Rqt Multiplot Plugin

Plots numeric ROS 2 message fields in tiled 2D charts (Qwt). Nested splits and tabs give a layout that is not a strict grid. Subscribe to live topics or import a rosbag2, then inspect values with a linked cursor and a curve-values sidebar. Runs as its own window or as an rqt plugin.

Authors: Ralf Kaestner, Samuel Bachmann

Maintainer: Samuel Bachmann

License: GNU Lesser General Public License v3.0 (LGPL-3.0)

ROS2 distributions: Jazzy, Kilted, Lyrical, Rolling

Features

• Nested plot layout — split any plot left/right or top/bottom and nest splits (two on the left, one on the right). Drag splitter handles; reset the active tab to even sizes. Ratios are stored in the XML
• Tabs — multiple named layouts in one window; each tab has its own plots, colors, grid, and link/track settings
• Live topics and rosbag2 — subscribe while running, or import .mcap / .db3 files and bag directories
• Linked plots — shared scale and cursor; optional point tracking under the pointer; click a legend item to hide a curve
• Curve values — collapsible per-tab list of each curve’s latest X and Y, grouped by plot
• Time axes — message receipt time, start from zero, date-time labels, or raw stamps. Time zone in File → Preferences (local, UTC, or IANA). Optional plot-level Time window (last N seconds)
• Log scale — optional log scale on a plot’s X or Y axis. Values <= 0 are drawn below the axis. Time axes stay linear, and a log plot stays out of linked scale
• Light and dark — theme and plot-title size, weight, and color under File → Preferences. Changes apply to the open plots
• Configs and export — File menu: open/save XML (file://, home://, package://); import or add bags; export PNG, SVG, PDF, TXT, or CSV. Unsaved layout changes prompt on close. Older row×column files still load
• Data statistics — right click on a plot to open the data statistics dialog, showing the mean, std, min, max, median, mode, range, count, RMS, and sum of the data
• Array curves — plot a whole array vs index (or vs another array field); the series is replaced on each message
• Diagnostic messages — plot diagnostic messages from the /diagnostics or /diagnostics_agg topic
• Topic metrics — plot the rate, bandwidth, and delay of a topic, as ros2 topic hz, bw, and delay show them
• Topic browser — browse live and bag topics, then drag’n’drop a field onto a plot
• Curve filters — ordered chain on a curve’s Y series: derivative, integral, moving average, low-pass, and others. Drag a filter onto a plot, or edit the chain in the curve dialog
• Markers — two vertical markers A and B per plot, with Δt and per-curve Δy and slope, to measure latency, rise time, or settling time

Also: run / pause / clear, circular and time-frame buffers, rad ↔ deg on an axis, grid on/off, drag-and-drop of curves between plot legends.

Light

Dark

Installation

ROS distribution

Coming soon. The package is not on the ROS build farm yet. After release:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ros-jazzy-rqt-multiplot
sudo apt-get install ros-kilted-rqt-multiplot
sudo apt-get install ros-lyrical-rqt-multiplot
sudo apt-get install ros-rolling-rqt-multiplot

Building from source

Tested on ROS 2 Jazzy, Kilted, Lyrical, and Rolling. Put this repository in a colcon workspace src folder (clone or symlink), then:

cd ~/colcon_ws
rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -y
colcon build --packages-select rqt_multiplot
source install/setup.bash

Usage

Standalone window (no rqt):

ros2 run rqt_multiplot multiplot

rqt plugin, either in its own rqt window or inside rqt (Plugins → Visualization → Multiplot):

ros2 run rqt_multiplot rqt_multiplot

rqt --force-discover

If the rqt plugin list or layout is broken:

rqt --clear-config

File truncated at 100 lines see the full file