CLI Command: genesys pipeline

The genesys pipeline command group provides tools for managing and running declarative component graphs defined in YAML files. This allows you to define an entire multi-node system in one place.

See the main Pipelines Documentation for details on the YAML format.

genesys pipeline create

Creates a new boilerplate pipeline YAML file.

Usage

genesys pipeline create <pipeline_name>
  • <pipeline_name>: The desired name for your pipeline.

Description

This command creates a new file named <pipeline_name>.yaml in the current directory with a basic structure, ready for you to add nodes.

Example:

genesys pipeline create vision_system

This creates vision_system.yaml with the following content:

pipeline:
  name: vision_system
  nodes: []

genesys pipeline run

Parses a pipeline YAML file and launches the defined graph of nodes and components.

Usage

genesys pipeline run <path_to_pipeline.yaml>

How It Works

The run command provides a more direct way to launch a system compared to genesys launch.

  1. Parse: It reads and validates the pipeline YAML file.
  2. Generate: It converts the YAML definition into a ROS 2 LaunchDescription object in memory.
  3. Execute: Instead of calling ros2 launch as a subprocess, it uses the launch.LaunchService API from ROS 2 to run the generated launch description directly within the same process. This gives it more control, which is essential for the watch feature.

Example:

genesys pipeline run vision_system.yaml

genesys pipeline watch

Runs a pipeline and automatically reloads it when the YAML file is changed. This provides a "hot-reload" capability for your system architecture.

Usage

genesys pipeline watch <path_to_pipeline.yaml>

How It Works

This is a powerful command for rapid development and iteration.

  1. Initial Launch: It starts by calling genesys pipeline run to launch the initial version of your pipeline.
  2. File Monitoring: It then uses the watchdog library to monitor your pipeline YAML file for any modifications.
  3. Hot Reload: When you save a change to the file, watchdog detects the event. The watch command then: a. Gracefully shuts down the currently running LaunchService. b. Re-runs the run command to parse the modified YAML and start a new LaunchService with the updated configuration.

This allows you to add/remove nodes, change parameters, or update topic remappings and see the changes take effect live within seconds, just by saving the file.

Example:

genesys pipeline watch vision_system.yaml

Now, every time you edit and save vision_system.yaml, the changes will be applied automatically.