isaaclab-installing-isaac-lab

Installing Isaac Lab

When To Use

Use this skill when a user wants to install Isaac Lab from scratch. The default mode is the express flow: auto-detect, auto-pick, one confirmation, then unattended execution. Users should not have to answer setup questions unless the system genuinely forces a choice.

This skill operates on the currently-checked-out Isaac Lab ref. If the user wants to install a different ref (a specific branch or tag), have them check that ref out first, then invoke the skill.

Do not use this skill for post-install issues. Use isaaclab-setup-troubleshooting for import failures, launch failures, verification failures, and other diagnostic questions after the install completed.

Do not vendor install commands, version pins, or troubleshooting steps into this skill. The install pages under docs/source/setup/installation/index.rst and their siblings are the source of truth for commands and minimums alike.

Workflow

Run the read-only preflight in reference.md. Check the current checkout's installation documentation for platform, driver, disk, and native build prerequisites.
Use uv for every installation. Default to the source checkout's automatic environment. Honor an explicit environment directory through UV_PROJECT_ENVIRONMENT. Route wheel, source-build, container, and cloud workflows through the corresponding documented uv instructions.
Report unmet prerequisites before changing the environment. For existing installations, use isaaclab-setup-troubleshooting instead of reinstalling over them.
Read the selected installation section and use its current commands. For China storage, also apply the Asset Region Profile rules in reference.md.
Show the detected system, selected workflow, exact commands, and download requirements in one consolidated plan. Ask for confirmation before executing an installation unless the user has already authorized it.
Execute the approved commands and log output to ~/.isaaclab/logs/install-<timestamp>.log. On failure, apply at most one documented fix and retry once; then hand off with the log.
Run the selected workflow's documented verification. Report the environment path, launch command, and log path; save the installation facts to ~/.isaaclab/install_profile.yaml.

Validation

Commands and prerequisites match the current installation documentation.
uv owns dependency resolution and environment creation.
The selected workflow's verification succeeded before larger training jobs.
China asset availability is checked against the current manifest when requested.
Skill edits pass uv run --no-project python tools/skills/cli.py check.

Maintenance

Keep this skill synchronized with the following install docs. If commands or version pins change in the docs, update the docs, not this skill:

docs/source/setup/installation/index.rst — the installation entrypoint. Every install method is a section on this page with a stable ref anchor. Contains "System requirements" (driver minimums, GLIBC, Python, OS support), the method-picker cards, and the per-method command sequences.
docs/source/setup/installation/index.rst — includes the automatic uv setup steps under installation-method-uv.
docs/source/setup/installation/index.rst — installation-method-uv steps (Newton-only default without Isaac Sim).
docs/source/setup/installation/index.rst — installation-method-python-env steps (managed uv sync with the isaacsim extra).
docs/source/setup/installation/index.rst — installation-method-wheel steps (Isaac Lab Python package for external projects).
docs/source/setup/installation/index.rst — installation-method-source steps (Isaac Sim source build).
docs/source/how-to/manage_asset_downloads.rst — the installation-asset-region-profiles workflow.
docs/source/setup/installation/asset_caching_details.inc — asset caching notes.
docs/source/workflows/docker/index.rst — Docker and cloud-workstation deep dive; complements installation-method-container and installation-method-cloud in index.rst.
docs/source/refs/troubleshooting.rst — hand-off target for post-install diagnostics.

This skill is a router and executor, not a copy of the install pages. Adding install methods, changing version pins, or updating command sequences belongs in the docs above, not in this file.

References

Evaluations
Reference
Examples
Installation entrypoint: docs/source/setup/installation/index.rst
Automatic setup with uv (docs-Recommended): section installation-method-uv in index.rst
Python environment with Isaac Sim (uv sync): section installation-method-python-env in index.rst
Isaac Lab Python package (external projects): section installation-method-wheel in index.rst
Isaac Sim source build: section installation-method-source in index.rst
Asset Region Profiles: section installation-asset-region-profiles in docs/source/how-to/manage_asset_downloads.rst
Docker and HPC clusters: section installation-method-container in index.rst, deep-dive in docs/source/workflows/docker/index.rst
Cloud workstations: section installation-method-cloud in index.rst
Troubleshooting: docs/source/refs/troubleshooting.rst
Cross-skill hand-off for post-install issues: isaaclab-setup-troubleshooting.