MAS GUI

New Node Manager for ROS (1/2).

The MAS GUI is composed by two main parts: A Back-End component (daemon with WebSocket), and a Front-End Component (powered by Electron and ReactJS).

Install

We need to first install dependencies and run both Front and Back-End components:

Install dependencies

You need a running TTYD to show screen or log output of the nodes.

sudo snap install ttyd --classic

Update nodejs to v20

The code have been tested with NodeJS v20.15.0:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Server Side (Back-End)

cd ros_workspace/src
git clone https://github.com/fkie/fkie-multi-agent-suite.git fkie-multi-agent-suite
rosdep update
rosdep install -i --as-root pip:false --reinstall --from-paths fkie-multi-agent-suite

Then build all packages:

catkin build fkie_mas_meta

or

colcon build --packages-select fkie_mas_meta

Client Side (Front-End)

Only for developer mode: Download and install JavaScript module dependencies:

cd fkie_mas_gui
npm install
npm run build

Usage

Run the app in developer mode:

npm run dev

The app will start automatically the local daemon and master discovery nodes.

Start only as node (without GUI)

Starts a server on default port 6274. You can override the port with npm run server – –port 6363.

npm run server

Then open in browser http://localhost:6274

Websocket communication

Supported interface URIs

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file

Changelog

4.4.12 - 17.06.2025

Improved launch dialog: add true/false to history if value is true or false and no history available Fixed proposals for if and unless for ros2 Fixed reload files with new added launch arguments Fixed install script uri in readme

4.4.11 - 11.06.2025

Show indicator if all nodes in the group are not local Increased timeout for load composed nodes to 5 sec Added composable nodes to XML highlighter Fixed highlighting and proposals for push_ros_namespace Changed ‘no discovery’ error to warning Fixed uri for update remote mas packages Do not show nodes which are detected as local on remote host

4.4.10 - 10.06.2025

Fixed load parameter of composable nodes Added support of YAML(base) structures in the MAS gui Added try catch around the get state blocks to avoid an invalid state of the daemon Fixed echo of odometry topics Fixed detect changes in included yaml files Replace environment variables in xacro files

4.4.9 - 10.06.2025

Fixed reload launch files with included yaml files Fixed load xml launch file with execute process without namespace

4.4.8 - 06.06.2025

Added drop down box for files in config editor Fixed loading parameters of composed nodes in xml launch files Fixed load python launch files with composable node list Fixed call commands with ‘{data: xyz}’

4.4.7 - 05.06.2025

Added option to force the use of the rmw implementation set for mas gui Do not cancel the start process if something has been printed on the error terminal Fixed build discovery with ros kilted, switched from fastrtps to fastdds Added name attribute to executable tag Added option to select a directory in launch options dialog Fixed show history in load dialog if only one option is available

4.4.6 - 04.06.2025

Fixed change detection of node configuration in referenced yaml files

4.4.5 - 03.06.2025

Added support for ros state used with zenoh Changed install url using wget Fixed warnings in install script Fixed tooltip description for kill timeout

4.4.4 - 28.05.2025

Ask for restart gui after running install script Fixed double terminal on update

4.4.3 - 28.05.2025

Added script to restart running mas nodes and reload launch files Terminate all child processes when shutting down the screens started by mas Reduced update requests from github Show more info if check for updates failed Force update state after kill_screens Improved resolve arguments in xml launch files Added user parameter to install_mas_debs script Show kill on stop icon for running executables

4.4.2 - 27.05.2025

Improved statistics visualization in topic echo panel Fixed reducing the size of the arrays for displaying the message in the echo tab Fixed calculation of the ros message size Fixed start mas commands in a screen

4.4.1 - 26.05.2025

Fixed start mas nodes in a screen

4.4.0 - 23.05.2025

Added an indicator of warnings when load launch file Added source setup.bash on force refresh package list Extended description of not local nodes Added detection of local processes based on the node parameter for the node name Changed screen configuration, added “shell -$SHEL” to source ros setup.bash defined in .bashrc Report warnings from ros2 daemon Fixed close on double Escape in external editor Fixed the flickering of the terminal when no screen is available

4.3.9 - 20.05.2025

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