tidybot-sim-manager

name	tidybot-sim-manager
description	Start, stop, restart, and health-check the MuJoCo sim server and agent server. Use when (1) launching the sim for skill development or testing, (2) restarting after a crash, (3) checking if the sim is running, (4) shutting down cleanly.

Sim Manager

Environment

• Conda env: /home/yifei/miniconda3/envs/tidybot-sim/bin/python
• Sim dir: ~/tidybot_uni/sim
• Agent server dir: ~/tidybot_uni/agent_server
• DISPLAY: :1 (for GUI mode)

Ports

Port	Service	Protocol
50000	Base bridge	RPC
5555	Franka CMD	ZMQ REP
5556	Franka State	ZMQ PUB
5557	Franka Stream	ZMQ SUB
5570	Gripper CMD	ZMQ REP
5571	Gripper State	ZMQ PUB
5580	Camera bridge	WebSocket
8080	Agent server API	HTTP
8081	Sim HTTP API (reset/health)	HTTP

Starting

Order matters: sim server first, then agent server.

Step 1: Kill stale processes

fuser -k 5555/tcp 5556/tcp 5557/tcp 5570/tcp 5571/tcp 5580/tcp 8080/tcp 8081/tcp 50000/tcp 2>/dev/null
sleep 2

Step 2: Start sim server

cd ~/tidybot_uni/robocasa_sim && DISPLAY=:1 /home/yifei/miniconda3/envs/tidybot-sim/bin/python -u -m sim_server 2>&1

• Use pty: true for unbuffered output
• Use --no-gui for headless mode (no MuJoCo viewer)
• Takes ~90 seconds to compile the kitchen scene — wait for [sim] Entering physics loop
• Custom scene: --task BananaTestKitchen --layout 1 --style 1

Step 3: Start agent server

cd ~/tidybot_uni/agent_server && /home/yifei/miniconda3/envs/tidybot-sim/bin/python -u server.py --no-service-manager 2>&1

• Wait for Uvicorn running on http://0.0.0.0:8080
• Ignore mocap warnings (no mocap in sim)
• Ignore arm monitor warnings (they settle after a few seconds)

Health Checks

curl localhost:8081/health    # Sim server
curl localhost:8080/health    # Agent server

Stopping

Kill both processes. Then clear ports to avoid conflicts on next start:

fuser -k 8080/tcp 8081/tcp 5555/tcp 5556/tcp 5557/tcp 5570/tcp 5571/tcp 5580/tcp 50000/tcp 2>/dev/null

Sim Reset API

• POST localhost:8081/reset — soft reset (instant, restores initial state)
• POST localhost:8081/reset/hard — hard reset (~2s, full scene reload)
• Reset also happens automatically on lease release via the agent server

Git Push (for sim and agent_server repos)

GIT_SSH_COMMAND="ssh -i ~/.ssh/thinkpad_docker_noetic_github -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no" git push

Common Issues

Problem	Fix
Address already in use on startup	Kill stale ports (Step 1)
No output for 90+ seconds	Normal — kitchen scene compilation is slow
No MuJoCo viewer window	Set DISPLAY=:1, don't use --no-gui
Agent server can't connect to backends	Sim server isn't running yet — start it first
Lease expires before you can release	Idle timeout is 15s — extend lease or be quick
Permission denied (publickey) on push	Use the SSH command above