---

name: simulation-workflows description: "Guides RoboVerse installation, handler selection, scenario composition, robot and scene setup, observations, rendering, replay, randomization, and safe teleoperation workflows." disable-model-invocation: true metadata: disco-role: operating license: Apache 2.0

Simulation Workflows

Use this route when a request needs a RoboVerse simulation assembled or exercised: installation and package registration, ScenarioCfg, robots, scenes, grounds, assets, cameras, queries, control, randomization, teleoperation, rendering, or small trajectory replay. RoboVerse owns reusable content; MetaSim owns the scenario/config types, task registry, package discovery, simulator handlers, and backend implementations. Keep a core simulator or handler change in MetaSim rather than duplicating it in RoboVerse.

Route

1. Read workflows.md and choose the novice smoke route or the expert composition route. Start headless with one environment and one backend; do not begin with downloaded USD scenes, a GUI, or parallel rollouts.
2. Run the bundled environment checker for the selected backend. It performs imports and metadata checks only; it never launches a simulator, downloads assets, opens a display, or mutates a scene.
3. Use api-reference.md for the exact public objects and content roots. Prefer exported config classes and replace(...) over copying asset files or simulator internals.
4. Apply troubleshooting.md when an optional backend, display, camera, asset, query, randomizer, or teleoperation device is unavailable. Separate an import/registration pass from a launched-backend pass and report the backend actually exercised.

Minimum validation

python scripts/check_runtime.py --backend mujoco
python -c "import metasim, roboverse_pack.robots; print('registration imports ok')"

For an actual run, construct the smallest ScenarioCfg, call get_handler(scenario), perform one get_states(mode="tensor") or one simulate()/state read, and close the handler in finally. A successful import is not evidence that every simulator is installed or that observations are numerically equivalent across backends. The prepared evidence covered MetaSim 0.2.0, MuJoCo 3.11.0, Torch 2.13.0+cu130, and an 8-A100 inspection host only; do not generalize that coverage to Isaac, Genesis, Newton, SAPIEN, PyBullet, Blender, or MJX.

Scope guard

Do not automatically invoke asset downloaders, real-asset setup, renderer launches, display servers, teleoperation devices, or replay-data acquisition. They are explicit, user-approved follow-up actions. Keep output files in a user-selected directory and always close handlers/apps after a run.

Bundled material

• workflows.md: installation, registration, ScenarioCfg, control, multi-environment, hybrid, rendering, and expert routes.
• api-reference.md: component/API tables, backend extras, content roots, state conventions, queries, randomization, and teleoperation contracts.
• troubleshooting.md: backend, GPU/display, asset, camera/query, cleanup, randomization, and teleoperation recovery.
• scripts/check_runtime.py: deterministic, side-effect-free prerequisite and backend probe.