# Phase 1: Project Setup & Architecture Design
**Status**: ✅ COMPLETE
**Duration**: 1 day
**Completed**: 2024-11-16
---
## Overview
Establish the foundational project structure, configuration files, and documentation for the ROS2 Gazebo MCP Server.
## Objectives
1. Create organized directory structure
2. Configure Python package with proper dependencies
3. Set up ROS2 package manifest
4. Document architecture and design decisions
5. Establish development guidelines
---
## Tasks Checklist
### 1.1 Directory Structure ✅
- [x] Create main project folder: `ros2_gazebo_mcp/`
- [x] Create source directories: `src/gazebo_mcp/{bridge,tools,utils}`
- [x] Create support directories: `config/`, `launch/`, `worlds/`, `models/`
- [x] Create development directories: `tests/`, `examples/`, `docs/`
- [x] Add `__init__.py` files to all Python packages
**Result**: Complete directory tree established
```
ros2_gazebo_mcp/
├── src/gazebo_mcp/
│ ├── __init__.py
│ ├── bridge/
│ ├── tools/
│ └── utils/
├── config/
├── launch/
├── worlds/
├── models/
├── tests/
├── examples/
└── docs/
```
### 1.2 Python Package Configuration ✅
- [x] Create `pyproject.toml` with:
- Build system configuration (setuptools)
- Project metadata and dependencies
- Tool configurations (black, ruff, mypy, pytest)
- Entry points for CLI commands
- [x] Define core dependencies (MCP SDK, pydantic, numpy, etc.)
- [x] Set up development tools (pytest, black, ruff, mypy)
**File**: `pyproject.toml`
### 1.3 Dependencies Management ✅
- [x] Create `requirements.txt` with production dependencies
- [x] Create `requirements-dev.txt` with development dependencies
- [x] Document ROS2 system dependencies in requirements
- [x] Document Gazebo system dependencies
**Files**: `requirements.txt`, `requirements-dev.txt`
### 1.4 ROS2 Package Manifest ✅
- [x] Create `package.xml` (format 3)
- [x] Define package metadata
- [x] List ROS2 dependencies (rclpy, gazebo_msgs, etc.)
- [x] List TurtleBot3 dependencies
- [x] Configure ament build type
**File**: `package.xml`
### 1.5 Documentation ✅
- [x] Create comprehensive `README.md` with:
- Project overview and features
- Installation instructions
- Usage examples
- Available MCP tools reference
- Troubleshooting guide
- [x] Create `docs/ARCHITECTURE.md` with:
- System architecture diagrams
- Component descriptions
- Data flow examples
- Concurrency model
- Error handling strategy
- Performance considerations
**Files**: `README.md`, `docs/ARCHITECTURE.md`
### 1.6 Project Organization ✅
- [x] Move all files to dedicated `ros2_gazebo_mcp/` folder
- [x] Update main repository README as index
- [x] Ensure clean separation from other projects
---
## Deliverables
### ✅ Completed
1. **Project Structure** - All directories created and organized
2. **Python Package** - `pyproject.toml` with complete configuration
3. **Dependencies** - All requirements documented and specified
4. **ROS2 Integration** - `package.xml` ready for ament build
5. **Documentation** - README and ARCHITECTURE docs complete
6. **Git Repository** - Committed and pushed to feature branch
---
## Installation Verification
To verify Phase 1 setup is correct:
```bash
cd ros2_gazebo_mcp
# Check directory structure
ls -la src/gazebo_mcp/
ls -la docs/
# Verify Python package
python -c "import tomli; print(tomli.load(open('pyproject.toml', 'rb'))['project']['name'])"
# Check dependencies list
cat requirements.txt
# Verify ROS2 package
cat package.xml | grep "<name>"
```
Expected outputs:
- All directories present
- Package name: `gazebo-mcp`
- Dependencies listed (MCP, pydantic, etc.)
- Package name: `gazebo_mcp`
---
## Lessons Learned
### What Went Well
- Clear directory structure established from the start
- Comprehensive documentation created early
- Good separation of concerns (source, config, tests, examples)
- Proper Python packaging with modern tools
### Challenges
- None significant - straightforward setup phase
### Decisions Made
- **Python 3.10+**: For modern type hints and performance
- **ROS2 Humble**: LTS version for stability
- **Gazebo Harmonic**: Modern version over legacy Gazebo 11
- **Project Structure**: Dedicated folder for clean organization
---
## Next Steps
Proceed to **Phase 2: Core MCP Server Infrastructure**
Key tasks:
1. Implement `server.py` - MCP server entry point
2. Create `gazebo_bridge_node.py` - ROS2 bridge
3. Build `connection_manager.py` - connection lifecycle
4. Set up logging and error handling
5. Create base utilities
See [PHASE_2_INFRASTRUCTURE.md](PHASE_2_INFRASTRUCTURE.md) for details.
---
## Files Created in This Phase
```
ros2_gazebo_mcp/
├── pyproject.toml # Python package config
├── package.xml # ROS2 package manifest
├── requirements.txt # Production dependencies
├── requirements-dev.txt # Dev dependencies
├── README.md # Project documentation
├── docs/
│ └── ARCHITECTURE.md # Architecture design
└── src/gazebo_mcp/
├── __init__.py # Package init
├── bridge/__init__.py # Bridge module init
├── tools/__init__.py # Tools module init
└── utils/__init__.py # Utils module init
```
**Total Files Created**: 10
**Lines of Code**: ~1,500 (mostly documentation)
---
**Phase Completed**: 2024-11-16
**Time Spent**: ~3 hours
**Status**: ✅ SUCCESS
