{"id":9600,"library":"colcon-devtools","title":"colcon-devtools","description":"colcon-devtools is an extension for the `colcon` build tool, providing commands and information about `colcon`'s extension points and installed extensions. It is currently at version 0.3.0. Its release cadence is generally aligned with the development of `colcon` itself, often releasing new versions alongside `colcon` or when new features or fixes are needed for its core functionality.","status":"active","version":"0.3.0","language":"en","source_language":"en","source_url":"https://github.com/colcon/colcon-devtools/","tags":["colcon","ROS","build system","developer tools","extension"],"install":[{"cmd":"pip install colcon-devtools","lang":"bash","label":"Install `colcon-devtools`"}],"dependencies":[{"reason":"`colcon-devtools` is an extension for `colcon`, requiring `colcon-core` to provide its functionality as `colcon` subcommands.","package":"colcon-core","optional":false}],"imports":[],"quickstart":{"code":"pip install colcon-core colcon-devtools\ncolcon devtools extensions --verb","lang":"bash","description":"This quickstart first installs both `colcon-core` and `colcon-devtools`, then demonstrates a core functionality: listing all discovered `colcon` extensions, including those provided by `colcon-devtools`, with verbose output."},"warnings":[{"fix":"Ensure `colcon-core` is installed in the same Python environment: `pip install colcon-core colcon-devtools`","message":"`colcon-devtools` commands are subcommands of `colcon`. They will not be available if `colcon-core` is not installed or not accessible in your PATH.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":"All versions"},{"fix":"If encountering issues after updating `colcon-core`, try upgrading `colcon-devtools` to its latest version: `pip install colcon-devtools --upgrade`","message":"As an extension, `colcon-devtools` relies on the internal APIs of `colcon-core`. Significant changes in `colcon-core`'s major versions might require an update to `colcon-devtools` for compatibility, even if it doesn't explicitly declare a strict version dependency.","severity":"gotcha","affected_versions":"All versions, especially across `colcon-core` major versions"}],"env_vars":null,"last_verified":"2026-04-17T00:00:00.000Z","next_check":"2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z","problems":[{"fix":"First install `colcon-core`: `pip install colcon-core`. Ensure your Python environment's scripts directory is in your system's PATH.","cause":"The `colcon` executable is not installed or not in your system's PATH. `colcon-devtools` provides extensions *to* `colcon`, not a standalone executable.","error":"colcon: command not found"},{"fix":"Ensure both `colcon-core` and `colcon-devtools` are installed in the same Python environment: `pip install colcon-core colcon-devtools --upgrade`.","cause":"The `colcon-devtools` package is not correctly installed or `colcon` cannot find its extensions. This often happens if installed in a different virtual environment or if there's an issue with the `colcon` extension discovery mechanism.","error":"colcon: error: unrecognized arguments: devtools"}]}