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Developer Guide

Welcome to AirStack development! This guide will help you extend and customize the autonomy stack for your needs. AirStack is designed with modularity in mind, making it straightforward to swap components and add new capabilities.

New to AirStack?

Start with the Beginner Tutorials to understand core concepts, then progress through intermediate and advanced topics as needed.

Learning Path

🎯 Beginner Tutorials

Start here if you're new to AirStack development:

  1. Key Concepts - Understand the AirStack workflow and architecture
  2. Development Environment - Set up your IDE and tools
  3. Fork Your Own Project - Create your own AirStack-based project
  4. VSCode Debugging - Debug ROS 2 nodes in containers

Reference Documentation:

📈 Intermediate Tutorials

Build on the basics with testing and best practices:

🚀 Advanced Tutorials

Deep dives into advanced topics:

Quick Reference

Common Tasks

Task Guide
Add a new planner Integration Checklist
Add a world model Integration Checklist
Create simulation scene Isaac Sim Setup
Debug a module VSCode Debugging
Write tests Testing Guide

Essential Commands

# Start development environment
airstack up robot-desktop

# Build and test your code
docker exec airstack-robot-desktop-1 bash -c "bws --packages-select my_package"

# Connect to container
airstack connect robot

See CLI Introduction for complete command reference.

Architecture Resources

Before diving into development, understand the system:

Getting Help

  • Documentation: Search this site for guides and references
  • GitHub Issues: Report bugs and request features
  • AirStack Slack: Join #airstack for discussions (AirLab members)