Gaussian-SLAM

Use this repo skill when a task names Gaussian-SLAM or asks for dense RGB-D SLAM with Gaussian splatting, camera tracking/mapping, Replica/TUM RGB-D/ScanNet / ScanNet++ scene preparation, or evaluation of Gaussian-SLAM checkpoints. This graph is a self-contained operating guide for the public repository state recorded in repo-provenance.md.

Hard prerequisites

• Use Linux/x86_64 or another environment where the repository's pinned CUDA extensions can be built and loaded. The runtime is CUDA-only: the source hard-codes .cuda() and imports both simple_knn._C and gaussian_rasterizer._C; CPU mode is not a truthful fallback.
• Follow the repository's Python 3.10, PyTorch 2.1.2/CUDA 12.1, torchvision 0.16.2, FAISS-GPU, Open3D 0.18.0, and pinned extension guidance. Read troubleshooting.md for ABI, compiler, driver, and headless-Open3D failures.
• Provide RGB-D scene data and enough storage/VRAM for the selected sequence. Dataset acquisition is intentionally not automatic and may carry separate access or license requirements.

Route by task

1. Prepare data or a config — read datasets-and-configuration. It owns the four exact dataset aliases, file layouts, camera/depth contracts, inheritance, scene configs, and the safe YAML validator.
2. Run tracking and mapping — read slam-runtime. It owns CUDA preflight, run_slam.py, CLI override semantics, tracker/mapper/submap behavior, output checkpoints, W&B boundaries, and non-submitting cluster plans.
3. Evaluate a completed checkpoint — read evaluation-and-mapping. It owns run_evaluation.py, trajectory/rendering/reconstruction metrics, global-map refinement, ScanNet++ NVS, checkpoint validation, and partial evaluator-stage recovery.

Work across routes in this order for a new experiment: validate data/config, preflight CUDA/extensions, run SLAM into a new output directory, then evaluate only the artifacts that exist. Keep the effective config.yaml, seed, GPU, driver, extension build, and command line with every result.

Safe start

From the repository root, inspect a scene config and run the bundled validator before importing CUDA-heavy modules:

python skills/disco/gaussian-slam/sub-skills/datasets-and-configuration/scripts/validate_config.py \
  configs/Replica/room0.yaml
python skills/disco/gaussian-slam/sub-skills/slam-runtime/scripts/check_cli.py \
  configs/Replica/room0.yaml

Then use the runtime route's explicit command template. Keep W&B disabled for local diagnostics (use_wandb: False or DISABLE_WANDB=true) unless online logging, credentials, and a writable run directory have been reviewed.

Verification boundary

The construction environment proved PyTorch CUDA allocation and imports of the pinned custom extensions on an NVIDIA A100/SM80 host. It did not download a dataset, run a full scene, submit SLURM work, log into W&B, or claim paper-level metric reproduction. Use the safe checks and difficult cases in the external review artifacts before treating a generated result as verified.

Shared references and helpers

• Read troubleshooting.md for cross-cutting installation/import, CUDA, config, data, output, W&B, and evaluation triage.
• Run scripts/check_env.py for a read-only dependency, CUDA, and extension diagnostic from an arbitrary working directory. It does not install packages, download data, or run SLAM.