// the find
robot-descriptions/robot_descriptions.py
Access 185+ robot descriptions from the main Python robotics frameworks
A Python package that gives you one-line access to 185+ robot URDF/MJCF descriptions from a unified API. First import clones the upstream git repo to a local cache; subsequent imports are instant. Aimed at robotics researchers and sim developers who are tired of hunting down model files across a dozen different GitHub repos.
Loader abstraction per framework (Pinocchio, MuJoCo, PyBullet, etc.) means you swap one import line rather than rewriting path-handling code. On-demand git cloning with caching is the right call — descriptions stay at their upstream versions and you can pin to a specific commit. The Xacro-to-URDF rendering is handled transparently, which removes a real pain point. CI actually loads every description in its target simulator, so you get early warning when an upstream repo breaks.
The descriptions themselves live in external repos that can disappear or change their layout at any time — there's no vendoring or integrity check beyond git pinning. No offline-first story: in an airgapped lab or CI without network access, first-run imports just fail. Some entries carry restrictive licenses (Universal Robots' graphical documentation terms) mixed in with permissive ones, with only a small ✖️ icon as the warning — easy to miss when you're just calling `load_robot_description`. The package has one module file per robot (180+ files), which is a flat structure that will keep getting unwieldy as coverage grows.