ros_introspect is a Pure Python library for working with the files in ROS packages in a structured way. It is compatible with both ROS 1 and ROS 2.

You can specify the path directly.

from ros_introspect import Package
package = Package('/full/path/geometry_msgs')

or you can use the built-in crawler to search recursively

from ros_introspect import find_packages

for package in find_packages('/home/dlu/ros2_ws/src'):
    print(package)

sudo pip3 install ros-introspect

A Package is a path where the $PATH/package.xml exists and a collection of PackageFiles that are contained within that folder.

Each of the package files are a subtype of PackageFile based on their functionality, with each of the subtypes being defined in ros_introspect.components, including...

• package.xml
• CMakeLists.txt
• Source code (Python or C++)
• ROS Interfaces, i.e. messages, services and actions
• DynamicReconfig configurations (ROS 1 only)
• Plugin XML, for use with pluginlib
• Launch files, both XML (ROS 1) and Python (ROS 2)
• Parameter files (.yaml)
• RViz configurations (.rviz)
• Robot model files (.urdf and .xacro)
• setup.py and setup.cfg for Python code
• Documentation (Markdown, RST, licenses, etc.)
• Miscellaneous Config files (various metadata like the .github folder)

Everything that does not fall into one of those categories ends up as "Other"**

**Excluding .pyc, *~, and .git/ files