resolve-robotics-uri-py

June 26, 2026 · View on GitHub

Pure Python package (that only depends on Python stdlib) to resolve a package:// (ROS-style) or model:// (Gazebo-style) URI to an absolute filename.

Installation

Install using onle one of the following commands to install in an existing environment:

Installation from conda-forge

conda install -c conda-forge resolve-robotics-uri-py

Installation from PyPI

python -m pip install resolve-robotics-uri-py

Usage in Python

Add import resolve_robotics_uri_py to your Python file, then take inspiration from the following examples.

If you want to get the location of the iCubGazeboV2_7 iCub model installed from icub-models:

absolute_path = resolve_robotics_uri_py.resolve_robotics_uri("package://iCub/robots/iCubGazeboV2_7/model.urdf")

If you want to get the location of the ergoCubSN00 model installed from ergocub-software:

absolute_path = resolve_robotics_uri_py.resolve_robotics_uri("package://ergoCub/robots/ergoCubSN000/model.urdf")

If you want to get the location of the panda model installed by moveit_resources_panda_description:

absolute_path = resolve_robotics_uri_py.resolve_robotics_uri("package://moveit_resources_panda_description/urdf/panda.urdf")

Command Line usage

resolve_robotics_uri_py also install a command line tool called resolve-robotics-uri-py for use in scripts, that can be used as:

resolve-robotics-uri-py package://iCub/robots/iCubGazeboV2_7/model.urdf

For example, on bash this can be used to easily convert the a urdf specified via package:// to an sdf (assuming you have Gazebo installed), using the backtick operator:

gz sdf -p `resolve-robotics-uri-py package://iCub/robots/iCubGazeboV2_7/model.urdf`

Adding Custom Search Paths

Some packages may not be installed in standard locations, or you may want to use a custom directory structure. In such cases, you have a few options:

Option 1: Modify the Native Search Paths

You can add the search path to one of the natively supported paths of Gazebo or ROS, such as:

GZ_SIM_RESOURCE_PATH
AMENT_PREFIX_PATH

Option 2: Specify Additional Search Paths

If you prefer not to modify the default ROS or Gazebo search paths, you can use either the --package_dirs command line option or set the RRU_ADDITIONAL_PATHS environment variable:

Using the `--package_dirs` Command Line Option:

resolve-robotics-uri-py --package_dirs /path/to/packages:/another/path package://my_package/model.urdf

Setting the `RRU_ADDITIONAL_PATHS` Environment Variable:

export RRU_ADDITIONAL_PATHS=/path/to/packages:/another/path
resolve-robotics-uri-py package://my_package/model.urdf

Both methods accept a colon-separated list of directories (or semicolon-separated on Windows).

In Python code, you can specify additional paths using the additional_package_dirs parameter:

absolute_path = resolve_robotics_uri_py.resolve_robotics_uri(
     "package://my_package/model.urdf",
     package_dirs=["/path/to/packages", "/another/path"]
)