ROSStacks
ROSStacks is a packaging construct from the early ROS (Robot Operating System) ecosystem used to group related packages into a single distributable unit called a stack. A stack provides a cohesive release and management boundary for a set of ROS packages that share a common purpose, dependency relationships, and lifecycle. The concept aimed to simplify distribution, versioning, and deployment across ROS environments.
A stack is typically described by a manifest file named stack.xml that lists the stack’s name, version,
Build and tooling for stacks relied on the rosbuild-based workflow. Tools such as rosinstall were used to
Lifecycle and status: Stacks were central to ROS 1’s packaging model, but the approach has largely been
See also: ROS, rosbuild, rosstack, rosinstall, rospack, catkin, metapackages.