Docker Isaac Sim

Unofficial minimal dockerfile for Isaac Sim.

This is often useful in scenarios when you are using a custom base image and want to install Isaac Sim in it.

Prerequisites:

• NVIDIA Driver
• Docker
• NVIDIA Container Toolkit

Pip Install

Note that pip install Isaac Sim is still in experimental stage. Personally, I have used this method in j3soon/ros2-essentials and have not encountered any issues with it yet.

Build or pull image:

# build the preferred version
docker build -f Dockerfile_isaacsim_4_2_pip -t j3soon/isaac-sim-pip:4.2 .
docker build -f Dockerfile_isaacsim_4_1_pip -t j3soon/isaac-sim-pip:4.1 .
docker build -f Dockerfile_isaacsim_4_0_pip -t j3soon/isaac-sim-pip:4.0 .
# or pull the preferred version
docker pull j3soon/isaac-sim-pip:4.2
docker pull j3soon/isaac-sim-pip:4.1
docker pull j3soon/isaac-sim-pip:4.0

xhost +local:docker
docker run --rm -it --runtime=nvidia --gpus all --network=host \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim-pip/cache/kit:/usr/local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/omni/cache:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim-pip/cache/ov:/root/.cache/ov:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim-pip/cache/pip:/root/.cache/pip:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim-pip/cache/glcache:/root/.cache/nvidia/GLCache:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim-pip/cache/computecache:/root/.nv/ComputeCache:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim-pip/logs:/root/.nvidia-omniverse/logs:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim-pip/data:/root/.local/share/ov/data:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim-pip/documents:/root/Documents:rw \
  -v $(pwd):/workspace \
  -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
  -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
  -v $HOME/.Xauthority:/root/.Xauthority \
  -v /dev/shm:/dev/shm \
  j3soon/isaac-sim-pip:4.2
# in the container
# For Isaac Sim 4.0 to 4.2, run:
isaacsim omni.isaac.sim
# # For Isaac Sim 4.5, run:
# isaacsim isaacsim.exp.full

The slight difference in cache directories between the official Docker image and the pip-installed version is observed by comparing the logs of the Isaac Sim instance in both environments.

To test the ros2 bridge in Isaac Sim, click Isaac Utils > Common Omnigraphs > ROS2 Clock in the menu and click OK. Click the play button, and run the following in a new terminal:

docker run --rm -it --network=host -v /dev/shm:/dev/shm osrf/ros:humble-desktop-full bash
# in the container
ros2 topic list
ros2 topic echo /clock

References:

• Python Environment Installation | Isaac Sim
• isaacsim | PyPI

As a side note, a binary installer is provided since Isaac Sim 4.5.0. This may also be used instead of pip install. However, I have not explored this option yet.

Official Docker Images

For using the official Isaac Sim docker images, please follow the official guide, the commands should be something like below.

Headless mode:

docker pull nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:4.5.0
docker run --name isaac-sim --entrypoint bash -it --runtime=nvidia --gpus all -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" --rm --network=host \
  -e "PRIVACY_CONSENT=Y" \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/kit:/isaac-sim/kit/cache:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/ov:/root/.cache/ov:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/pip:/root/.cache/pip:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/glcache:/root/.cache/nvidia/GLCache:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/computecache:/root/.nv/ComputeCache:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/logs:/root/.nvidia-omniverse/logs:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/data:/root/.local/share/ov/data:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/documents:/root/Documents:rw \
  nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:4.5.0
# in the container
./runheadless.sh -v

GUI mode:

docker pull nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:4.5.0
xhost +local:docker
docker run --name isaac-sim --entrypoint bash -it --runtime=nvidia --gpus all -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" --rm --network=host \
  -e "PRIVACY_CONSENT=Y" \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/kit:/isaac-sim/kit/cache:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/ov:/root/.cache/ov:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/pip:/root/.cache/pip:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/glcache:/root/.cache/nvidia/GLCache:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/computecache:/root/.nv/ComputeCache:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/logs:/root/.nvidia-omniverse/logs:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/data:/root/.local/share/ov/data:rw \
  -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/documents:/root/Documents:rw \
  -v $(pwd):/workspace \
  -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
  -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix \
  -v $HOME/.Xauthority:/root/.Xauthority \
  nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:4.5.0
# in the container
./runapp.sh

References:

• Container Installation - Isaac Sim Documentation
• Isaac Sim | NVIDIA NGC