Joaquim Ignatious Monteiro

3 minute read

As we know ROS1 is officially supported on Ubuntu 20.04 but in case you wish to run ROS1 on Ubuntu 24.04 , Distrobox is a good option. Distrobox is a utility that allows you to run multiple Linux distributions in your system without the need to dual boot or install them in a virtual machine.

Here is the complete, step-by-step guide to install Ubuntu 20.04 via Distrobox and setting up ROS 1 Noetic on your Ubuntu 24.04 system.

Part 1: Host Setup (Ubuntu 24.04)

Do these steps in your normal terminal.

1. Install Distrobox and Docker Update your repository and install the necessary tools.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install distrobox docker.io -y

2. Configure Docker Permissions By default, Docker requires sudo. We need to change this so Distrobox can run smoothly without asking for a password constantly.

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

3. Apply Changes You must log out and log back in for the permission changes to take effect.

  • Close all terminals.
  • Log out of Ubuntu 24.04.
  • Log back in.

Part 2: Create the Ubuntu 20.04 Container

Do these steps in your normal terminal.

1. Create the Container Run the following command. It will download the Ubuntu 20.04 image (this takes a minute) and set up the container named ros1-noetic.

distrobox create --image ubuntu:20.04 --name ros1-noetic

2. Enter the Container Now, step inside your new Ubuntu 20.04 environment:

distrobox enter ros1-noetic

Note: The prompt usually changes. You might see something like user@ros1-noetic.

Part 3: Install ROS 1 Noetic

Perform all steps below inside the distrobox enter session.

1. Install Basic Tools The container is minimal, so we need to install some basics first.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y curl gnupg2 lsb-release git nano

2. Add ROS Repositories Tell the system where to find ROS packages.

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://packages.ros.org/ros/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ros-latest.list'

3. Add ROS Keys Secure the download connection.

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ros/rosdistro/master/ros.asc | sudo apt-key add -

4. Install ROS 1 This includes ROS, Rviz, Gazebo, and standard robot packages.

sudo apt update

You may either install Desktop Install that includes ROS packaging, build, and communication libraries plus tools like rqt and rviz

sudo apt install ros-noetic-desktop

Or install Desktop-Full Install that includes everything in Desktop plus 2D/3D simulators and 2D/3D perception packages

sudo apt install ros-noetic-desktop-full -y

(Installation download is large. Please wait patiently.)

Once the installation is complete, check if it is succesful by running the command

ls /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash

If it prints /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash: The installation is successful. Else go back to the installation step.

5. Setup Environment Variables Make ROS load automatically whenever you enter this container.

echo "source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash" >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

6. Install Dependencies for Building Packages To compile code (catkin_make), you need these tools:

sudo apt install python3-rosdep python3-rosinstall python3-rosinstall-generator python3-wstool build-essential -y

7. Initialize rosdep

sudo rosdep init
rosdep update

Part 4: Verification & Network Setup

Still inside the container.

1. Test ROS Core Run the master node.

roscore

Output should say “started core service [/rosout]”. Press Ctrl+C to stop.

2. Test GUI (Rviz)

  1. Leave roscore running in the current terminal.
  2. Open a new terminal window (or tab) on your Ubuntu host.
  3. Enter the same Distrobox container: ```bash distrobox enter ros1-noetic
  4. Once inside, run: 
    rviz

    The Rviz window should pop up on your Ubuntu 24.04 desktop.

Part 5: Installing Gazebo

If you have installed Desktop-Full Install you can skip this step as Gazebo is installed along. But if you have done Desktop Install, follow these steps to install Gazebo

Install Gazebo

Run this command inside your ros1 container:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ros-noetic-gazebo-ros-pkgs ros-noetic-gazebo-ros-control -y

Source your environment

After installing new packages, you must refresh ROS so it “sees” them:

source /opt/ros/noetic/setup.bash

Launch Gazebo

roslaunch gazebo_ros empty_world.launch

The Gazebo window should pop up on your Ubuntu 24.04 desktop.

Network Configuration

If you plan to communicate with an external robot from your distrobox hosted ROS1, you should check your IP address inside the container to confirm it matches your host:

hostname -I

If this IP matches your Ubuntu 24.04 Wi-Fi/Ethernet IP, you are ready to go.

To connect to a robot, simply export the IPs as you normally would:

export ROS_IP=YOUR_PC_IP
export ROS_MASTER_URI=http://ROBOT_IP:11311

Steps to log into your ROS1 container

Whenever you restart your computer:

  1. Open your terminal (Ubuntu 24.04).
  2. Type: distrobox enter ros1-noetic
  3. You are now in ROS 1 mode. Run your commands!