Open Source RoboticsRobots, software & learning

rosbridge_suite

Software

JSON-based bridge from non-ROS clients to ROS topics, services and related APIs, with a WebSocket server implementation. [1] [3]

Installation & first result →Official websiteGetting started

For
ROS developers building web interfaces or other JSON clients [1]
Source rights
Named licenses are documented by part. Review licenses
Unknowns
operating system, compute requirements not fully established. Review gaps

Source researched · Not tested by us
Sources checked · Research details

Licenses & related hardware

Requirements · Research details and dates

On this page

Overview

rosbridge_suite gives external clients a JSON interface to ROS topics, services and related APIs. Its library translates requests into ROS operations; rosbridge_server supplies a WebSocket server, and rosapi exposes discovery and metadata services. It is useful for a browser or another client that needs a defined ROS bridge, rather than a new robot middleware stack. [1] [3]

Is this for you?

Known limitations
  • Humble is tracked separately from Jazzy and later; older ROS1 documentation is not proof of the selected ROS2 interface.
  • Selected launch defaults use port9090, blank address and ssl=false; deployment authentication, TLS and access policy remain the operator's responsibility.

Editorial scope assessment from the cited implementation/documentation; no execution or compatibility test.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] · Editorial assessment

What you need

Dependencies
  • ROS2 and rclpy
  • python3-tornado
  • rosapi, rosbridge_library, rosbridge_msgs and std_msgs

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Installation & first result

Open the upstream getting-started guide [1]

  • Select the distribution-matched branch/packages and inspect rosbridge_server/launch/rosbridge_websocket_launch.xml before launching a client.
  • Preserve exact source/dependency/model versions and evaluate the selected workflow before connecting physical hardware or reusing data.

Editorial scope assessment from the cited implementation/documentation; no execution or compatibility test.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] · Editorial assessment

Installation

Select the distribution-matched branch/packages and inspect rosbridge_server/launch/rosbridge_websocket_launch.xml before launching a client.

Editorial scope assessment from the cited implementation/documentation; no execution or compatibility test.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] · Editorial assessment

Hardware, models & data

Inputs and outputs

JSON requests to ROS publishers/subscribers/services and ROS data back through bridge transports.

Editorial scope assessment from the cited implementation/documentation; no execution or compatibility test.

[1] [3] · Editorial assessment

Project notes

Match the ROS generation first

The selected README distinguishes the Humble branch from the ros2 branch used for Jazzy and later. The inspected server package uses ament, rclpy and Tornado and declares rosapi, rosbridge_library, rosbridge_msgs and std_msgs dependencies. Its package version is 4.2.1. Older ROS 1 instructions are not sufficient evidence for the behavior of this ROS 2 snapshot. [1] [6]

Before launching a client, inspect the distribution-matched packages and the selected rosbridge_websocket_launch.xml. That launch file exposes configuration for the address, port, path, TLS files, queue sizes, compression and timeouts. The defaults include port 9090, an empty address value and ssl=false. Those are source defaults, not a configured authentication, encryption or authorization policy. Keep the intended client/network access explicit when deploying a bridge to robot operations. [5]

Define the client contract

The README lists clients such as roslibjs and roslibpy; their compatibility and configuration remain separate checks. Start with a bounded topic/service interaction and establish the relevant JSON protocol, message types and error behavior before using the bridge to send physical commands. This is a proposed integration sequence, not an interaction tested by this catalog. [1]

The root BSD-3-Clause notice and source notices establish a software declaration. No server was started, socket opened, client connected, security configuration validated or physical robot commanded in this review. [2] [3]

What we checked

Source research only. Selected implementation/model text, repository tree and license declarations were inspected. No upstream compilation, dependency installation, simulator, network/USB/device integration, data collection, benchmark or physical robot test was performed. Source files are linked rather than redistributed; external services and paid products are not endorsed.

Not yet established

  • Requirements: operating system, host computer
  • Version-specific hardware compatibility (ecosystem tags alone do not establish it)

Updates

Upstream last updated
Not established
Latest release
Not established
Profile updated
Nov 1, 2026
Sources last checked
Nov 1, 2026
Next review
Dec 1, 2026
Reviewed revision
ae4d7f8

Source files and licenses

Distinct robot-facing middleware contribution with actual implementation/model content and a bounded documented next step. Review covers source artifacts, not operational performance or a complete tested deployment.

LayerAvailability / license
softwareavailable · BSD-3-Clause
Declaration for the scoped source implementation/documentation; dependencies, external services, model/data assets and inherited file-specific terms require separate checks. No blanket redistribution or operational clearance. [1] [2] [3]
documentationavailable · BSD-3-Clause
Declaration for the scoped source implementation/documentation; dependencies, external services, model/data assets and inherited file-specific terms require separate checks. No blanket redistribution or operational clearance. [1] [2] [3]

This profile is scoped to source implementation/model descriptions and an initial inspection workflow; no physical manufacturing design, pretrained checkpoint or dataset is selected for redistribution or tested deployment.

References

Each source links to the exact revision we read. “Used for” shows where this page relies on it.

Correction guidance · Discussion is not enabled · Profile format 0.7.0-draft.5

Change history