ROS 2 CLI

Agnocast ships a ros2agnocast package that extends the standard ros2 CLI with Agnocast-aware verbs. This page describes:

• which standard ros2 commands work with Agnocast endpoints, and
• how to use the Agnocast-specific commands (ros2 topic list_agnocast, ros2 node info_agnocast, …).

Support Status of ros2 Commands for Agnocast

This section enumerates the standard ros2 CLI commands shipped with ros2cli (and related packages such as ros2bag, ros2lifecycle) and describes how they behave in an Agnocast environment.

Columns used in the tables below:

• Works as-is — whether the unmodified ros2 command produces useful results for Agnocast endpoints.
  • ✓ Works without modification (either the command does not depend on Agnocast semantics, or the information it needs is available on DDS).
  • ⚠ Works partially — typically, DDS-visible aspects (bridged topics, rclcpp::Node-based nodes that use Agnocast pub/sub, etc.) are reported correctly, but purely Agnocast-only endpoints are invisible.
  • ✗ Does not see Agnocast-only endpoints because Agnocast bypasses the RMW/DDS layer.
  • N/A Not applicable (the command is Agnocast-specific and has no upstream ros2 counterpart).
• Agnocast version — whether ros2agnocast provides a dedicated Agnocast-aware verb (e.g. ros2 topic list_agnocast, ros2 agnocast generate-bridge-plugins). ✓ means a variant exists; ✗ means no variant exists today. The verb-level tables below mark each verb's scope:
  • Cluster-wide — shows Agnocast endpoints across all IPC namespaces and ECUs on the same ROS_DOMAIN_ID wherever an Agnocast discovery agent runs. Without a discovery agent, some commands do not work at all; others fall back to showing only the current IPC namespace.
  • Local IPC namespace — inspects only the IPC namespace the command runs in.
• Planned — whether dedicated Agnocast support is intended.
  • Yes Agnocast-specific support is planned.
  • No Explicitly not planned (the command is DDS-only and has no Agnocast counterpart).
  • TBD Not decided.
  • - Not applicable — the command already works as-is (including via the bridge), so no dedicated Agnocast support is needed.
• Notes — short explanation and pointers.

1. Top-level ros2 commands

Command	Works as-is	Agnocast version	Planned	Notes
ros2 action	✗	✗	TBD	Agnocast does not implement Actions (see agnocast_node_interface_comparison.md). Pure Agnocast nodes are not visible.
ros2 bag	⚠	✓ (record_agnocast)	-	Standard ros2 bag record works only when a bridge is already active; Agnocast-only topics are not captured without one. The _agnocast variant extends record with full Agnocast awareness. See §9.
ros2 component	✓	✗	-	Component Container loading works for agnocast::Node. See "Composable Node Considerations" in agnocast_node_interface_comparison.md.
ros2 daemon	✓	✗	-	DDS discovery daemon; unrelated to Agnocast's shared memory path.
ros2 doctor / ros2 wtf	✓	✗	TBD	Reports DDS/RMW health only. No Agnocast-specific diagnostics yet.
ros2 interface	✓	✗	-	Inspects message/service/action definitions (show, list, proto, package, packages) via the ament index. It does not touch any running node or transport, so Agnocast-defined types in user packages are listed and shown like any other ROS 2 type.
ros2 launch	✓	✗	-	Launches processes; Agnocast executables are launched the same way.
ros2 lifecycle	✗	✗	TBD	agnocast::Node does not support lifecycle (see agnocast_node_interface_comparison.md §4.3).
ros2 multicast	✓	✗	-	Exercises DDS multicast; unrelated to Agnocast.
ros2 node	⚠	✓ (list_agnocast, info_agnocast)	-	as-is does not see pure agnocast::Node instances at all — only rclcpp::Node-based nodes (including those that use Agnocast pub/sub) appear. Use the _agnocast verbs to include agnocast::Node. See §2.
ros2 param	✓	✗	-	agnocast::Node now instantiates a ParameterService during construction, so the standard parameter verbs work against Agnocast nodes the same as against rclcpp::Node.
ros2 pkg	✓	✗	-	Package metadata operations (create, list, prefix, executables, xml) read from the colcon/ament install layout and package.xml. Transport-agnostic and works the same for Agnocast packages.
ros2 run	✓	✗	-	Launches an executable; no Agnocast-specific behavior.
ros2 security	N/A	✗	No	Manages SROS2 / DDS-Security artifacts (enclaves, keystores, permission/policy files) that authenticate and encrypt DDS traffic. Has no effect on Agnocast pub/sub: communication between Agnocast endpoints goes through shared memory, not DDS, so SROS2 policies neither authorize nor restrict it. The commands still run, but generated artifacts only protect the DDS side (including the Agnocast↔ROS 2 bridge).
ros2 service	✗	✗	TBD	Agnocast services use internal shared-memory topics prefixed with /AGNOCAST_SRV_* and are not exposed via DDS. Agnocast services are marked experimental (see agnocast_node_interface_comparison.md §2.6).
ros2 topic	⚠	✓ (list_agnocast, info_agnocast, echo_agnocast, hz_agnocast, delay_agnocast)	-	Standard ros2 topic verbs have limited visibility into Agnocast: pure Agnocast-only topics are invisible, and bridged topics are seen only from the DDS side. The _agnocast variants extend each verb with full Agnocast awareness. See §3.
ros2 agnocast	N/A	✓ (new top-level command)	-	Provided by ros2agnocast for Agnocast-specific operations (version, generate-bridge-plugins, discovery-daemon-status, bridge-daemon-status). See §10.

2. ros2 node verbs

Verb	Works as-is	Agnocast version	Scope of Agnocast verb	Planned	Notes
ros2 node list	⚠	✓ list_agnocast	Cluster-wide	-	as-is lists only rclcpp::Node-based nodes, not pure agnocast::Node instances. list_agnocast also lists agnocast::Node instances, wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs); otherwise only the current IPC namespace. Supports -a, -c, and -d (-d includes internal agnocast_bridge_node_*).
ros2 node info	⚠	✓ info_agnocast	Cluster-wide	-	as-is cannot target a pure agnocast::Node (it is absent from ros2 node list), and does not label Agnocast publishers/subscribers on the nodes it can show. info_agnocast adds those Agnocast publishers/subscribers and bridge-status labels, wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs); otherwise only the current IPC namespace.

3. ros2 topic verbs

Verb	Works as-is	Agnocast version	Scope of Agnocast verb	Planned	Notes
ros2 topic list	⚠	✓ list_agnocast	Cluster-wide	-	as-is lists only topics with DDS endpoints, so pure Agnocast-only topics are missing and bridged topics carry no Agnocast marking. list_agnocast adds Agnocast-only topics and tags Agnocast topics (Agnocast enabled) / (Agnocast enabled, bridged), wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs); otherwise only the current IPC namespace. See Topic List below.
ros2 topic info	⚠	✓ info_agnocast	Cluster-wide	-	as-is cannot target a pure Agnocast-only topic (it is absent from ros2 topic list), and shows only DDS publishers/subscribers for bridged topics. info_agnocast adds Agnocast publisher/subscriber counts, QoS and message type, wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs); otherwise only the current IPC namespace. Supports -v and -d. See Topic Info below.
ros2 topic echo	⚠	✓ echo_agnocast	Cluster-wide	-	as-is cannot target pure Agnocast-only topics and works only for bridged topics. echo_agnocast adds support for pure Agnocast-only topics, wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs); otherwise, these topics cannot be observed. See Topic Echo below.
ros2 topic pub	⚠	✗	—	TBD	Publishes via DDS, so messages reach Agnocast subscribers only via the bridge. The --wait-matching-subscriptions option does not work correctly for Agnocast subscribers — DDS discovery counts only the bridge-side DDS subscription (if any), not the Agnocast subscribers behind it.
ros2 topic hz	⚠	✓ hz_agnocast	Cluster-wide	-	as-is cannot target pure Agnocast-only topics and works only for bridged topics. hz_agnocast adds support for pure Agnocast-only topics, wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs); otherwise, these topics cannot be observed. See Topic Hz below.
ros2 topic bw	✗	✗	—	TBD	Requires subscribing to the topic.
ros2 topic delay	⚠	✓ delay_agnocast	Cluster-wide	-	as-is cannot target pure Agnocast-only topics and works only for bridged topics. delay_agnocast adds support for pure Agnocast-only topics, wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs); otherwise, these topics cannot be observed. See Topic Delay below.
ros2 topic type	⚠	✗	—	No	Resolves a topic's message type via the DDS graph, which works for bridged topics (their DDS endpoints carry the type). No Agnocast type verb is planned, but ros2 topic info_agnocast <topic> now reports the type of a pure Agnocast-only topic when a discovery agent is running, showing <UNKNOWN> only if none has reported one.
ros2 topic find	⚠	✗	—	No	Lists topics of a given type via the DDS graph. Same constraint as type: bridged topics are findable; pure Agnocast-only topics are not, because no type→name index exists on the Agnocast side.

4. ros2 service verbs

Verb	Works as-is	Agnocast version	Planned	Notes
ros2 service list	✗	✗	TBD
ros2 service call	✗	✗	TBD
ros2 service type / find / info / echo	✗	✗	TBD

5. ros2 param verbs

agnocast::Node instantiates a ParameterService during construction, so the standard ros2 param verbs operate on agnocast::Node exactly as on rclcpp::Node. No Agnocast-specific verb is needed.

Verb	Works as-is	Agnocast version	Planned	Notes
ros2 param list	✓	✗	-	Works for both rclcpp::Node and agnocast::Node.
ros2 param get	✓	✗	-	Same as above.
ros2 param set	✓	✗	-	Same as above.
ros2 param describe	✓	✗	-	Same as above.
ros2 param dump	✓	✗	-	Same as above.
ros2 param load	✓	✗	-	Same as above.
ros2 param delete	✓	✗	-	Same as above.

6. ros2 action verbs

agnocast::Node does not provide an Actions implementation. Pure Agnocast nodes are not discovered by DDS action discovery.

Verb	Works as-is	Agnocast version	Planned	Notes
ros2 action list	✗	✗	TBD	Agnocast has no Action implementation.
ros2 action info	✗	✗	TBD	Same as above.
ros2 action send_goal	✗	✗	TBD	Same as above.
ros2 action echo	✗	✗	TBD	Same as above.

7. ros2 lifecycle verbs

agnocast::Node does not support Lifecycle (see agnocast_node_interface_comparison.md §4.3).

Verb	Works as-is	Agnocast version	Planned	Notes
ros2 lifecycle nodes	✗	✗	TBD	No lifecycle support in Agnocast.
ros2 lifecycle list	✗	✗	TBD	Same as above.
ros2 lifecycle get	✗	✗	TBD	Same as above.
ros2 lifecycle set	✗	✗	TBD	Same as above.

8. ros2 component verbs

Component containers can load agnocast::Node subclasses; the container itself is a DDS participant (see agnocast_node_interface_comparison.md §5).

Verb	Works as-is	Agnocast version	Planned	Notes
ros2 component list	✓	✗	-	Operates on DDS-visible containers.
ros2 component load	✓	✗	-	Loading an Agnocast-enabled component into a container is supported.
ros2 component unload	✓	✗	-
ros2 component types	✓	✗	-	Lists registered component plugin types via ament_index (rclcpp_components resources); transport-agnostic.
ros2 component standalone	✓	✗	-	Launches a component in a self-contained container process. Works for agnocast::Node, with the same caveat as Composable Node loading — the container becomes a DDS participant (see agnocast_node_interface_comparison.md §5).

9. ros2 bag verbs

ros2 bag record captures DDS traffic only; Agnocast-only topics live in shared memory and are not captured unless the Agnocast↔ROS 2 bridge is active. record_agnocast watches for Agnocast topics and automatically creates the required bridges, making them visible to DDS and therefore recordable.

Verb	Works as-is	Agnocast version	Scope of Agnocast verb	Planned	Notes
ros2 bag record	⚠	✓ record_agnocast	Cluster-wide	-	as-is cannot target pure Agnocast-only topics and works only for bridged topics. record_agnocast adds support for pure Agnocast-only topics, wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs); otherwise, these topics cannot be recorded. See Bag Record below.
ros2 bag play	✓	✗	—	-	Works as-is. Note that messages originally published by Agnocast publishers are replayed as ROS 2 (DDS) publishers.
ros2 bag info	✓	✗	—	-	Operates on a stored bag file, independent of transport.
ros2 bag list	✓	✗	—	-	Same as above.
ros2 bag convert	✓	✗	—	-	Same as above.
ros2 bag reindex	✓	✗	—	-	Same as above.
ros2 bag burst	✓	✗	—	-	Same as play.

10. ros2 agnocast verbs

ros2agnocast registers a top-level ros2 agnocast command with the following verbs (see src/ros2agnocast/setup.py).

Verb	Scope	Purpose
ros2 agnocast --version / -v	Local host only	Print version information for Agnocast components installed on the host where the command is run (userland libraries and the loaded kernel module).
ros2 agnocast version	Local host only	Same as --version (verb form).
ros2 agnocast generate-bridge-plugins	Build-time	Generate a ROS 2 bridge plugin package for user message types. Operates on local source/install trees, not on any running system.
ros2 agnocast discovery-daemon-status	Local IPC namespace	Check that the Agnocast discovery agent for the current IPC namespace is running and healthy. Exits non-zero if it is not. Add -v for per-check detail.
ros2 agnocast bridge-daemon-status	Local IPC namespace	Check that the Agnocast bridge daemon process for the current IPC namespace is running and healthy. Exits non-zero if it is not. Add -v for per-check detail.

---

How to use ros2 command for Agnocast

The following sections show usage examples for the Agnocast-specific verbs:

• ros2 topic list_agnocast
• ros2 topic info_agnocast /topic_name
• ros2 topic echo_agnocast /topic_name
• ros2 topic hz_agnocast /topic_name
• ros2 topic delay_agnocast /topic_name
• ros2 node list_agnocast
• ros2 node info_agnocast /node_name
• ros2 bag record_agnocast

Scope

list_agnocast / info_agnocast show Agnocast endpoints wherever an Agnocast discovery agent runs, across IPC namespaces and ECUs on the same ROS_DOMAIN_ID; otherwise they show only the current IPC namespace. The DDS side is cluster-wide as usual.

Topic List

To list all topics including Agnocast, use ros2 topic list_agnocast.

The (Agnocast enabled) marking covers every IPC namespace and ECU where a discovery agent runs; otherwise it reflects only the current IPC namespace.

If a topic is Agnocast enabled, it will be shown with a "(Agnocast enabled)" suffix.

$ ros2 topic list_agnocast
/topic_name1
/topic_name2 (Agnocast enabled)
/topic_name3

If you want to get only Agnocast related topics, use ros2 topic list_agnocast | grep Agnocast:

$ ros2 topic list_agnocast | grep Agnocast
/topic_name2 (Agnocast enabled)

If an Agnocast topic is bridged to ROS 2 publishers or subscribers, it is shown with the "(Agnocast enabled, bridged)" suffix.

$ ros2 topic list_agnocast
/topic_name1 (Agnocast enabled)
/topic_name2 (Agnocast enabled, bridged)
/topic_name3

The (Agnocast enabled, bridged) suffix means the topic has both Agnocast endpoints and ROS 2 endpoints, and a bridge process is forwarding between them. All three conditions are required:

• at least one Agnocast publisher or subscriber on the topic,
• at least one ROS 2 (DDS-side) endpoint on the other direction (e.g. an Agnocast publisher with a ROS 2 subscriber, or vice versa), and
• a bridge process (standard or performance) currently running for that topic.

If any one of these is missing, the suffix is just (Agnocast enabled). For example, a topic with only an Agnocast publisher and no ROS 2 subscriber is shown as (Agnocast enabled) regardless of whether a bridge process is running — there is simply no DDS-side counterpart to bridge to. Table 1 below enumerates every combination.

Table 1: Pub/Sub situations and display names

pub	sub	bridge	display
rclcpp::publisher	rclcpp::subscription	off / standard / performance	/my_topic
agnocast::publisher	rclcpp::subscription	off	/my_topic (WARN: one or more necessary bridges are not running)
agnocast::publisher	rclcpp::subscription	standard / performance	/my_topic (Agnocast enabled, bridged)
rclcpp::publisher	agnocast::subscription	off	/my_topic (WARN: one or more necessary bridges are not running)
rclcpp::publisher	agnocast::subscription	standard / performance	/my_topic (Agnocast enabled, bridged)
agnocast::publisher	agnocast::subscription	off / standard / performance	/my_topic (Agnocast enabled)
agnocast::publisher	none	off / standard / performance	/my_topic (Agnocast enabled)
none	agnocast::subscription	off / standard / performance	/my_topic (Agnocast enabled)

Notes

• If an Agnocast topic and a ROS 2 topic share the same name but have different message types, the status will still be displayed as (Agnocast enabled, bridged). However, in this case, the actual communication will not be established.

Topic Info

To show the topic info including Agnocast, use ros2 topic info_agnocast /topic_name.

The Agnocast publisher/subscriber details below cover every IPC namespace and ECU where a discovery agent runs; otherwise they reflect only the current IPC namespace.

$ ros2 topic info_agnocast /my_topic
Type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
ROS 2 Publisher count: 0
Agnocast Publisher count: 1
ROS 2 Subscription count: 0
Agnocast Subscription count: 1

For more details, use --verbose or -v.

$ ros2 topic info_agnocast /my_topic -v
Type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray

ROS 2 Publisher count: 0
Agnocast Publisher count: 1

Node name: talker_node
Node namespace: /
Topic type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
Endpoint type: PUBLISHER (Agnocast enabled)
QoS profile:
  History (Depth): KEEP_LAST (1)
  Durability: VOLATILE

ROS 2 Subscription count: 0
Agnocast Subscription count: 1

Node name: listener_node
Node namespace: /
Topic type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
Endpoint type: SUBSCRIPTION (Agnocast enabled)
QoS profile:
  History (Depth): KEEP_LAST (1)
  Durability: VOLATILE

Debug Mode

By default, ros2 topic info_agnocast hides internal bridge nodes and endpoints to provide a cleaner view. To include these internal details, use the --debug or -d flag.

$ ros2 topic info_agnocast /my_topic -d
Type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
ROS 2 Publisher count: 1
Agnocast Publisher count: 2
ROS 2 Subscription count: 1
Agnocast Subscription count: 2

You can combine -d with -v for full verbose output including bridge node details:

$ ros2 topic info_agnocast /my_topic -v -d
Type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray

ROS 2 Publisher count: 1
Agnocast Publisher count: 2

Node name: agnocast_bridge_node_86050
Node namespace: /
Topic type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
Endpoint type: PUBLISHER
GID: 01.10.b2.d2.ef.55.13.0d.74.cc.0c.e6.00.00.16.03.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00
QoS profile:
  Reliability: RELIABLE
  History (Depth): KEEP_LAST (10)
  Durability: TRANSIENT_LOCAL
  Lifespan: Infinite
  Deadline: Infinite
  Liveliness: AUTOMATIC
  Liveliness lease duration: Infinite

Node name: agnocast_bridge_node_86050
Node namespace: /
Topic type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
Endpoint type: PUBLISHER (Agnocast enabled)
QoS profile:
  History (Depth): KEEP_LAST (10)
  Durability: TRANSIENT_LOCAL

Node name: talker_node
Node namespace: /
Topic type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
Endpoint type: PUBLISHER (Agnocast enabled)
QoS profile:
  History (Depth): KEEP_LAST (1)
  Durability: VOLATILE

ROS 2 Subscription count: 1
Agnocast Subscription count: 2

Node name: agnocast_bridge_node_86050
Node namespace: /
Topic type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
Endpoint type: SUBSCRIPTION
GID: 01.10.b2.d2.ef.55.13.0d.74.cc.0c.e6.00.00.15.04.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00
QoS profile:
  Reliability: RELIABLE
  History (Depth): KEEP_LAST (1)
  Durability: VOLATILE
  Lifespan: Infinite
  Deadline: Infinite
  Liveliness: AUTOMATIC
  Liveliness lease duration: Infinite

Node name: listener_node
Node namespace: /
Topic type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
Endpoint type: SUBSCRIPTION (Agnocast enabled)
QoS profile:
  History (Depth): KEEP_LAST (1)
  Durability: VOLATILE

Node name: agnocast_bridge_node_86050
Node namespace: /
Topic type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray
Endpoint type: SUBSCRIPTION (Agnocast enabled)
QoS profile:
  History (Depth): KEEP_LAST (1)
  Durability: VOLATILE

Topic Echo

echo_agnocast is an Agnocast extension of ros2 topic echo. It also works for standard ROS 2 topics.

echo_agnocast works cluster-wide wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs on the same ROS_DOMAIN_ID); without a discovery agent, Agnocast-only topics cannot be observed.

When the discovery agent is running:

$ ros2 topic echo_agnocast /my_topic
[*] Triggering A2R bridge for '/my_topic'. This may take a few seconds...
[*] Starting ros2cli command...
id: 870
data:
- 870
- 871
- 872
- 873
[...]

Without a discovery agent, the command exits with an error:

$ ros2 topic echo_agnocast /my_topic
[*] Triggering A2R bridge for '/my_topic'. This may take a few seconds...
NOTE: no /_agnocast_discovery agent visible; showing local NS only via ioctl. Start one with `ros2 run ros2agnocast_discovery_agent discovery_agent` to see other NSes / ECUs.
ERROR: Could not resolve message type for '/my_topic'. The topic was not found in the ROS 2 graph or via /_agnocast_discovery. Make sure the topic exists and, for Agnocast topics, the discovery agent is running.

Standard ros2 topic echo CLI options are passed through:

$ ros2 topic echo_agnocast --once --no-arr --filter "m.id % 50 == 0" /my_topic
[*] Triggering A2R bridge for '/my_topic'. This may take a few seconds...
[*] Starting ros2cli command...
id: 4450
data: '<sequence type: int64, length: 128000>'
---

Topic Hz

hz_agnocast is an Agnocast extension of ros2 topic hz. It also works for standard ROS 2 topics.

hz_agnocast works cluster-wide wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs on the same ROS_DOMAIN_ID); without a discovery agent, Agnocast-only topics cannot be observed.

When the discovery agent is running:

$ ros2 topic hz_agnocast /my_topic
[*] Triggering A2R bridge for '/my_topic'. This may take a few seconds...
[*] Starting ros2cli command...
average rate: 9.832
        min: 0.101s max: 0.103s std dev: 0.00049s window: 11
average rate: 10.037
        min: 0.052s max: 0.103s std dev: 0.01052s window: 22
average rate: 9.977
        min: 0.052s max: 0.103s std dev: 0.00878s window: 32
[...]

Without a discovery agent, the command exits with an error:

$ ros2 topic hz_agnocast /my_topic
[*] Triggering A2R bridge for '/my_topic'. This may take a few seconds...
NOTE: no /_agnocast_discovery agent visible; showing local NS only via ioctl. Start one with `ros2 run ros2agnocast_discovery_agent discovery_agent` to see other NSes / ECUs.
ERROR: Could not resolve message type for '/my_topic'. The topic was not found in the ROS 2 graph or via /_agnocast_discovery. Make sure the topic exists and, for Agnocast topics, the discovery agent is running.

Standard ros2 topic hz CLI options are passed through:

$ ros2 topic hz_agnocast --filter "m.id % 10 == 0" /my_topic
[*] Triggering A2R bridge for '/my_topic'. This may take a few seconds...
[*] Starting ros2cli command...
average rate: 0.990
        min: 1.009s max: 1.011s std dev: 0.00077s window: 2
average rate: 1.002
        min: 0.960s max: 1.011s std dev: 0.02200s window: 4
average rate: 1.000
        min: 0.960s max: 1.011s std dev: 0.02022s window: 5
[...]

Topic Delay

delay_agnocast is an Agnocast extension of ros2 topic delay. It also works for standard ROS 2 topics.

delay_agnocast works cluster-wide wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs on the same ROS_DOMAIN_ID); without a discovery agent, Agnocast-only topics cannot be observed.

When the discovery agent is running:

$ ros2 topic delay_agnocast /pose_chatter
[*] Triggering A2R bridge for '/pose_chatter'. This may take a few seconds...
[*] Starting ros2cli command...
average delay: 0.001
        min: 0.001s max: 0.001s std dev: 0.00000s window: 1
average delay: 0.001
        min: 0.001s max: 0.001s std dev: 0.00014s window: 3
average delay: 0.001
        min: 0.001s max: 0.001s std dev: 0.00012s window: 5
[...]

Without a discovery agent, the command exits with an error:

$ ros2 topic delay_agnocast /pose_chatter
[*] Triggering A2R bridge for '/pose_chatter'. This may take a few seconds...
NOTE: no /_agnocast_discovery agent visible; showing local NS only via ioctl. Start one with `ros2 run ros2agnocast_discovery_agent discovery_agent` to see other NSes / ECUs.
ERROR: Could not resolve message type for '/pose_chatter'. The topic was not found in the ROS 2 graph or via /_agnocast_discovery. Make sure the topic exists and, for Agnocast topics, the discovery agent is running.

Standard ros2 topic delay CLI options are passed through:

$ ros2 topic delay_agnocast -w 1 /pose_chatter
[*] Triggering A2R bridge for '/pose_chatter'. This may take a few seconds...
[*] Starting ros2cli command...
average delay: 0.002
        min: 0.002s max: 0.002s std dev: 0.00000s window: 1
average delay: 0.001
        min: 0.001s max: 0.001s std dev: 0.00000s window: 1
average delay: 0.001
        min: 0.001s max: 0.001s std dev: 0.00000s window: 1
[...]

Node List

To list all nodes including those implemented with Agnocast, use ros2 node list_agnocast.

agnocast::Node instances are listed for every IPC namespace and ECU where a discovery agent runs; otherwise only for the current IPC namespace.

Standard ROS 2 nodes are displayed normally, while agnocast::Node instances are marked with the "(Agnocast enabled)" suffix.

$ ros2 node list_agnocast
/ros2_talker_node
/agnocast_listener_node (Agnocast enabled)

Debug Mode

By default, ros2 node list_agnocast hides internal bridge nodes and endpoints to provide a cleaner view. To include these internal details, use the --debug or -d flag.

$ ros2 node list_agnocast -d
/ros2_talker_node
/agnocast_bridge_node_86050
/agnocast_listener_node (Agnocast enabled)

Notes

Detection of agnocast::Node instances depends on the presence of Agnocast-enabled endpoints. A node without at least one Agnocast publisher or subscriber will be omitted from the output.

Node Info

To show the node info including Agnocast, use ros2 node info_agnocast /node_name.

Agnocast publisher/subscriber details are reported for a node in any IPC namespace or ECU where a discovery agent runs; otherwise only for the current IPC namespace.

$ ros2 node info_agnocast /listener_node
  Subscribers:
    /parameter_events: rcl_interfaces/msg/ParameterEvent
    /my_topic: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray (Agnocast enabled, bridged)
  Publishers:
    /my_topic2: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray (Agnocast enabled)
    /parameter_events: rcl_interfaces/msg/ParameterEvent
    /rosout: rcl_interfaces/msg/Log
  Service Servers:
    /listener_node/describe_parameters: rcl_interfaces/srv/DescribeParameters
    /listener_node/get_parameter_types: rcl_interfaces/srv/GetParameterTypes
    /listener_node/get_parameters: rcl_interfaces/srv/GetParameters
    /listener_node/list_parameters: rcl_interfaces/srv/ListParameters
    /listener_node/set_parameters: rcl_interfaces/srv/SetParameters
    /listener_node/set_parameters_atomically: rcl_interfaces/srv/SetParametersAtomically
  Service Clients:
  Action Servers:
  Action Clients:

Similar to ros2 topic list_agnocast, the (Agnocast enabled, bridged) suffix in the node info indicates that communication has been successfully established between Agnocast and ROS 2 for that specific topic.

If a topic is Agnocast-enabled but not currently bridged (e.g., there is no corresponding ROS 2 publisher/subscriber or the bridge process is not active), it will be displayed simply as (Agnocast enabled). This allows you to verify the connectivity status of each topic directly from the node's perspective.

Bag Record

record_agnocast is an Agnocast extension of ros2 bag record. It continuously watches for Agnocast topics and automatically creates the corresponding bridge when they appear, making them recordable. It also works for standard ROS 2 topics.

record_agnocast works cluster-wide wherever a discovery agent runs (across IPC namespaces and ECUs on the same ROS_DOMAIN_ID); without a discovery agent, Agnocast-only topics cannot be recorded (they are silently missed).

When the discovery agent is running:

$ ros2 bag record_agnocast -o rosbag_output -e /my_*
[INFO 1781059372.244129306] [rosbag2_recorder]: Press SPACE for pausing/resuming (RecorderImpl() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:223)
[INFO 1781059372.244225399] [rosbag2_recorder]: Event publisher thread: Started (event_publisher_thread_main() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder_event_notifier_impl.hpp:169)
[INFO 1781059372.245935596] [rosbag2_recorder]: Starting recording to 'rosbag_output' (record() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:303)
[INFO 1781059372.246716373] [rosbag2_recorder]: Listening for topics... (record() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:329)
[INFO 1781059372.246728940] [rosbag2_recorder]: Recording... (record() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:338)
[INFO 1781059372.246865915] [rosbag2_recorder]: Topics discovery started. (topics_discovery() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:629)
[INFO 1781059373.218892553] [rosbag2_recorder]: Subscribed to topic '/my_topic' (subscribe_topic() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:730)
[INFO 1781059379.681077909] [rosbag2_recorder]: Topics discovery stopped. (topics_discovery() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:671)
[INFO 1781059379.681410757] [rosbag2_recorder]: Pausing recording. (pause() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:547)
[INFO 1781059379.681530215] [rosbag2_cpp]: Writing remaining messages from cache to the bag. It may take a while (stop() at ./src/rosbag2_cpp/cache/cache_consumer.cpp:44)
[INFO 1781059379.684395117] [rosbag2_recorder]: Recording stopped (stop() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:281)
[INFO 1781059379.691063397] [rosbag2_recorder]: Event publisher thread: Exited (event_publisher_thread_main() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder_event_notifier_impl.hpp:220)
$ ros2 bag info rosbag_output

Files:             rosbag_output_0.mcap
Bag size:          62.5 MiB
Storage id:        mcap
ROS Distro:        jazzy
Duration:          6.272831748s
Start:             Jun 10 2026 11:42:53.307379851 (1781059373.307379851)
End:               Jun 10 2026 11:42:59.580211599 (1781059379.580211599)
Messages:          64
Topic information: Topic: /my_topic | Type: agnocast_sample_interfaces/msg/DynamicSizeArray | Count: 64 | Serialization Format: cdr
Service:           0
Service information: 

Without a discovery agent, the command starts but records nothing for Agnocast-only topics (silently unobservable):

$ ros2 bag record_agnocast -o rosbag_output -e /my_*
[INFO 1781059455.269319259] [rosbag2_recorder]: Press SPACE for pausing/resuming (RecorderImpl() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:223)
[INFO 1781059455.269340122] [rosbag2_recorder]: Event publisher thread: Started (event_publisher_thread_main() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder_event_notifier_impl.hpp:169)
[INFO 1781059455.271078152] [rosbag2_recorder]: Starting recording to 'rosbag_output' (record() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:303)
[INFO 1781059455.271900382] [rosbag2_recorder]: Listening for topics... (record() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:329)
[INFO 1781059455.271912956] [rosbag2_recorder]: Recording... (record() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:338)
[INFO 1781059455.271961053] [rosbag2_recorder]: Topics discovery started. (topics_discovery() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:629)
[INFO 1781059462.239325076] [rosbag2_recorder]: Topics discovery stopped. (topics_discovery() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:671)
[INFO 1781059462.239964342] [rosbag2_recorder]: Pausing recording. (pause() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:547)
[INFO 1781059462.240101000] [rosbag2_cpp]: Writing remaining messages from cache to the bag. It may take a while (stop() at ./src/rosbag2_cpp/cache/cache_consumer.cpp:44)
[INFO 1781059462.241862458] [rosbag2_recorder]: Recording stopped (stop() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder.cpp:281)
[INFO 1781059462.244343500] [rosbag2_recorder]: Event publisher thread: Exited (event_publisher_thread_main() at ./src/rosbag2_transport/recorder_event_notifier_impl.hpp:220)
$ ros2 bag info rosbag_output

Files:             rosbag_output_0.mcap
Bag size:          1.8 KiB
Storage id:        mcap
ROS Distro:        jazzy
Duration:          0.000000000s
Start:             Apr 12 2262 08:47:16.854775807 (9223372036.854775807)
End:               Apr 12 2262 08:47:16.854775807 (9223372036.854775807)
Messages:          0
Topic information: 
Service:           0
Service information: