How to run Python nodes in debugger mode inside Isaac ROS dev container?

[lihsinn]

Hi Isaac ROS team,

I'm currently developing Python-based ROS 2 nodes inside the isaac_ros_dev-x86_64 container, using the run_dev.sh environment.

I'd like to debug my ROS 2 Python nodes using pdb or the Visual Studio Code Python debugger. However, I’ve had trouble getting debugger mode to work correctly from inside the container. I've tried:

• Adding pdb.set_trace() in the node script: works, but not convenient for full debugging.
• Launching python3 -m debugpy --listen 5678 --wait-for-client my_node.py and attaching from VS Code: partially works.
• Using launch.json in VS Code Remote Containers to run the node directly: fails with Could not find debugpy path.

Questions:

1. What is the officially recommended way to enable Python debugger mode inside the Isaac ROS dev container?
2. Is it possible to debug a ROS 2 Python node using VS Code launch.json directly in the container environment?
3. Are there specific environment variables or entrypoints I should use to properly initialize the ROS environment before launching the node via debugger?

Any guidance or example configurations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance.