" (all).  Verb-first parsing takes priority, so packages
      whose names happen to look like valid verb strings (e.g. "b")
      will not shadow the verb.
    - The 's' verb sets a default package name stored in a config file.
    - The 'i' verb runs rosdep install and supports the same specifiers.
    - Subsequent commands that require a package argument will use the
      default if none is provided.
    - Compound verbs can be chained for streamlined operations.
    - Tab completion for package names is available when shell
      integration is installed.

SEE ALSO
    colcon(1), colcon-clean(1)

Colcon runner assumes you have colcon defaults set up to ensure your paths and settings are applied when you run colcon. This is an example of a colcon defaults file to get consistent behavior across the commands supported here:

build:
  symlink-install: true
  base-paths:
    - "/home/ros_ws/src"
  build-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/build"
  install-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/install"
  cmake-args:
    - -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo
    - -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON

test:
  build-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/build"
  install-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/install"
  log-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/logs"
  event-handlers:
    - console_direct+

test-result:
  test-result-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/build"

clean.workspace:
  "yes": true
  base-select:
    - build
    - install
    - log
    - test_result
  build-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/build"
  install-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/install"
  log-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/logs"
  test-result-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/build"

clean.packages:
  "yes": true
  base-select:
    - build
    - install
    - log
    - test_result
  build-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/build"
  install-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/install"
  log-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/logs"
  test-result-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/build"

'':
  log-base: "/home/ros_ws/ros_build/logs"