📝 Explicitely state that PYTHONPATH should be manually updated in ros2 virtual environments

[MichalisPapadakis]

Issue Type

• [ ] 🐛 Bug / Problem
• [ ] ✏️ Typo / Grammar
• [ ] 📖 Outdated Content
• [x] 🚀 Enhancement

Generated by Generative AI

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Distribution

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Description

In the tutorial for using Python Packages with ROS 2, it is mentioned how to install python modules via a virtual environment, but the info is not compete regarding what it is required to actually run the nodes in the packages that depend on these modules.

Personally, I have to manually update the PYTHONPATH environmental variable (or update the .bashrc) to include the modules of the virtual environment using

export PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:<path2venv>/lib/<venv-python-version>/site-packages

or update the python path in the launch file prior to launching the corresponding nodes.

If I am not using the virtual environments in a way that is not intended, I believe the detail should be mentioned.

Affected Pages/Sections

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Screenshots or Examples (if applicable)

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Suggested Fix

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Additional Context

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