Isaac Automator (v4)

Isaac Automator allows quick deployment of Isaac Sim, Isaac Lab, and Isaac Lab Arena to public clouds (AWS, GCP, Azure, and Alibaba Cloud are currently supported).

The result is a fully configured deployed Isaac Workstation — a remote desktop cloud VM that you can use to develop and test robotic applications within minutes and on a budget. Isaac Automator supports a variety of GPU instances and stop/start functionality to save on cloud costs and provides tools to aid your workflow (uploading and downloading data, autorun, deployment management, etc.).

TLDR ;)
Installation
- Installing Docker
- Building the Container
  - Linux/macOS
  - Windows
Usage
Tips
- Persisting Modifications to the deployed Isaac Workstation

TLDR ;)

./build                       # build the Isaac Automator container (one-time)
./run                         # enter the container
./deploy-aws                  # deploy an Isaac Workstation (follow the prompts)
./novnc <deployment-name>     # open the remote desktop in your browser
./destroy <deployment-name>   # tear down the deployment when done

Replace deploy-aws with deploy-gcp, deploy-azure, or deploy-alicloud for other clouds. See sections below for details.

Installation

Installing Docker

Docker should be installed on your system. Visit https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ for installation instructions.

Building the Container

Please enter the following command in the project root directory to build the container:

Linux/macOS

./build

Windows

docker build --platform linux/x86_64 -t isaac_automator .

This will build the Isaac Automator container and tag it as isaac_automator.

Usage

Running Isaac Automator

Linux/macOS

On Linux and macOS there are two ways to run Isaac Automator commands:

First enter the Isaac Automator container and then run the command inside the container:

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./somecommand

Simply prepend the command with ./run, like so:

./run ./somecommand <parameters>

for example:

./run ./deploy-aws
./run ./destroy my-deployment

Windows

On Windows, you can run Isaac Automator commands by entering the container first and then running the command inside the container, like so:

(enter Isaac Automator container)

docker run --platform linux/x86_64 -it --rm -v .:/app isaac_automator bash

(run the command inside the container)

./somecommand

Deploying an Isaac Workstation

AWS

Details

Enabling Access Permissions

You need AmazonEC2FullAccess permissions enabled for your AWS user. You can enable those in the Identity and Access Management (IAM) section of the AWS console, as follows:

Go to https://console.aws.amazon.com/iamv2/home#/home
Click "Access Management" > "Users" in the left menu
Search for your user name
Under "Permissions" tab click "Add permissions"
Choose "Attach existing policies directly"
Search for AmazonEC2FullAccess, check the box next to it, click "Next"
Click "Add permissions"

Details

Getting Access Credentials

You will need an _AWS Access Key_ and _AWS Secret Key_ for an existing account. You can obtain those in the [Identity and Access Management (IAM) section](https://console.aws.amazon.com/iamv2/home#/home) of the AWS console.

If you have completed the above steps or already have your permissions and credentials set up, run the following command in the project root directory:

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./deploy-aws

On the first run (or when credentials expire), you will be prompted to enter your AWS credentials (via aws configure). The credentials are stored in state/.aws/ and persist across Isaac Automator restarts.

Tip: Run ./deploy-aws --help to see more options.

GCP

Setting Up GCP Access

You will be prompted to log in with your Google account (gcloud auth login) during the first deployment. The credentials are stored in state/.gcp/ and persist across container restarts.

Make sure you have a GCP project with Compute Engine API enabled and sufficient GPU quota in the target zone.

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./deploy-gcp

Tip: Run ./deploy-gcp --help to see more options.

Azure

Setting Up Azure Access

You will be prompted to log in with your Azure account (az login) during the first deployment. The credentials are stored in state/.azure/ and persist across container restarts.

If you have multiple subscriptions, select the desired one before deploying:

# inside container:
az login
az account show --output table       # list subscriptions
az account set --subscription "<subscription_name>"
./deploy-azure --no-login

If you have a single subscription:

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./deploy-azure

Tip: Run ./deploy-azure --help to see more options.

Alibaba Cloud

Details

Getting Access Credentials

You will need an _Access Key_ and _Secret Key_ for an existing Alibaba Cloud account. You can obtain those in the [AccessKey Management](https://usercenter.console.aliyun.com/#/manage/ak) section of the Alibaba Cloud console.

Once you have prepared the access credentials, run the following command in the project root directory:

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./deploy-alicloud

Tip: Run ./deploy-alicloud --help to see more options.

GPU-accelerated instances with NVIDIA A100, A10, and T4 GPUs are supported. You can find the complete list of instance types, availability, and pricing at https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/ecs/user-guide/gpu-accelerated-compute-optimized-and-vgpu-accelerated-instance-families-1. Please note that vGPU instances are not supported.

Common Deploy Options

All deploy-* commands accept the deployment name as an optional positional argument:

./deploy-aws my-deployment
# equivalent to:
./deploy-aws --deployment-name my-deployment

Run ./deploy-<cloud> --help to see the full list of options. Key options include:

--existing — What to do if a deployment with the same name already exists. Choices:
- ask (default) — prompt interactively
- repair — fix a broken deployment without changing parameters
- modify — update parameters and attempt to update existing cloud resources
- replace — delete old cloud resources first, then redeploy
- run_ansible — re-run software configuration (Ansible) only
--instance-type — Cloud VM instance type (each cloud has its own supported list and default).
--isaacsim / --isaaclab / --isaaclab-arena — Git ref for Isaac Sim / Isaac Lab / Isaac Lab Arena version, or no to skip installation.
--from-image — Deploy from a pre-built VM image to speed up provisioning (not supported on GCP).
--in-china — Use local mirrors for deployments in China. Choices: auto (default), yes, no.
--prefix — Prefix for created cloud resource names (default: isaacautomator).
--ingress-cidrs — CIDR blocks for allowed ingress traffic, comma-separated. Use myip for your current public IP, or myip/16, myip/24 for subnets.

GCP additionally supports --isaac-workstation-gpu-count (choices: 1, 2, 4, 8; default: 1) to control the number of GPUs attached to the instance:

N1 instances: up to 4x NVIDIA T4
G2 instances: up to 8x NVIDIA L4
G4 instances: up to 8x NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000

deploy-aws options

Complete Options Reference

Options:
  --debug / --no-debug          Enable debug output.  [default: no-debug]
  --prefix TEXT                 Prefix for all cloud resources.  [default: isaacautomator]
  --from-image / --not-from-image
                                Deploy from pre-built image, from bare OS
                                otherwise.  [default: not-from-image]
  --in-china [auto|yes|no]      Is deployment in China? (Local mirrors will be
                                used.)  [default: auto]
  --deployment-name TEXT        Name of the deployment.  [default: <random>]
  --ingress-cidrs TEXT          CIDR blocks for ingress traffic, comma
                                separated. "myip" for your public IP.
                                [default: 0.0.0.0/0]
  --existing [ask|repair|modify|replace|run_ansible]
                                What to do if deployment already exists.
                                [default: ask]
  --isaacsim TEXT               Git ref at github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacSim, or
                                "no".  [default: v6.0.0-dev2]
  --isaaclab TEXT               Git ref at github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab, or
                                "no".  [default: v3.0.0-beta]
  --isaaclab-arena TEXT         Git ref at
                                github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab-Arena, or
                                "no".  [default: release/0.1.1]
  --vnc-password TEXT           Password for VNC access.  [default: <random>]
  --system-user-password TEXT   System user password.  [default: <random>]
  --ssh-port TEXT               SSH port.  [default: 22]
  --ssh-user TEXT               OS username on the deployed instances.
                                [default: ubuntu]
  --upload / --no-upload        Upload user data from "uploads/" to cloud
                                instances.  [default: upload]
  --instance-type TEXT          Instance type (G4dn, G5, G6, G6e supported).
                                [default: g6e.2xlarge]
  --region TEXT                 AWS Region.  [default: us-east-1]

Note: AWS credentials are managed via `aws configure` and stored in
`state/.aws/`. You will be prompted to enter them on first run or when
they expire.

deploy-gcp options

Options:
  --debug / --no-debug          Enable debug output.  [default: no-debug]
  --prefix TEXT                 Prefix for all cloud resources.  [default: isaacautomator]
  --in-china [auto|yes|no]      Is deployment in China? (Local mirrors will be
                                used.)  [default: auto]
  --deployment-name TEXT        Name of the deployment.  [default: <random>]
  --zone TEXT                   GCP zone (see cloud.google.com/compute/docs/
                                gpus/gpu-regions-zones).
                                [default: us-central1-a]
  --project TEXT                GCP Project ID.  [default: from gcloud config]
  --ingress-cidrs TEXT          CIDR blocks for ingress traffic, comma
                                separated. "myip" for your public IP.
                                [default: 0.0.0.0/0]
  --existing [ask|repair|modify|replace|run_ansible]
                                What to do if deployment already exists.
                                [default: ask]
  --isaacsim TEXT               Git ref at github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacSim, or
                                "no".  [default: v6.0.0-dev2]
  --isaaclab TEXT               Git ref at github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab, or
                                "no".  [default: v3.0.0-beta]
  --isaaclab-arena TEXT         Git ref at
                                github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab-Arena, or
                                "no".  [default: release/0.1.1]
  --vnc-password TEXT           Password for VNC access.  [default: <random>]
  --system-user-password TEXT   System user password.  [default: <random>]
  --ssh-port TEXT               SSH port.  [default: 22]
  --ssh-user TEXT               OS username on the deployed instances.
                                [default: ubuntu]
  --upload / --no-upload        Upload user data from "uploads/" to cloud
                                instances.  [default: upload]
  --instance-type [g2-standard-4|g2-standard-8|...|n1-standard-4|...|g4-standard-48|...]
                                Instance type.  [default: g2-standard-8]
  --isaac-workstation-gpu-count [1|2|4|8]
                                Number of GPUs. N1: NVIDIA T4, G2: NVIDIA L4,
                                G4: NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000.  [default: 1]

Note: --from-image is not supported on GCP.

deploy-azure options

Options:
  --debug / --no-debug          Enable debug output.  [default: no-debug]
  --prefix TEXT                 Prefix for all cloud resources.  [default: isaacautomator]
  --from-image / --not-from-image
                                Deploy from pre-built image, from bare OS
                                otherwise.  [default: not-from-image]
  --in-china [auto|yes|no]      Is deployment in China? (Local mirrors will be
                                used.)  [default: auto]
  --deployment-name TEXT        Name of the deployment.  [default: <random>]
  --region TEXT                 Azure region.  [default: westus3]
  --ingress-cidrs TEXT          CIDR blocks for ingress traffic, comma
                                separated. "myip" for your public IP.
                                [default: 0.0.0.0/0]
  --existing [ask|repair|modify|replace|run_ansible]
                                What to do if deployment already exists.
                                [default: ask]
  --isaacsim TEXT               Git ref at github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacSim, or
                                "no".  [default: v6.0.0-dev2]
  --isaaclab TEXT               Git ref at github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab, or
                                "no".  [default: v3.0.0-beta]
  --isaaclab-arena TEXT         Git ref at
                                github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab-Arena, or
                                "no".  [default: release/0.1.1]
  --vnc-password TEXT           Password for VNC access.  [default: <random>]
  --system-user-password TEXT   System user password.  [default: <random>]
  --ssh-port TEXT               SSH port.  [default: 22]
  --ssh-user TEXT               OS username on the deployed instances.
                                [default: ubuntu]
  --upload / --no-upload        Upload user data from "uploads/" to cloud
                                instances.  [default: upload]
  --instance-type TEXT          VM type (T4 and A10 supported).
                                [default: Standard_NV36ads_A10_v5]
  --login / --no-login          Login into Azure before deploying.
                                [default: login]
  --resource-group TEXT         Azure resource group (created if empty).
                                [default: ""]

deploy-alicloud options

Options:
  --debug / --no-debug          Enable debug output.  [default: no-debug]
  --prefix TEXT                 Prefix for all cloud resources.  [default: isaacautomator]
  --in-china [auto|yes|no]      Is deployment in China? (Local mirrors will be
                                used.)  [default: auto]
  --deployment-name TEXT        Name of the deployment.  [default: <random>]
  --ingress-cidrs TEXT          CIDR blocks for ingress traffic, comma
                                separated. "myip" for your public IP.
                                [default: 0.0.0.0/0]
  --existing [ask|repair|modify|replace|run_ansible]
                                What to do if deployment already exists.
                                [default: ask]
  --isaacsim TEXT               Git ref at github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacSim, or
                                "no".  [default: v6.0.0-dev2]
  --isaaclab TEXT               Git ref at github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab, or
                                "no".  [default: v3.0.0-beta]
  --isaaclab-arena TEXT         Git ref at
                                github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab-Arena, or
                                "no".  [default: release/0.1.1]
  --vnc-password TEXT           Password for VNC access.  [default: <random>]
  --system-user-password TEXT   System user password.  [default: <random>]
  --ssh-port TEXT               SSH port.  [default: 22]
  --ssh-user TEXT               OS username on the deployed instances.
                                [default: ubuntu]
  --upload / --no-upload        Upload user data from "uploads/" to cloud
                                instances.  [default: upload]
  --aliyun-access-key TEXT      Alibaba Cloud Access Key.
                                [default: ALIYUN_ACCESS_KEY env var]
  --aliyun-secret-key TEXT      Alibaba Cloud Secret Key.
                                [default: ALIYUN_SECRET_KEY env var]
  --region TEXT                 Alibaba Cloud Region ID.
                                [default: us-east-1]
  --instance-type TEXT          Instance type.
                                [default: ecs.gn7i-c16g1.4xlarge]

Note: --from-image is not supported on Alibaba Cloud.

Credential Management

Each cloud provider's credentials are stored inside the state/ directory so they persist across container restarts:

Cloud	Storage Location	How Credentials Are Set
AWS	`state/.aws/`	`aws configure` — prompted automatically when credentials are missing or expired
GCP	`state/.gcp/`	`gcloud auth login` — prompted during the first deployment
Azure	`state/.azure/`	`az login` — prompted during the first deployment
Alibaba Cloud	Environment variables	`ALIYUN_ACCESS_KEY` and `ALIYUN_SECRET_KEY` — passed from the host via `./run`

All commands that interact with cloud resources (deploy-*, start, stop, destroy, repair) validate credentials before proceeding and prompt you to re-authenticate if they are invalid or expired.

Connecting to Deployed Isaac Workstation

Deployed Isaac Workstation can be accessed via:

SSH
noVNC (browser-based VNC client)
NoMachine (remote desktop client)

Look for the connection instructions at the end of the deployment command output. Additionally, this information is saved in the state/<deployment-name>/info.txt file.

You can view available arguments with the --help switch for the start scripts. In most cases, you won't need to change the defaults.

Use ./ssh <deployment-name> to connect to the deployed instance via SSH.

Use ./novnc <deployment-name> to open the noVNC web client for the deployed instance.

Running Applications

To use the installed applications, connect to the deployed Isaac Workstation using noVNC or NoMachine. You can find the connection instructions at the end of the deployment command output. Additionally, this information is saved in the state/<deployment-name>/info.txt file.

Isaac Sim

Isaac Sim is installed from source on the deployed Isaac Workstation. By default, it will automatically start when the instance is deployed. Alternatively, click the "Isaac Sim" icon on the desktop, or run the following command in a terminal on the deployed vm:

~/IsaacSim/isaac-sim.sh

To install a specific version of Isaac Sim, provide a valid Git reference from https://github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacSim as the value of the --isaacsim parameter to the deployment command. Use --isaacsim no to skip Isaac Sim installation.

Isaac Lab

Isaac Lab is installed from source on the Isaac Workstation. To install a specific version of Isaac Lab, provide a valid Git reference from https://github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab as the value of the --isaaclab parameter to the deployment command. Use --isaaclab no to skip Isaac Lab installation.

To run Isaac Lab CLI, use the following command in the terminal on the deployed instance:

~/IsaacLab/isaaclab.sh [options]

Isaac Lab Arena

Isaac Lab Arena is an extension to Isaac Lab that provides multi-agent task environments and benchmarks. It is installed from source on the Isaac Workstation by default.

To install a specific version, provide a valid Git reference from https://github.com/isaac-sim/IsaacLab-Arena as the value of the --isaaclab-arena parameter to the deployment command. Use --isaaclab-arena no to skip installation.

Isaac Lab Arena is installed to ~/IsaacLab-Arena on the deployed instance.

Autorun Script

By default, Isaac Sim will start when the cloud VM is deployed.

If you want to launch a custom application or script on startup, modify the uploads/autorun.sh script (on your local machine). It will either be uploaded to the cloud VM automatically, or you can upload it manually using the ./upload command.

Every time the cloud VM is deployed or started from a stopped state, the autorun.sh script will be executed.

This functionality can be useful for running batch jobs, generating data on startup, or preparing the environment for the user.

Standard Folders

Two folders are used for exchanging data between your local machine and the deployed instance:

Local (Isaac Automator)	Remote (Isaac Workstation)	Purpose
`uploads/`	`~/uploads`	Data you send to the instance. Synced automatically on deploy, or manually with `./upload`.
`results/`	`~/results`	Data you pull back from the instance with `./download`.

Pausing and Resuming

You can stop and restart instances to save on cloud costs. To do so, run the following commands:

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./stop <deployment-name>
./start <deployment-name>

By default, ./start re-runs necessary Ansible steps (such as ECC disabling, etc) after starting the VM. If you're in a rush, use --quick to skip that and only run the autorun script:

./start <deployment-name> --quick

Uploading Data

You can upload user data from the uploads/ folder (in the project root) to the deployment by running the following command:

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./upload <deployment-name>

Data will be uploaded to the /home/ubuntu/uploads directory by default (the ubuntu part of the path depends on the configured default_ssh_user), on all deployed instances. You can change this by passing the --remote-dir argument to the command. By default, files deleted locally are also deleted on the remote side during sync; use --no-delete to keep remote files that no longer exist locally. Run ./upload --help to see more options.

Downloading Data

You can download user data to the results/ folder (in the project root) from deployed instances by running the following command:

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./download <deployment-name>

Data will be downloaded from the /home/ubuntu/results directory by default (the ubuntu part of the path depends on the configured default_ssh_user). You can change this by passing the --remote-dir argument to the command. By default, local files not present on the remote side are deleted during sync; use --no-delete to keep them. Run ./download --help to see more options.

Repairing

If, for some reason, the deployment cloud resources or software configuration become corrupted, you can attempt to repair the deployment by running the following commands:

# run both terraform and ansible
./repair <deployment-name>
# just run terraform to try fixing the cloud resources
./repair <deployment-name> --no-ansible
# just run ansible to try fixing the software configuration
./repair <deployment-name> --no-terraform

You can also use ./repair to update the ingress CIDR blocks (firewall rules) on an existing deployment:

# restrict access to your current IP
./repair <deployment-name> --ingress-cidrs myip
# allow a /16 subnet
./repair <deployment-name> --ingress-cidrs myip/16
# specify explicit CIDR blocks
./repair <deployment-name> --ingress-cidrs "10.0.0.0/8,192.168.1.0/24"

Destroying

To destroy a deployment, run the following command:

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./destroy <deployment-name>

Please note that information about the deployed cloud resources is stored in the state/ directory. Do not delete this directory.

Speeding Up Deployment with Pre-Built Images

At the moment, only ./image-aws command is implemented. Versions for other clouds are in the works.

You can build pre-built AWS AMIs to speed up future deployments (using the --from-image flag). The image-aws command wraps Packer and handles AWS credential management automatically:

# enter Isaac Automator container
./run
# inside container:
./image-aws

The AMI name defaults to the current date and is automatically prefixed with isaacautomator.isaacworkstation.. When deploying with --from-image, Terraform picks the most recent AMI matching this prefix.

Key options:

The image name can be passed as a positional argument: ./image-aws my-image-name
--instance-type — Instance type for the Packer build (G4dn, G5, G6, G6e supported; default: g6e.2xlarge)
--region — AWS Region, can be entered as us-east-1 or US East 1 (default: us-east-1)
--existing — What to do if an AMI with the same name already exists: overwrite or fail (default: fail)
--isaacsim / --isaaclab / --isaaclab-arena — Git refs for the versions to bake into the image

Tip: Run ./image-aws --help to see all options.

Tips

Persisting Modifications to the deployed Isaac Workstation

Isaac Workstation local data is persistent and survives ./stop/.start cycles.

For changes that need to be re-applied automatically on every deployment or ./start, modify the uploads/autorun.sh script. This script runs each time the instance is deployed or started (see Autorun Script).

For example, you can use autorun.sh to install additional Python packages, apply patches, or run setup scripts:

#!/bin/sh

# This script is executed when
# 1. the VM is first deployed
# 2. the VM is started after being stopped

SELF_DIR="$(dirname $0)"

# example: install additional packages into the Isaac Lab environment
pip install torch

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 606 Commits
.vscode		.vscode
results		results
src		src
state		state
uploads		uploads
.completions		.completions
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitattributes		.gitattributes
.gitignore		.gitignore
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
ISAACLAB_QA.md		ISAACLAB_QA.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
build		build
deploy-alicloud		deploy-alicloud
deploy-aws		deploy-aws
deploy-azure		deploy-azure
deploy-gcp		deploy-gcp
destroy		destroy
download		download
image-aws		image-aws
novnc		novnc
repair		repair
run		run
ssh		ssh
start		start
stop		stop
upload		upload

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Isaac Automator (v4)

TLDR ;)

Installation

Installing Docker

Building the Container

Linux/macOS

Windows

Usage

Running Isaac Automator

Linux/macOS

Windows

Deploying an Isaac Workstation

AWS

GCP

Azure

Alibaba Cloud

Common Deploy Options

Complete Options Reference

Credential Management

Connecting to Deployed Isaac Workstation

Running Applications

Isaac Sim

Isaac Lab

Isaac Lab Arena

Autorun Script

Standard Folders

Pausing and Resuming

Uploading Data

Downloading Data

Repairing

Destroying

Speeding Up Deployment with Pre-Built Images

Tips

Persisting Modifications to the deployed Isaac Workstation

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