Environment:CARLA simulator Carla Simulation Runtime

Knowledge Sources	CARLA Simulator CARLA Documentation
Domains	Infrastructure, Autonomous_Driving
Last Updated	2026-02-15 08:00 GMT

Overview

Runtime environment for the CARLA simulator server and its C++ LibCarla components, including the Traffic Manager, sensor pipeline, road network, navigation mesh, streaming layer, and RPC server.

Description

This environment defines the runtime prerequisites for executing the compiled CARLA simulator (server-side) and all C++ LibCarla components. Unlike the Python_API_Runtime (which covers client-side Python scripting) and Build_From_Source_Requirements (which covers compilation), this environment describes what is needed at execution time for the simulator binary and its internal C++ subsystems.

The CARLA simulator server is an Unreal Engine 5.5 application that hosts the physics simulation, rendering, sensor pipeline, Traffic Manager, navigation mesh, road network, and RPC/streaming server. All C++ Implementation pages that reference internal LibCarla classes (Buffer, ALSM, CollisionStage, Road, Navigation, Streaming, etc.) require this runtime environment to function.

Usage

Use this environment when running the CARLA simulator server or when referencing any C++ LibCarla implementation that operates within the server process. This includes Traffic Manager pipeline stages, sensor data serialization, road network construction, mesh generation, navigation, multi-GPU distribution, and the RPC/streaming communication layer.

System Requirements

Category	Requirement	Notes
OS	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or Windows 11	Same as build requirements
GPU	NVIDIA RTX 3070+ with 16 GB VRAM minimum	Required for rendering; Vulkan on Linux, D3D12 on Windows
RAM	32 GB minimum	Physics simulation, actor management, and sensor buffers require significant memory
CPU	Modern multi-core (i7/i9 gen 9+ or Ryzen 7/9)	Traffic Manager runs a multi-stage pipeline; streaming server uses thread pools
Network	TCP ports 2000 (RPC), 2001 (streaming), 8000 (Traffic Manager)	Default ports; configurable at launch
Display	X11/Wayland (Linux) or Desktop (Windows)	Required for rendering mode; can be bypassed with -RenderOffScreen

Dependencies

Unreal Engine 5.5 Runtime

Compiled UE5.5 engine binaries (from CARLA fork)
Vulkan drivers (Linux) or DirectX 12 runtime (Windows)
CARLA content assets in Unreal/CarlaUnreal/Content/Carla/

C++ Libraries (Linked at Build Time)

These are statically linked into the simulator binary during build but define the runtime behavior:

Boost 1.84.0 (asio for networking, geometry for spatial ops, gil for image processing)
Recast/Detour (navigation mesh for pedestrian pathfinding)
rpclib (RPC communication between client and server)
libpng 1.6.40, zlib 1.3.1 (image I/O for sensor data)
Eigen 3.4.0 (linear algebra for physics and geometry)
SQLite (traffic manager data storage)

Optional Runtime Components

ROS2 Native Bridge (when built with ENABLE_ROS2=ON): Fast-DDS 2.11.2
PyTorch (when built with ENABLE_PYTORCH=ON): inference for ML-based components
ad-rss-lib (when built with ENABLE_RSS=ON): RSS safety checking

Credentials

No credentials required at runtime. The simulator listens on configurable TCP ports for client connections.

Common Errors

Error Message	Cause	Solution
Signal 11 (SIGSEGV) on startup	Missing Vulkan drivers or GPU not supported	Install appropriate GPU drivers; verify with `vulkaninfo`
`Port 2000 already in use`	Another CARLA instance running	Kill existing instance or use `--carla-rpc-port` to change port
Content assets missing	CARLA content not cloned to correct location	Clone content repo to `Unreal/CarlaUnreal/Content/Carla/`
Navigation mesh errors	Nav mesh not loaded for current map	Ensure map has corresponding `.bin` navigation mesh file

Related Pages

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