Isaac sim 5.1 keeps changing install location, how do I reinstall isaac sim & isaac lab?

Omniverse Isaac Sim
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Every time I launch Isaac Sim via a desktop icon, the file path in the launcher/desktop entry becomes invalid or points somewhere that no longer exists. The desktop icon stops launching Isaac Sim unless I manually search for the correct path again. I’m using an Isaac Lab conda environment install (pip/conda) rather than an Omniverse Launcher package install.

6.0.0
5.1.0 (this one)
5.0.0
4.5.0
4.2.0
4.1.0
4.0.0
4.5.0
2023.1.1
2023.1.0-hotfix.1
Other (please specify):

Operating System

Ubuntu 24.04 (this one)
Ubuntu 22.04
Ubuntu 20.04
Windows 11
Windows 10
Other (please specify):

GPU Information

  • Model: RTX 5070
  • Driver Version: 580

Topic Description

Detailed Description

(Describe the issue in detail, including what you were trying to do, what you expected to happen, and what actually happened)

I have Isaac Sim 5.1 installed via Isaac Lab / conda (miniforge). I created a desktop launcher (~/.local/share/applications/IsaacSim.desktop) that points to an executable under my conda env’s site-packages:

Exec=/home/sgk/miniforge3/envs/isaaclab311/lib/python3.11/site-packages/isaacsim/isaac-sim.sh

However, when I try to launch Isaac Sim from the desktop icon, it stops working and the Exec target path no longer exists. When I run the same Exec path in terminal I get:

bash: .../isaac-sim.sh: No such file or directory

I also tried launching from the default Omniverse Launcher-style path but that directory doesn’t exist on my machine:

~/.local/share/ov/pkg/isaac-sim-5.1.0/isaac-sim.sh → “No such file or directory”
ls ~/.local/share/ov/pkg/ only shows hub-1.1.0.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Install Isaac Sim 5.1 via Isaac Lab / conda environment (isaaclab311) (not Omniverse Launcher package).
  2. Create desktop entry ~/.local/share/applications/IsaacSim.desktop with:
    • Exec=/home/sgk/miniforge3/envs/isaaclab311/lib/python3.11/site-packages/isaacsim/isaac-sim.sh
  3. Click the desktop icon to launch Isaac Sim.
  4. At some point after updates/restarts, Isaac Sim stops launching from the icon.
  5. Running the Exec target in terminal shows it no longer exists.

Error Messages

  1. Desktop Exec target missing:
    • bash: /home/sgk/miniforge3/envs/isaaclab311/lib/python3.11/site-packages/isaacsim/isaac-sim.sh: No such file or directory
  2. URDF export error (from UI export attempt):
    • ValueError: Non-positive determinant (left-handed or null coordinate frame) in rotation matrix 0: [[1. 0. 0.]]

Screenshots or Videos

(If applicable, add screenshots or links to videos that demonstrate the issue)

Additional Information

What I’ve Tried

  1. Tried launching Isaac Sim from ~/.local/share/ov/pkg/isaac-sim-5.1.0/isaac-sim.sh but Isaac Sim is not installed there (only hub-1.1.0 exists in ~/.local/share/ov/pkg/).
  2. Verified conda env python site-packages path exists:

    • python -c "import sys, site; print(sys.version); print(site.getsitepackages())"

    • Shows: /home/sgk/miniforge3/envs/isaaclab311/lib/python3.11/site-packages

  3. Searched for isaac-sim.sh inside the conda env:

    • find "$CONDA_PREFIX" -maxdepth 6 -type f -name "isaac-sim.sh"

    • No results (suggesting install layout changed or Isaac Sim is missing from env).

  4. Considering reinstall, but couldn’t find clear “reinstall Isaac Sim (pip/conda / Isaac Lab)” guidance.

Related Issues

none yet

Additional Context

  1. Goal: use Lula / motion generation on a USD robotic arm in Isaac Sim 5.1, which requires a URDF + Lula robot descriptor YAML.
  2. URDF export from USD fails due to a non-positive determinant / left-handed frame error, likely from negative scale / mirrored transforms in the USD hierarchy.
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Assuming you installed Isaac Sim via Isaac Lab by following the steps in Welcome to Isaac Lab! — Isaac Lab Documentation, you’ll get the best support flow by using Isaac Lab GitHub repo instead of this forum.

Please open a discussion or issue there following the instructions provided on Isaac Lab’s Contributing Guidelines. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to assisting you.