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These workflows require TurtleBot3 Bringup to already be running in a separate terminal.

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SLAM — Building a Map

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Start Cartographer

ros2 launch turtlebot3_cartographer cartographer.launch.py use_sim_time:=false
RViz will fail to open if there is no display connected — this is expected. Cartographer and the /map topic continue working headlessly.

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Drive to Build Coverage

Use TurtleBot3 keyboard teleop (ros2 run turtlebot3_teleop teleop_keyboard) or publish velocity commands to move the robot around the space. More coverage produces better map quality.

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Save the Map

ros2 run nav2_map_server map_saver_cli -t /map -f ~/my_map
Output files:
  • ~/my_map.pgm — occupancy grid image
  • ~/my_map.yaml — map metadata (resolution, origin)
Stop Cartographer after saving. Requires a saved map from the SLAM step above. 
ros2 launch turtlebot3_navigation2 navigation2.launch.py \
  use_sim_time:=false \
  map:=$HOME/my_map.yaml
Set a 2D pose estimate in RViz, then send a navigation goal. For headless operation: 
ros2 action send_goal /navigate_to_pose nav2_msgs/action/NavigateToPose \
  '{pose: {header: {frame_id: "map"}, pose: {position: {x: 1.0, y: 0.5}}}}'

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RViz on the Physical Screen (via SSH)

The GNOME desktop uses Wayland, but RViz2’s Ogre renderer requires GLX (X11). GNOME runs XWayland automatically — but the auth file (XAUTHORITY) has a random suffix that changes every reboot. Add a helper function to ~/.bashrc to resolve it automatically.

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Add export-display to ~/.bashrc

cat >> ~/.bashrc << 'EOF'

export-display() {
  local xauth
  xauth=$(find /run/user/1000 -name '.mutter-Xwaylandauth.*' 2>/dev/null | head -1)
  export DISPLAY=:0
  export XAUTHORITY="$xauth"
  export XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000
  echo "DISPLAY=$DISPLAY  XAUTHORITY=$XAUTHORITY"
}
EOF
source ~/.bashrc

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Run Before Any RViz Session Over SSH

export-display
Output: 
DISPLAY=:0  XAUTHORITY=/run/user/1000/.mutter-Xwaylandauth.XXXXXX

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SLAM + RViz on the Physical Screen (Full Example)

# Terminal 1 – bringup
ros2 launch turtlebot3_bringup robot.launch.py

# Terminal 2 – SLAM + RViz on the connected screen
export-display
ros2 launch turtlebot3_cartographer cartographer.launch.py use_sim_time:=false
If you open a terminal directly on the GNOME desktop (not over SSH), DISPLAY and XAUTHORITY are already set — run RViz normally without export-display.

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RViz on a Remote Machine

To run RViz on a laptop or workstation on the same network:
  1. On both machines set the same domain ID: 
    export ROS_DOMAIN_ID=30
  2. Install ROS 2 Jazzy on the remote machine.
  3. On the remote machine, open RViz: 
    rviz2
    Then add a Map display and set the topic to /map. The map data is discovered automatically over the network — no extra configuration needed.
Topics are discovered automatically over the network — no extra configuration needed.