Prerequisite Checkpoint: Launch Is Startup Configuration

A launch file describes how a ROS 2 system should start. It does not prove the described graph actually started correctly.

Inspect one launch configuration and record:

• package/executable names;
• node names;
• parameters or remappings;
• configurable arguments;
• installed resource path.

Then separate:

launch intent
!= runtime result

A clean launch file can still fail because the package is missing, the overlay is unsourced, an executable is not installed, or a runtime dependency fails.

Bridge question

Which parts of the launch configuration are architecture intent, and which require a second shell or runtime inspection to verify?

If Python launch syntax itself is the blocker, review ros2-for-students. The bridge keeps the evidence boundary.