Enter Docker Environment (For Raspberry Pi Only)

0. Applicable Models Pre-Introduction

1. Core Concepts Simplified

Before starting, you only need to understand the collaboration relationship between the host and container:

2. Daily Most Frequently Used: One-Click Ultra-Fast Enter Container

The system has pre-configured an ultra-simple shortcut command for you, daily entry to car development environment requires only one command:

Enter in the Raspberry Pi host terminal:

exec_a1pro

(Or in any terminal, enter standard command: docker exec -it a1pro_dev bash)

The terminal will immediately and seamlessly connect to the Docker container pre-installed with all car drivers and ROS 2 Humble environment:

After entering, the terminal will display the current car's basic status dashboard (IP address, car model, radar type, camera type, and Domain ID). At this point, you can directly enter any ROS 2 command to start experiments!

3. Multi-Terminal Collaborative Operation (Open Multiple Windows for Experiments)

In actual robot development, you usually need to open multiple terminal windows simultaneously to work together (for example: window 1 starts chassis radar driver, window 2 starts keyboard control, window 3 views RViz interface):

Since each new terminal window on Raspberry Pi defaults to the host environment (pi@...), you only need to enter exec_a1pro in each new terminal window:

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exec_a1pro

This allows that window to also enter the same running Docker container, windows are independent from each other and topics are interconnected.

4. Container Auto-Start and Underlying Service Management (Docker Compose)

The car uses industry-standard Docker Compose for unified orchestration and management. The car startup configuration file is located at /home/pi/yahboomcar_ros2_ws/docker-compose.yml.

1. Auto-Start on Boot (No Manual Start Required)

The container has been configured with restart: unless-stopped protection policy:

• After Raspberry Pi is powered on and boots up, Docker will automatically pull up and keep the a1pro_dev container running in the background.

• You can directly open terminal and type exec_a1pro to start using after boot, usually no need to manually type startup command.

2. Manual Wake-Up Container Shortcut Command

If you accidentally stop the container, you can directly type the system-level shortcut command in the host terminal to quickly wake up and open graphics permissions: (Note: You need to start this command in the VNC interface for it to work)

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bringup_a1pro

(This command will automatically execute xhost + to open display permissions and enter the project directory to start the container)

3. View Container Current Running Status

Enter in the host terminal:

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docker ps

If the status bar shows Up ... and the name is a1pro_dev, the container is running healthily.

5. Graphical Interface Display (RViz2 / Camera Feed / GUI Applications)

When running programs that need to pop up graphical windows inside the Docker container (such as RViz2 to view laser point clouds, open camera feed windows, or run joystick control applications):

The docker-compose.yml has automatically configured X11 mounting and Chinese UTF-8 language environment (LANG=zh_CN.UTF-8), not only windows can pop out to the desktop normally, but also the Chinese interface is clear without garbled characters.

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xhost +

6. Code and File Persistence Mechanism (Code Will Never Be Lost)

7. Advanced Skill: How to Use docker commit to Solidify Backup Image After Modifying Container Environment

In daily advanced development of the car, you may perform some system-level environment installation and changes inside the container, for example:

• Installed new system tools (such as lsof, htop, tree or underlying dependency libraries) using apt-get install inside the container;

• Installed new Python algorithm libraries using pip install inside the container;

• Installed new services and global tools (such as openclaw) using npm install -g inside the container;

• Modified /root/.bashrc or system-level core configuration files inside the container.

Step 1: Exit Container to Return to Raspberry Pi Host Terminal

If currently inside the container, first enter exit to return to host terminal (pi@raspberrypi:~$).

Step 2: Execute Overwrite Commit Solidification Command

Enter the following command in the host terminal:

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docker commit a1pro_dev 192.168.2.51:5000/a1pro:latest

After execution, the terminal will output a sha256 image ID composed of numbers and letters (takes from a few seconds to over ten seconds, depending on change size), indicating the current container's environment has been completely solidified and stored in the local image:

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docker commit a1pro_dev 192.168.2.51:5000/a1pro:backup_$(date +%Y%m%d)

8. Exiting Current Terminal

When an experiment is completed and that terminal is no longer needed, enter inside the container:

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exit

After pressing Enter, you can exit that terminal and return to the host state. Note: exit only exits this terminal window, the background a1pro_dev container and other car background services are still running smoothly!

9. Docker Common Operation Commands Quick Reference