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

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

  1. 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

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

  1. Pull the Isaac Sim Container:

$ docker pull nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:6.0.0-dev2

  1. 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

  1. 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:6.0.0-dev2

Important

--network=host is required for WebRTC livestreaming. The NVIDIA streaming SDK binds its UDP media socket to the ISAACSIM_HOST address, which must be a real network interface inside the container. Docker bridge networking (-p port publishing) does not work because the host IP is not available inside the container’s network namespace — signaling may connect, but the video stream will not.

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:

Environment Variables

The following environment variables can be passed to docker run with -e to control container behavior:

Variable

Required

Description

ACCEPT_EULA

Yes

Accept the license agreement (set to Y).

PRIVACY_CONSENT

No

Opt-in to data collection (set to Y). See Data Collection & Usage.

OMNI_SERVER

No

Override the default asset root (passed as --/persistent/isaac/asset_root/default).

ISAACSIM_HOST

No

Public or private IP of the host for livestream. Default: 127.0.0.1.

ISAACSIM_SIGNAL_PORT

No

WebRTC signaling port. Default: 49100.

ISAACSIM_STREAM_PORT

No

WebRTC media streaming port. Default: 47998.

  1. 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:6.0.0-dev2 ./isaac-sim.compatibility_check.sh --/app/quitAfter=10 --no-window

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

  1. Start Isaac Sim with native livestream mode:

$ ./runheadless.sh -v

Streaming Ports

If the host firewall is active (e.g. UFW), allow the following ports:

Port

Protocol

Purpose

8210

TCP

Web viewer (Docker Compose only)

49100

TCP

WebRTC signaling

47998

UDP

WebRTC media stream

If you override ports via ISAACSIM_SIGNAL_PORT, ISAACSIM_STREAM_PORT, or WEB_VIEWER_PORT, open those ports instead.

Warning

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.

  1. Connect the native Isaac Sim WebRTC Streaming Client to view Isaac Sim. Download it from the Latest Release section, enter the IP address of the host, and click Connect.

    Alternatively, if you prefer a browser-based viewer with no client installation, use the Docker Compose deployment below instead of the manual docker run workflow above.

  2. 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.

  • Stale volume mounts: Old cached data in Docker volume mount directories can cause crashes, config errors, or livestream failures. Remove the existing mounts and recreate them:

    $ sudo rm -rf ~/docker/isaac-sim
$ 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

  • Second browser cannot connect: Only one browser tab or window can be connected to Isaac Sim at a time. Close the existing browser session before opening a new one.

  • Clipboard not working in web viewer: The browser Clipboard API requires a secure context. When accessing the web viewer over HTTP from a non-localhost address, clipboard forwarding is blocked. In Chrome, open chrome://flags/#unsafely-treat-insecure-origin-as-secure, add the web viewer URL (e.g. http://192.168.1.100:8210), and relaunch the browser.

Tip

To build a Docker image from source instead of pulling from NGC, see the Docker Build Tools README. The README also covers multi-instance deployment with dedicated GPUs, cloud VM configuration (AWS, GCP, Azure), and advanced Docker options.

Docker Compose Deployment (Isaac Sim + Web Viewer)#

Docker Compose can deploy Isaac Sim and a web-based WebRTC streaming client together. This is a simpler alternative to the manual docker run workflow above, and does not require downloading a native streaming client.

For full details on Docker Compose configuration, multi-instance deployment, and environment variables, see the Docker README.

The docker-compose.yml in tools/docker/ handles volume mounts, GPU assignment, networking, and health checks automatically. The web viewer is built from the NVIDIA Omniverse Web SDK.

Warning

Isaac Sim and the web viewer are designed for use on private/trusted networks. They do not include authentication or encryption. If you need to expose them over the Internet, add a reverse proxy with HTTPS/TLS and authentication (e.g. nginx with SSL certificates and basic auth). Users are responsible for securing any public-facing deployments.

Quick Start:

# Create cache/log mounts (use uid 1234 to match container user)
$ mkdir -p ~/docker/isaac-sim/{cache/main,cache/computecache,config,data,logs,pkg}
$ sudo chown -R 1234:1234 ~/docker

# Build the Isaac Sim image (one-time)
$ ./tools/docker/prep_docker_build.sh --build --x86_64
$ ./tools/docker/build_docker.sh --x86_64

# Launch both services
$ docker compose -p isim -f tools/docker/docker-compose.yml up --build -d

# Check the web viewer URL
$ docker compose -p isim logs web-viewer

Note

On DGX Spark, use --aarch64 instead of --x86_64 in the build commands above.

Open the URL shown in the logs (e.g. http://<host-ip>:8210) in a Chromium-based browser.

To use a prebuilt NGC image instead of building locally:

$ ISAAC_SIM_IMAGE=nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:6.0.0-dev2 docker compose -p isim -f tools/docker/docker-compose.yml up --build -d

To stop:

$ docker compose -p isim -f tools/docker/docker-compose.yml down

Note

  • The web viewer bakes the signaling host and ports at build time. Use --build when changing ISAACSIM_HOST or port variables.

  • Docker Compose supports multi-instance deployment with dedicated GPUs, custom signal/stream ports, and more. See the Docker README for full configuration details.

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

  1. Pull the Isaac Sim Container:

$ docker pull nvcr.io/nvidia/isaac-sim:6.0.0-dev2

  1. 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

  1. 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:6.0.0-dev2

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

$ ./isaac-sim.compatibility_check.sh

  1. Start Isaac Sim with GUI:

$ ./runapp.sh

  1. 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.