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ROS on Docker in Windows with GUI Support

Instructions to setup ROS2 on Docker in Windows with GUI support. In this example, I have taken the ROS humble version as the base image and made a Dockerfile to build the image. The Dockerfile is available here.

Setup

Setup in Windows 10 with WSL2 with Docker Desktop.

  • Install Docker Desktop
  • Install WSL2
  • Install VcXsrv, an X Server for Windows
  • Launch the X Server and configure it to allow connections from your Docker containers.
  • In VcXsrv, select options like "Disable Access Control" to allow all clients to connect to the X Server.

To run a Docker container on Windows with both GUI support and a folder attached from the host system, you can follow these steps:

1. Set Up X Server for GUI Support

For Docker containers to display GUI applications on Windows, you need an X Server. Common options is:
VcXsrv: Download VcXsrv

  1. Install and Start VcXsrv.
  2. Configure Access Control: Allow connections from Docker by disabling access control in VcXsrv or enabling "No Access Control" mode in Xming.
  3. Get Your IP Address: Open a command prompt and run ipconfig to find your local IPv4 address (something like x.x.x.x).

2. Prepare the Docker Run Command

We’ll use the -v flag twice in the docker run command:

  • Once to mount the host folder.
  • Once to set up the display environment variable (DISPLAY) for GUI support.

3. Running the Docker Container with GUI and Folder Mount

Assuming you want to:

  • Mount a folder from your host system (e.g., C:\Users\YourName\my_folder) to a folder inside the container (e.g., /data).
  • Enable GUI support for a GUI application.

Here’s the command structure:

docker run -e DISPLAY=<Your_IP>:0 \
           -v C:/Users/YourName/ros2_ws:/data \
           -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
           -it <image_name> /bin/bash

Explanation of Each Part

  • -e DISPLAY=<Your_IP>:0: Sets the DISPLAY environment variable in the container to route graphical output to your Windows machine. Replace <Your_IP> with your local IP address from Step 1.
  • -v C:/Users/YourName/ros-gazebo-lab/ros2_ws:/ros2_ws: Mounts the folder C:\Users\YourName\ros-gazebo-lab\ros2_ws on the host to /ros2_ws in the container.
  • -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix: Allows Docker to use the X Server on your host to display the GUI application.
  • -it <image_name> /bin/bash: Runs the container in interactive mode and opens a bash shell. Replace <image_name> with your Docker image’s name.

5. Additional Tips

  • Permissions: Ensure Docker Desktop has access to the shared folder. In Docker Desktop > Settings > Resources > File Sharing, add the host folder if it’s not already shared.

Building the Docker Image and Running the Container

To build the image:

  • Download the Dockerfile to your local machine.
  • Open a normal terminal navigate to the folder containing the Dockerfile.
  • Run the following commands in a Windows terminal (PowerShell):
docker build --tag ros2humble:gui .
  • In a different terminal, run ipconfig to get your local IP address.
  • Back in initial terminal, run the image (using the same command as above):
docker run -e DISPLAY=<Your_IP>:0 -v C:\Users\YourName\ros-gazebo-lab\ros2_ws:/ros2_ws -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix -it ros2humble:gui
  • This creates a new container from the image and starts it.
  • This should provide you with both GUI support and folder access within your Docker container on Windows.
  • To add a new terminal to the running container, you can run the following commands in a new terminal window.
# Get the running container ID
docker ps
# Run a new terminal in the container
docker exec -it <container_id> /bin/bash

Starting a container again

If you have stopped the container and want to start it again, you can run the following command:

docker ps -a # Get the (stopped) container ID
docker start -i <container_id>
  • Remember to run the XLaunch application if you had killed it.