Goal of this check
Before loading a known mobile-robot example, we want to confirm:
- Isaac Sim launches correctly
- your OS / ROS 2 combination makes sense
- the built-in examples panel is available
- your ROS 2 terminal is ready if you want to do navigation later
Isaac Sim’s official docs show the mobile navigation workflow starting from Window > Examples > Robotics Examples, and the current ROS 2 support matrix lists Ubuntu 24.04 → Jazzy, Ubuntu 22.04 → Humble/Jazzy, and Windows 10/11 → Humble for the ROS 2 bridge.
Step 0 — Check your Isaac Sim version
If Isaac Sim is already open, you can usually see the version in the launcher/app window or Help/About area.
If you installed Isaac Sim via Python package on Linux, you can also try:
python -c "import isaacsim; print('isaacsim import ok')"
If you used a packaged app install instead of Python packages, that command may not work, and that is fine.
What to record
Please note these:
OS:
Isaac Sim version:
Install type: launcher / workstation / pip / container
Step 1 — Confirm your OS
On Ubuntu
Run:
lsb_release -a
uname -r
On Windows PowerShell
Run:
systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"
What this tells us
This confirms whether you are on Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, or Windows, which matters for the ROS 2 side later. Isaac Sim officially documents different recommended ROS 2 distros by platform.
Step 2 — Check that Isaac Sim launches correctly
On Ubuntu, if you start it from the desktop/app icon
Just open Isaac Sim normally and confirm:
- the main window appears
- viewport appears
- no immediate crash happens
On Ubuntu, if you start it from terminal
Launch it from the terminal you normally use for Isaac Sim. Then watch for errors in the console.
If you installed the packaged application, use the launcher/app selector route you already use.
If you installed via Python package, the launch style may be similar to:
isaacsim
or an app-specific command from your install method.
If you do not know your launch command, tell me how you installed it and I will map it exactly.
On Windows
Open Isaac Sim the same way you normally do from the app/launcher and confirm the UI appears.
What to record
Launch: OK / Fail
Any error message:
Isaac Sim’s installation flow treats successful launch as the first basic validation step.
Step 3 — Check whether the Examples panel exists
This step is mostly UI, but it is important because the official navigation example starts there.
In Isaac Sim UI
Go to:
Window > Examples
Then check whether you can open:
Robotics Examples
Then look for a tree similar to:
ROS2 > Navigation > Nova Carter
or another wheeled-robot example.
The official navigation tutorial for Isaac Sim 6.0 uses exactly this route to open the Nova Carter warehouse scenario.
What to record
Examples window: yes / no
Robotics Examples: yes / no
Nova Carter example visible: yes / no
Step 4 — Check whether ROS 2 is installed
Do this only if you want navigation later.
On Ubuntu
Open a new terminal and run:
printenv | grep ROS
which ros2
ros2 --help
If ROS 2 is installed correctly, which ros2 should return a path, and ros2 --help should print the command help.
If you want the distro version too
Run:
ros2 doctor --report
If ros2 doctor is unavailable, that is not always fatal, but ros2 --help should still work.
On Windows with native PowerShell
where ros2
ros2 --help
On Windows with WSL2
Open Ubuntu in WSL2 and run:
which ros2
ros2 --help
lsb_release -a
Isaac Sim’s official ROS 2 docs support Humble and Jazzy depending on platform, and for Windows the documented workflow commonly uses WSL2 for ROS 2 communication with Isaac Sim.
What to record
ROS 2 installed: yes / no
ROS 2 distro:
Step 5 — Source ROS 2 manually before testing
If ROS 2 is installed on Ubuntu, source it in the terminal you will use.
Ubuntu 24.04 with Jazzy
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
Ubuntu 22.04 with Humble
source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
Ubuntu 22.04 with Jazzy
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
Then verify:
echo $ROS_DISTRO
ros2 --help
Expected output should show your distro name in ROS_DISTRO.
Isaac Sim documents Humble and Jazzy support, with Jazzy recommended on Ubuntu 24.04 and Humble recommended on Ubuntu 22.04.
Step 6 — Check whether Nav2 is available
For the official wheeled navigation example, Nav2 is needed.
On Ubuntu
After sourcing ROS 2, run:
ros2 pkg list | grep nav2
If Nav2 is installed, you should see several packages such as:
nav2_amcl
nav2_bt_navigator
nav2_costmap_2d
nav2_msgs
...
You can also specifically check:
ros2 pkg list | grep nav2_bt_navigator
What to record
Nav2 installed: yes / no
The Isaac Sim ROS 2 navigation tutorial explicitly requires Nav2 for the Nova Carter navigation workflow.
Step 7 — Check whether the Isaac Sim ROS bridge is usable
There are two parts here.
Part A — Basic ROS environment is visible
Run:
printenv | grep -E 'ROS|RMW'
This helps us see whether your shell is already sourcing ROS variables.
Part B — Start Isaac Sim from a ROS-ready terminal if needed
If you are on Ubuntu and using a system ROS install, a safe habit is:
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
or
source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
and then launch Isaac Sim from that same terminal if your workflow needs the shell environment.
Isaac Sim’s ROS install docs note that sourcing the ROS 2 installation and workspace before launch is important in many workflows.
Step 8 — Optional: test ROS 2 itself before Isaac Sim
This is a clean sanity check.
Terminal 1
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp talker
Terminal 2
source /opt/ros/jazzy/setup.bash
ros2 run demo_nodes_cpp listener
If you are using Humble, replace jazzy with humble.
If the listener receives messages, ROS 2 itself is working.
This test is not Isaac-Sim-specific, but it is useful before blaming Isaac Sim for a ROS setup problem.
Step 9 — Fastest UI test for Step 2 readiness
Now do the shortest actual readiness test.
In Isaac Sim
Open:
Window > Examples > Robotics Examples
Then try to locate:
ROS2 > Navigation > Nova Carter
Do not run the full nav example yet. Just confirm the example is visible.
The official Isaac Sim navigation tutorial uses this exact path.
Step 10 — If you want to test the official example later
Once your setup is confirmed, the official example uses this ROS 2 launch command in a new terminal:
ros2 launch carter_navigation nova_carter_description_isaac_sim.launch.py
That command is listed in the official Isaac Sim ROS 2 navigation tutorial for Nova Carter.
Do not run it yet unless:
- ROS 2 is working
- Nav2 is installed
- the example scene loads in Isaac Sim
What I want you to send me back
Please run the relevant commands and reply in this format:
OS:
Isaac Sim version:
Install type:
Launch: OK / Fail
Command results:
lsb_release -a:
uname -r:
which ros2:
ros2 --help: OK / Fail
echo $ROS_DISTRO:
ros2 pkg list | grep nav2:
UI checks:
Window > Examples: yes / no
Robotics Examples: yes / no
Nova Carter visible: yes / no
Goal:
simulation only first
or
simulation + ROS 2 navigation
After that, I will give you the exact next practice steps for Step 2 — start from a known mobile-robot example, with commands matched to your machine.