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SDFormat is an XML file format that describes environments, objects, and robots in a manner suitable for robotic applications. SDFormat is capable of representing and describing different physic engines, lighting properties, terrain, static or dynamic objects, and articulated robots with various sensors, and actuators. The format of SDFormat is also described by XML, which facilitates updates and allows conversion from previous versions.

See the SDFormat Website for a more comprehensive description of the specification, proposals for modifications, developer information, etc. This website is published using some information from the sdf_tutorials repository.

• SDFormat - The specification.
  • SDF - Synonym for SDFormat, though SDFormat should be preferred, as "SDF" is an acronym with other meanings.
• libsdformat - The C++ parsing code contained within this repository, which can be used to read SDFormat files and return a C++ interface.

http://sdformat.org/

We recommend following the Binary Installation instructions to get up and running as quickly and painlessly as possible.

The Source Installation instructions should be used if you need the very latest software improvements, you need to modify the code, or you plan to make a contribution.

On Ubuntu systems, apt-get can be used to install sdformat:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://packages.osrfoundation.org/gazebo/ubuntu-stable `lsb_release -cs` main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/gazebo-stable.list'
wget http://packages.osrfoundation.org/gazebo.key -O - | sudo apt-key add -
sudo apt-get update

sudo apt install libsdformat<#>-dev libsdformat<#>

Be sure to replace <#> with a number value, such as 14 or 15, depending on which version you need, or leave it empty for version 1.

On macOS, after installing the Homebrew package manager, add OSRF packages:

brew tap osrf/simulation

Install sdformat:

brew install sdformat<#>

Be sure to replace <#> with a number value, such as 14 or 15, depending on which version you need.

Install Conda package management system. Miniconda suffices.

Create if necessary, and activate a Conda environment:

conda create -n gz-ws
conda activate gz-ws

Install sdformat:

conda install libsdformat --channel conda-forge

You can view all the versions with

conda search libsdformat --channel conda-forge

and install a specific minor version with

conda install libsdformat=12.5.0 --channel conda-forge

Note: the main branch is under development for libsdformat15 and is currently unstable. A release branch (sdf12, sdf11, sdf10, sdf9, etc.) is recommended for most users.

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/gazebosim/sdformat -b sdf<#>

Be sure to replace <#> with a number value, such as 14 or 15, depending on which version you need.

cd sdformat
sudo apt -y install \
  $(sort -u $(find . -iname 'packages-'`lsb_release -cs`'.apt' -o -iname 'packages.apt' | tr '\n' ' '))

brew install --only-dependencies sdformat<#>

Be sure to replace <#> with a number value, such as 14 or 15, depending on which version you need.

Standard installation can be performed in UNIX systems using the following steps:

cd sdformat
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..  # Consider specifying -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=...
make install

sdformat supported cmake parameters at configuring time:

If you want to build Python bindings separately from the main libsdformat library (for example if you want to build Python bindings for multiple versions of Python), you can invoke cmake on the python folder instead of the root folder. Specify the path to the python executable with which you wish to build bindings in the Python3_EXECUTABLE cmake variable. Specify the install path for the bindings in the CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX variable, and be sure to set your PYTHONPATH accordingly after install.

cd sdformat
mkdir build_python3
cd build_python3
cmake ../python \
    -DPython3_EXECUTABLE=/usr/local/bin/python3.12 \
    -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=<prefix>

See the homebrew sdformat15 formula for an example of building bindings for multiple versions of Python.

To uninstall the software installed with the previous steps:

cd build
make uninstall

Install Conda package management system. Miniconda suffices.

Create if necessary, and activate a Conda environment:

conda create -n gz-ws
conda activate gz-ws

Install prerequisites:

conda install cmake git vcstool colcon-common-extensions ^
tinyxml2 urdfdom pybind11 -channel conda-forge

Be sure to replace <#> with a number value, such as 14 or 15, depending on which version you need.

1. Getting the sources

mkdir ws\src
cd ws
vcs import src --input https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gazebo-tooling/gazebodistro/master/sdformat<#>.yaml

2. Build from source

Note: the Gazebo library dependencies are going to be compiled from source with sdformat although it should be possible to install them from conda-forge on stable Gazebo releases using the standard conda install command.

Build the gazebo libraries needed as dependencies (skip testing to speed up the compilation) using the colcon tool:

  colcon build --cmake-args -DBUILD_TESTING=OFF --merge-install --packages-skip sdformat<#>

Build sdformat with its test suite:

  colcon build --cmake-args -DBUILD_TESTING=ON --merge-install --packages-select sdformat<#>