rqt

ROS's built-in, plugin-based set of graphical debugging tools.

rqt is a Qt-based GUI framework for ROS that packages various debugging widgets as plugins, which can be docked together into one window or launched individually. Common plugins include: rqt_graph, which draws the connections between nodes and topics; rqt_plot, which plots numeric values live; rqt_console, for viewing logs; rqt_image_view, for viewing camera feeds; rqt_reconfigure, for changing parameters on the fly; and rqt_topic, for inspecting topic content and rate. Both ROS 1 and ROS 2 have it. It's well suited to quickly checking whether data is actually being published and who is connected to whom; for 3D visualization, people use RViz instead, and for detailed curve analysis, they often switch to PlotJuggler or Foxglove.

ExampleWhen a node isn't receiving data, running rqt_graph reveals that the subscriber's topic name has an extra namespace prefix, so it was never actually connected to the publisher.

Also called

rqt_graph, rqt_plot, rqt_console, rqt_image_view

Related

RViz / RViz2 · PlotJuggler · Foxglove Studio · Node (ROS) · Topic (ROS) · Qt

Sources

ROS 2 Docs: Overview and usage of RQt
ROS Wiki: rqt