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This guide will walk you through creating your first robot simulation with Drift CLI.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:
  • Installed Drift CLI (see Installation)
  • ROS2 and Gazebo Sim installed on your system

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Launch Drift CLI

Start Drift by running: 
drift
You’ll see the Drift CLI prompt: 
drift>

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Your first robot

Let’s create your first robot using natural language commands.
1

Create a ROS workspace

First, create a ROS workspace to organize your project:
drift> create a ROS workspace
Drift will automatically generate the workspace structure and configure it for you.
2

Create a robot with sensors

Now, create a robot with sensors using natural language:
drift> create a three arm manipulator with camera sensor
Drift will:
  • Generate the robot description files
  • Configure the manipulator arms
  • Add and configure the camera sensor
  • Set up the necessary ROS2 packages
3

Launch the simulation

Launch your robot in Gazebo:
drift> launch my robot with the custom world file
Drift will:
  • Generate the launch files
  • Start Gazebo with your robot
  • Initialize all necessary ROS2 nodes
4

Add more sensors

You can easily modify your robot on the fly:
drift> add a lidar sensor to my robot and rebuild
Drift will update your robot description and rebuild the workspace automatically.

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Special commands

Drift CLI provides several special commands to help you manage your workflow:
  • /help — Show comprehensive help and examples
  • /version — Display version information
  • /update — Update to the latest version
  • /ps — Show running background processes
  • /clear — Clear the terminal screen
  • /exit — Exit Drift CLI
Run /help at any time to see all available commands and examples.

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Debugging and troubleshooting

Drift CLI includes AI-assisted debugging. If something isn’t working correctly, just ask: 
drift> why isn't my camera publishing images?
Drift will:
  • Analyze your configuration
  • Check running processes
  • Identify potential issues
  • Suggest solutions

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Process management

Check what processes Drift is managing in the background: 
drift> /ps
This shows all running ROS2 nodes, Gazebo instances, and other background processes.

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Next steps

Now that you’ve created your first robot simulation, you can:
  • Experiment with more complex robot designs
  • Add different types of sensors (cameras, lidars, IMUs)
  • Create custom world files for your simulations
  • Debug issues using natural language queries
  • Build launch files for complex multi-robot scenarios
Drift understands natural language, so feel free to describe what you want to build in your own words. The more specific you are, the better Drift can help you.

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Example workflows

Here are some more examples of what you can do with Drift CLI: 
# Create different types of robots
drift> create a mobile robot with differential drive

# Modify robot configurations
drift> change the camera resolution to 1920x1080

# Work with launch files
drift> create a launch file that starts my robot and RViz

# Debug issues
drift> check if all my robot's joints are moving correctly

# Manage workspaces
drift> build my workspace with verbose output

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Getting help

If you need assistance: