Skip to main content

Open a file

Have a recording already? Foxglove opens local files directly — no upload or conversion required.

Foxglove supports MCAP files, ROS 1 bags, and other common formats.

Open your recording​

Open your recording(s) directly from your computer by:

  • Dragging and dropping them into Foxglove
  • Using Cmd/Ctrl + o
  • Clicking Open local file(s) in the app

Local file dialog

Opening multiple files together combines them into a single merged data source, as if they came from one recording. This is useful when the files belong to the same recording, for example a single recording split into multiple segments, or a main recording plus a related file such as a separate transforms log. The files must be of the same format.

To keep sources separate and view their data together on a shared timeline, use Comparison mode instead.

note

Don't have a recording handy? Explore examples instead, or follow the getting started guide — it runs the Foxglove wizard to stream a sample recording live and upload it to your project.

Explore your data​

Your data is now available for exploring in Foxglove. Add some panels to begin visualizing what your robot is seeing and producing. Not sure where to start? Try adding a Raw Messages panel, Plot panel, or 3D panel.

To list available topics, open the left sidebar and open the Topics tab.

Topics tab

Next steps​