Container Installation

The container installation of Isaac Sim is recommended for deployment on remote headless servers or the Cloud using a Docker container running Linux.

See also

• Differences Between Workstation And Docker

Container Setup

1. Ensure your system meets the System Requirements for running NVIDIA Isaac Sim.

2. Install Docker:

# Docker installation using the convenience script
$ curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
$ sudo sh get-docker.sh

# Post-install steps for Docker
$ sudo groupadd docker
$ sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
$ newgrp docker

# Verify Docker
$ docker run hello-world

See also

• Install Docker Engine on Ubuntu

• Post-installation steps for Linux

3. Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit:

# Configure the repository
$ curl -fsSL https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/gpgkey | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg \
    && curl -s -L https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/stable/deb/nvidia-container-toolkit.list | \
    sed 's#deb https://#deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg] https://#g' | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nvidia-container-toolkit.list \
    && \
    sudo apt-get update

# Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit packages
$ sudo apt-get install -y nvidia-container-toolkit
$ sudo systemctl restart docker

# Configure the container runtime
$ sudo nvidia-ctk runtime configure --runtime=docker
$ sudo systemctl restart docker

# Verify NVIDIA Container Toolkit
$ docker run --rm --runtime=nvidia --gpus all ubuntu nvidia-smi

Note

• Install the latest version of NVIDIA Container Toolkit to get security fixes.

Container Deployment

This section describes how to run the NVIDIA Isaac Sim container in headless mode with livestreaming.

Steps:

1. Setup and install the container prerequisites. See Container Setup above.

2. Run the following command to confirm your GPU driver version:

$ nvidia-smi

3. Pull the Isaac Sim Container:

$ docker pull nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:5.1.0

4. Create the cached volume mounts on host:

$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/main/ov
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/main/warp
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/computecache
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/config
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/data/documents
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/data/Kit
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/logs
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/pkg
$ sudo chown -R 1234:1234 ~/docker/isaac-sim

5. Run the Isaac Sim container with an interactive Bash session:

$ docker run --name isaac-sim --entrypoint bash -it --gpus all -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" --rm --network=host \
    -e "PRIVACY_CONSENT=Y" \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/main:/isaac-sim/.cache:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/computecache:/isaac-sim/.nv/ComputeCache:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/logs:/isaac-sim/.nvidia-omniverse/logs:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/config:/isaac-sim/.nvidia-omniverse/config:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/data:/isaac-sim/.local/share/ov/data:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/pkg:/isaac-sim/.local/share/ov/pkg:rw \
    -u 1234:1234 \
    nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:5.1.0

Note

• The Isaac Sim container now runs as a rootless user.

• The Isaac Sim container now supports multi-arch. The same tag can be run on Linux x86_64 and aarch64 systems.

• By using the -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" flag, you accept the license agreement of the image found at NVIDIA Omniverse License Agreement.

• By using the -e "PRIVACY_CONSENT=Y" flag, you opt-in to the data collection agreement found at Data Collection & Usage. You may opt-out by not setting this flag.

• The -e "PRIVACY_USERID=<email>" flag can optionally be set for tagging the session logs.

• Add the --runtime=nvidia flag if there are issues detecting the GPU in the container.

• For enterprise users, see Enterprise Nucleus Server.

• The Isaac Sim container uses assets in the Cloud if no Nucleus server is available.

When using a separate Nucleus server:

• See Problem Connecting to Docker Container to expose all ports of the container and connect to an external Nucleus server.

• See Setting the Default Nucleus Server to set the default Nucleus server.

• See Setting the Default Username and Password for Connecting to the Nucleus Server to set the default credentials for any Nucleus server.

6. Check if your system is compatible with Isaac Sim:

$ ./isaac-sim.compatibility_check.sh --/app/quitAfter=10 --no-window

Note

• To run the Compatibility Checker separately:

$ docker run --entrypoint bash -it --gpus all --rm --network=host \
    nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:5.1.0 ./isaac-sim.compatibility_check.sh --/app/quitAfter=10 --no-window

• You should see the text “System checking result: PASSED” if your system is compaitble.

7. Start Isaac Sim with native livestream mode:

$ ./runheadless.sh -v

Warning

• Livestreaming is not supported on aarch64 systems like DGX Spark for Isaac Sim 5.1.0.

• See Container Deployment with GUI.

Note

• Before running a livestream client, you must have the Isaac Sim app loaded and ready.

  It may take a few minutes for Isaac Sim to completely load.

• The -v flag is used to show additional logs while the shader cache is being warmed up.

• To confirm this, look out for this line in the console or the logs:

Isaac Sim Full Streaming App is loaded.

• The first time loading Isaac Sim, it takes a while for the shaders to be cached. Subsequent runs of Isaac Sim are quicker because the shaders are cached and the cache is mounted when the container runs.

• See Save Isaac Sim Configs on Local Disk to make Isaac Sim configs and cache persistent when using containers.

8. Download and install the Isaac Sim WebRTC Streaming Client from the Latest Release section.

9. Run the Isaac Sim WebRTC Streaming Client.

10. Enter the IP address of the machine or instance running the Isaac Sim container and click on the Connect button to begin live streaming.

11. Proceed to Quick Tutorials to begin your first tutorial.

Note

• Some tutorials that use the Content Browser may not work when using the Isaac Sim container with no Nucleus connected.

• It is recommended to use the Workstation Isaac Sim from the Omniverse Launcher to run all tutorials.

• The Isaac Sim container supports running our Python apps and standalone examples in headless mode only.

• The latest NVIDIA drivers may not be fully supported for some features like livestreaming. See Technical Requirements for recommended drivers.

• See also Isaac Sim Dockerfiles to build your own custom Isaac Sim container.

• You can debug Python Scripts Running in Docker.

Container Deployment with GUI

This section describes how to run the NVIDIA Isaac Sim container with GUI.

Steps:

1. Setup and install the container prerequisites. See Container Setup above.

2. Run the following command to confirm your GPU driver version:

$ nvidia-smi

3. Pull the Isaac Sim Container:

$ docker pull nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:5.1.0

4. Create the cached volume mounts on host:

$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/main/ov
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/main/warp
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/computecache
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/config
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/data/documents
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/data/Kit
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/logs
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/pkg
$ sudo chown -R 1234:1234 ~/docker/isaac-sim

5. Run the Isaac Sim container with an interactive Bash session:

$ xhost +local:
$ docker run --name isaac-sim --entrypoint bash -it --gpus all -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" --rm --network=host \
    -e "PRIVACY_CONSENT=Y" \
    -v $HOME/.Xauthority:/isaac-sim/.Xauthority \
    -e DISPLAY \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/main:/isaac-sim/.cache:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/cache/computecache:/isaac-sim/.nv/ComputeCache:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/logs:/isaac-sim/.nvidia-omniverse/logs:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/config:/isaac-sim/.nvidia-omniverse/config:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/data:/isaac-sim/.local/share/ov/data:rw \
    -v ~/docker/isaac-sim/pkg:/isaac-sim/.local/share/ov/pkg:rw \
    -u 1234:1234 \
    nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:5.1.0

6. Check if your system is compatible with Isaac Sim:

$ ./isaac-sim.compatibility_check.sh

7. Start Isaac Sim with GUI:

$ ./runapp.sh

8. Proceed to Quick Tutorials to begin your first tutorial.

Warning

• Running Isaac Sim with GUI in the container is generally not recommended.

• The application experience may not be as expected. For a full GUI app experience please run Isaac Sim with the Workstation Installation.