RobotFlowLabs ANIMA ROS 2

RobotFlowLabs ANIMA ROS 2 gives you a browser-first ROS 2 desktop that reaches a visible result on day one: one command, one noVNC session, and starter workflows that already prove the stack is useful.

noVNC is the default transport. WebRTC stays preview-only in this release surface.

First Success

The default public path stays simple:

./anima starter run starter-visualization
./anima foxglove dev

What that path gives you:

• a working noVNC desktop at http://127.0.0.1:6080
• a built workspace under /workspaces/anima
• live ROS 2 pub/sub traffic
• a Foxglove companion path on ws://127.0.0.1:8765

If you want the shortest desktop-only path first:

make up

Visible Proof

Default Desktop	Visualization Starter	Simulation Starter

Sensor Starter	Three-Minute Path

Choose Your Starter

Starter	Command	Recommended Profile	Visible Outcome	Companion
starter-visualization	./anima starter run starter-visualization	dev	workspace heartbeat plus live ROS 2 graph	./anima foxglove dev
starter-sim	./anima starter run starter-sim	sim	Gazebo on the noVNC desktop with /clock bridged into ROS 2	./anima foxglove sim
starter-sensors	./anima starter run starter-sensors	dev	deterministic image and lidar-style topics for Foxglove	./anima foxglove dev

List and inspect the bundled starter catalog:

./anima starter list
./anima starter show starter-sim
./anima starter show starter-sensors

GHCR Install

GHCR is the only supported registry in this phase.

Pull the published images:

docker pull ghcr.io/RobotFlow-Labs/anima-ros2:jazzy-desktop
docker pull ghcr.io/RobotFlow-Labs/anima-ros2:jazzy-dev
docker pull ghcr.io/RobotFlow-Labs/anima-ros2:jazzy-sim

Run the desktop image:

docker run --rm \
  -e VNC_PASSWORD=change-me \
  -p 6080:6080 \
  -p 5901:5901 \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -p 8765:8765 \
  ghcr.io/RobotFlow-Labs/anima-ros2:jazzy-desktop

Run the dev or sim images with the desktop entrypoint:

docker run --rm \
  -e VNC_PASSWORD=change-me \
  -p 6080:6080 \
  -p 5901:5901 \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -p 8765:8765 \
  ghcr.io/RobotFlow-Labs/anima-ros2:jazzy-dev \
  desktop

docker run --rm \
  -e VNC_PASSWORD=change-me \
  -p 6080:6080 \
  -p 5901:5901 \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -p 8765:8765 \
  ghcr.io/RobotFlow-Labs/anima-ros2:jazzy-sim \
  desktop

Trust Strip

Current benchmark snapshot from docs/MEASUREMENTS.md:

Tag	Startup To Ready	Local arm64 Image Size
jazzy-desktop	7.2s	0.81 GiB
jazzy-dev	5.8s	0.83 GiB
jazzy-sim	5.4s	1.03 GiB

Current validation surface:

• Apple Silicon source checkout validated on 2026-04-01
• compose config checked for default, dev, sim, and bind-mounted modes
• starter smoke coverage for starter-visualization, starter-sim, and starter-sensors
• signed release images and attached SBOM artifacts defined in docs/RELEASE_GUIDE.md
• WebRTC is preview-only and is not the default support path

Key Commands

./anima up
./anima status
./anima password
./anima starter list
./anima starter run starter-visualization
./anima starter run starter-sim
./anima starter run starter-sensors
./anima foxglove dev
./anima stop

Docs

• Mac quickstart: docs/QUICKSTART_MAC.md
• Commands: docs/COMMANDS.md
• Support matrix: docs/SUPPORT_MATRIX.md
• Release guide: docs/RELEASE_GUIDE.md
• Measurements: docs/MEASUREMENTS.md
• Image matrix: docs/IMAGE_MATRIX.md
• Hardware overlays: docs/HARDWARE.md
• Devcontainer workflow: docs/DEVCONTAINER.md

Community

• Contributing guide: CONTRIBUTING.md
• Code of conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
• Security policy: SECURITY.md
• Public security guidance: docs/SECURITY.md