# ROS/MAVROS Installation Guide

[MAVROS](http://wiki.ros.org/mavros#mavros.2BAC8-Plugins.sys_status) is a ROS 1 package that enables MAVLink extendable communication between computers running ROS 1 for any MAVLink enabled autopilot, ground station, or peripheral. *MAVROS* is the "official" supported bridge between ROS 1 and the MAVLink protocol.

While MAVROS can be used to communicate with any MAVLink-enabled autopilot, this documentation explains how to set up communication between the PX4 Autopilot and a ROS 1 enabled companion computer.

:::warning The PX4 development team recommend that all users [upgrade to ROS 2](/px4-user-guide/robotics/ros/ros2.md). This documentation reflects the "old approach". :::

## Installation

:::note First install ROS and PX4 following the instructions in [Development Environment on Linux > ROS/Gazebo Classic](/px4-user-guide/development/getting_started/dev_env/dev_env_linux_ubuntu.md#ros-gazebo-classic). :::

:::tip These instructions are a simplified version of the [official installation guide](https://github.com/mavlink/mavros/tree/master/mavros#installation). They cover the *ROS Melodic and Noetic* releases. :::

MAVROS can be installed either from source or binary. We recommend that developers use the source installation.

### Binary Installation (Debian / Ubuntu)

The ROS repository has binary packages for Ubuntu x86, amd64 (x86\_64) and armhf (ARMv7). Kinetic also supports Debian Jessie amd64 and arm64 (ARMv8).

Use `apt-get` for installation, where `${ROS_DISTRO}` below should resolve to `kinetic` or `noetic`, depending on your version of ROS:

```
sudo apt-get install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-mavros ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-mavros-extras ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-mavros-msgs
```

Then install [GeographicLib](https://geographiclib.sourceforge.io/) datasets by running the `install_geographiclib_datasets.sh` script:

```
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mavlink/mavros/master/mavros/scripts/install_geographiclib_datasets.sh
sudo bash ./install_geographiclib_datasets.sh   
```

### Source Installation

This installation assumes you have a catkin workspace located at `~/catkin_ws` If you don't create one with:

```sh
mkdir -p ~/catkin_ws/src
cd ~/catkin_ws
catkin init
wstool init src
```

You will be using the ROS Python tools: *wstool* (for retrieving sources), *rosinstall*, and *catkin\_tools* (building) for this installation. While they may have been installed during your installation of ROS you can also install them with:

```sh
sudo apt-get install python-catkin-tools python-rosinstall-generator -y
```

:::tip While the package can be built using **catkin\_make** the preferred method is using **catkin\_tools** as it is a more versatile and "friendly" build tool. :::

If this is your first time using wstool you will need to initialize your source space with:

```sh
$ wstool init ~/catkin_ws/src
```

Now you are ready to do the build:

1. Install MAVLink:

   ```
   # We use the Kinetic reference for all ROS distros as it's not distro-specific and up to date
   rosinstall_generator --rosdistro kinetic mavlink | tee /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
   ```
2. Install MAVROS from source using either released or latest version:
   * Released/stable

     ```sh
     rosinstall_generator --upstream mavros | tee -a /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
     ```
   * Latest source

     ```sh
     rosinstall_generator --upstream-development mavros | tee -a /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
     ```

     ```sh
     # For fetching all the dependencies into your catkin_ws, 
     # just add '--deps' to the above scripts, E.g.:
     #   rosinstall_generator --upstream mavros --deps | tee -a /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
     ```
3. Create workspace & deps

   ```sh
   wstool merge -t src /tmp/mavros.rosinstall
   wstool update -t src -j4
   rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -y
   ```
4. Install [GeographicLib](https://geographiclib.sourceforge.io/) datasets:

   ```sh
   ./src/mavros/mavros/scripts/install_geographiclib_datasets.sh
   ```
5. Build source

   ```sh
   catkin build
   ```
6. Make sure that you use setup.bash or setup.zsh from workspace.

   ```sh
   #Needed or rosrun can't find nodes from this workspace.
   source devel/setup.bash
   ```

In the case of error, there are addition installation and troubleshooting notes in the [mavros repo](https://github.com/mavlink/mavros/tree/master/mavros#installation).

## MAVROS Examples

The [MAVROS Offboard Example (C++)](/px4-user-guide/robotics/ros/ros1/mavros_offboard_cpp.md), will show you the basics of MAVROS, from reading telemetry, checking the drone state, changing flight modes and controlling the drone.

:::note If you have an example app using the PX4 Autopilot and MAVROS, we can help you get it on our docs. :::

## See Also

* [mavros ROS Package Summary](http://wiki.ros.org/mavros#mavros.2BAC8-Plugins.sys_status)
* [mavros source](https://github.com/mavlink/mavros/)
* [ROS Melodic installation instructions](http://wiki.ros.org/melodic/Installation)


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