Using install with catkin build results in devel/setup.bash disabling finding packages in the workspace

System Info

• Operating System: Linux 4.15.0-66-generic #75-Ubuntu SMP Tue Oct 1 05:24:09 UTC 2019 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
• Python Version: Python 2.7.15+
• Version of catkin_tools: catkin_tools 0.4.5 © 2014-2019 Open Source Robotics Foundation
• ROS Distro: melodic

Build / Run Issue

If one configures their workspace for installation then sources devel/setup.bash, common rosbash commands no longer work as desired because these commands find packages in the install space before the workspace. This causes a lot of headaches when developing in workspaces that are configured for installation.

Expected Behavior

For example, after running source devel/setup.bash, a command like rosed my-pkg my-launch-file should edit my-launch-file in my-pkg in the workspace (if in fact my-pkg is a package in the workspace).

Actual Behavior

Staying with the above example, what will happen is rosed my-pkg my-launch-file will edit my-launch-file in the install space instead of the workspace.

Steps to Reproduce the Issue

If one configures any workspace for installation and builds i.e.

catkin config --install
catkin clean -b
catkin build

and the workspace has a pkg X, then do the following:

source devel/setup.bash
roscd X

This will change your directory to the X package in the install space, and not the workspace like it should.

Hint

Going a little deeper: when the problem occurs, you’ll see that ROS_PACKAGE_PATH lists the install space before the workspace packages. I see that ROS_PACKAGE_PATH is generated from the CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH in devel/_setup_util.py, and that in the __main__ function of _setup_util.py, there is line of the form

CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH= '/path/to/install-space;/opt/ros/melodic;/path/to/devel-space'.split(';')

I think that the install-space path should come last in the line above.

[nsteele]

I was seeing slightly different behavior than @nalt when I tried this in an existing ws of mine, but I can reproduce @nalt 's result when I start with a new ws. Here’s how:

mkdir -p test/src
cd test
source /opt/ros/melodic/setup.bash
catkin init
catkin create pkg -p src mypkg
catkin build
source devel/setup.bash
echo $ROS_PACKAGE_PATH # result: /path/to/mypkg:/opt/ros/melodic/share GOOD!
catkin config --install
catkin clean -b # remove only the build space
catkin build
source devel/setup.bash
echo $ROS_PACKAGE_PATH # result: /path/to/mypkg:/opt/ros/melodic/share GOOD!
catkin clean # remove build, devel, and install spaces
catkin build
source devel/setup.bash
echo $ROS_PACKAGE_PATH #result: /opt/ros/melodic/share BAD!

So I can now describe the problem a little more precisely: when the workspace is configured for install, and the devel space is rebuilt, then source devel/setup.bash gives an incorrect $ROS_PACKAGE_PATH. If the workspace is configured for install after the devel space is already built, then source devel/setup.bash will give the correct $ROS_PACKAGE_PATH until the devel space is rebuilt.

[nalt]

For me, it does not even add the install space:

$ . devel/setup.bash 
$ echo $ROS_PACKAGE_PATH 
/opt/ros/melodic/share

While in the install space:

$ . install/setup.bash 
$ echo $ROS_PACKAGE_PATH 
.../workspace/install/share:/opt/ros/melodic/share