Create Your First Node

This guide walks you through creating a custom Bubbaloop node that publishes data via Zenoh.

Prerequisites

• Pixi installed
• Rust toolchain (installed via pixi)
• zenohd running locally
• bubbaloop CLI built and in your PATH

Step 1: Scaffold

bubbaloop node init my-sensor --type rust -d "My custom sensor node"
cd my-sensor

This creates:

my-sensor/
  Cargo.toml         # Standalone crate with bubbaloop-schemas dependency
  node.yaml          # Node manifest
  pixi.toml          # Build environment
  .cargo/config.toml # Local target directory
  config.yaml        # Runtime configuration
  src/
    main.rs          # Entry point with CLI args and shutdown handling
    node.rs          # Node logic (edit this)

Step 2: Implement Your Logic

Edit src/node.rs. The generated scaffold provides a basic pub/sub structure.

To use Bubbaloop protobuf types (e.g., for publishing camera-compatible messages):

use bubbaloop_schemas::Header;
use prost::Message;

fn create_header(sequence: u64, node_name: &str) -> Header {
    Header {
        acq_time: std::time::SystemTime::now()
            .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
            .map(|d| d.as_nanos() as u64)
            .unwrap_or(0),
        pub_time: 0,
        sequence,
        frame_id: node_name.to_string(),
        ..Default::default()
    }
}

Enable the ros-z feature in Cargo.toml if you need ROS-Z pub/sub:

bubbaloop-schemas = { git = "https://github.com/kornia/bubbaloop.git", branch = "main", path = "crates/bubbaloop-schemas", features = ["ros-z"] }

Step 3: Build

pixi run build
# or
cargo build --release

Step 4: Test Locally

# Terminal 1: Start zenoh router
zenohd

# Terminal 2: Run your node
pixi run run
# or
./target/release/my-sensor_node -c config.yaml

Verify output with:

bubbaloop debug subscribe "my-sensor/output"

Step 5: Register with Daemon

bubbaloop node add .
bubbaloop node build my-sensor
bubbaloop node install my-sensor
bubbaloop node start my-sensor
bubbaloop node logs my-sensor -f

Step 6: Publish

Push your node to GitHub so others can install it:

git init && git add -A && git commit -m "Initial node"
gh repo create my-sensor --public --push --source .

Others install with:

bubbaloop node add your-username/my-sensor --build --install

Available Schemas

The bubbaloop-schemas crate provides these protobuf types:

Type	Module	Feature
Header	root	(default)
CompressedImage, RawImage	camera	(default)
CurrentWeather, HourlyForecast, DailyForecast	weather	(default)
SystemMetrics	system_telemetry	(default)
NetworkStatus	network_monitor	(default)
ROS-Z trait impls	-	ros-z
TopicsConfig	config	config
get_descriptor_for_message	-	descriptor + ros-z

Next Steps

• Add health heartbeats (publish to bubbaloop/{scope}/{machine_id}/health/{node-name})
• Add configuration via config.yaml
• Add service dependencies in node.yaml with depends_on
• See Node Marketplace for publishing to the community