Getting started
Foxglove Studio is a visualization and debugging tool for your robotics data, conveniently packaged as desktop and web apps.
Download Foxglove Studio as a desktop app (available on Linux, Windows, or macOS), or simply navigate to the web app in a Chrome browser window.
Desktop-only features
Some app features are only available via our desktop app:
- Opening a native ROS 1 or ROS 2 connection
- Connecting to your Velodyne LIDAR hardware
- Loading local URDF and mesh resources in the 3D panel using URLs prefixed with
package://
- Creating shareable links prefixed with
foxglove://
- Installing extensions via the extension marketplace
Data sources
When you first load the app, you will see an introductory dialog, with "Open data source" options and "Help" resources. On subsequent app loads, you will also be able to reconnect to your most recently selected data sources in the "Recents" list.
If you want to get a sense of what you can visualize in Foxglove Studio before connecting to your own data, click on "Explore sample data" to load a sample dataset adapted from nuScenes in an example layout for playback. Hover over each panel to see its name and toolbar, and seek to different places on the playback bar to see the panels update with new information.
Navigation
The app's top nav bar contains the following items:
- App menu
- File – Connect to a local or remote data source
- View – Toggle the app's left and right sidebars
- Help – View community resources
- Add panel – Add a panel to the current layout
- Layout menu
- Save your workspace view as a layout and share it with teammates
- Left sidebar
- Panel – Edit a selected panel's settings
- Topics – View a list of topics in your data source
- Problems – View and troubleshoot issues with your data source connection
- Right sidebar - Edit a selected panel's settings
- Variables - Set app-level variables for use throughout your current layout
- User menu – Sign in to your Foxglove account, configure app and user preferences, manage custom extensions, and more