| name | gz-build |
| description | Configure and build gz-sim from source using either CMake/Ninja directly or a colcon workspace. Trigger when the user asks to build, recompile, configure, or set up the gz-sim binary tree. |
Building gz-sim
gz-sim follows the Gazebo project's standard build process. Two equally
valid front-ends exist; pick based on what the user already has set up.
1. Direct CMake (single repo)
Assumes every Gazebo dependency (gz-cmake, gz-common, gz-physics, …)
is already installed system-wide.
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja \
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo \
-DBUILD_TESTING=ON
cmake --build build -j"$(nproc)"
Useful flags:
| Flag | Effect |
|---|
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug | Asserts on, no optimization, full symbols. |
-DENABLE_PROFILER=ON | Compiles in GZ_PROFILER hooks. |
-DBUILD_TESTING=OFF | Skip test targets (faster, smaller). |
-DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/opt/gz | Override install location. |
-DBUILD_DOCS=ON | Build Doxygen + tutorials (needs doxygen). |
Install (optional, into prefix):
cmake --install build
2. colcon workspace (Gazebo source build)
When the user is building the full Gazebo stack:
colcon build --merge-install --cmake-args -DBUILD_TESTING=ON
source install/setup.bash
Limit to gz-sim and its deps:
colcon build --merge-install \
--packages-up-to gz-sim \
--cmake-args -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo
Bazel (alternative)
bazel build //... --config=linux
bazel test //... --config=linux
MODULE.bazel pins the dependencies; the matrix is exercised by
.github/workflows/bazel.yml.
After building
- Run the smoke test:
gz sim -v 4 shapes.sdf (needs source install/setup.bash
when built via colcon).
- For headless CI, prefix with
xvfb-run -s '-screen 0 1280x800x24'.
- For sanitizers, configure with
-DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-fsanitize=address,undefined"
and -DCMAKE_EXE_LINKER_FLAGS="-fsanitize=address,undefined".
Common failures
find_package(gz-cmake REQUIRED) failing → user hasn't installed gz-cmake.- Linker errors about Qt6 → ensure
qt6-base-dev + qt6-declarative-dev
qt6-5compat-dev are present.
- Missing
sdformat → install the matching libsdformat<NN>-dev for the
current Gazebo distribution (Rotary → check package.xml).
- Out-of-date
gz-msgs headers → rebuild gz-msgs before gz-sim.
Always cd into the repo root (/home/rdadmin/gz-sim) before running these.
