nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --terminal does not work on Windows

RE: nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --terminal does not work on Windows

Edvin — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 13:57:55 GMT

My understanding is that nRF Connect for Desktop -> Toolchain manager is handling both installing the SDK and the toolchain. Therefore it knows what paths to set e.g. for the Zephyr base. The nrfutil toolchain manager, however, is only in charge of the toolchains, and it is used by the VS Code extention, which installs and activates toolchains separately. This is why it isn't a "simple fix" to have nrfutil toolchain-manager to work out of tree, because it wouldn't know where the location of the SDK.

[quote user="Aaron F"] I suppose I could try it from the NCS folder and the cd to the repo root, but that seems a little clunky.[/quote]

That wouldn't help. The window it opens will only work inside the tree. If you cd out of it, it stops working.

Best regards,

Edvin

RE: nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --terminal does not work on Windows

Aaron F — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 13:30:26 GMT

Yes, it is out of tree. That's pretty normal, I think. The toolchain and SDK versions are selected in VS Code and VS Code is able to make all the correct references and set up the build environment properly.

When using nrfutil toolchain-manager, I'm running it from the root of the repo. I suppose I could try it from the NCS folder and the cd to the repo root, but that seems a little clunky.

RE: nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --terminal does not work on Windows

Edvin — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 13:27:08 GMT

Hello,

So it looks like that is not the issue then. I have discussed this a bit with some colleagues, and we figured that the nrfutil toolchain-manager tool doesn't work out of tree, meaning if your application is outside the SDK root folder you can't use this tool to set up the toolchain. Is that the case for your application? Is the application located outside the SDK? If so, I believe that the only way to "easily" set up the toolchain is to do so using nRF Connect for Desktop -> Toolchain manager. If you keep your application inside the SDK root folder, I can ask the nrfutil if they have any other ideas as to why the new window closes itself.

BR,
Edvin

RE: nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --terminal does not work on Windows

Aaron F — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:10:22 GMT

Additional info:

If I run "cmd.exe /c start" from within Git Bash (run from Windows Terminal app) it opens a subshell in the same window. I can then "exit" back to Git Bash.

If I run "cmd.exe /c start" from a cmd.exe window, it spawns a new cmd.exe window.

RE: nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --terminal does not work on Windows

Aaron F — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:07:33 GMT

Executing "cmd.exe /c start" from Windows run dialog (i.e. dialog opened by Windows-x, r). This opens a cmd.exe shell that remains open.

aaronf@DESKTOP-RNAG27J MINGW64 ~/Documents/Learning/NCS/ncs-low-power (ncs-v2.5.0)
$ nrfutil toolchain-manager list
Version Toolchain
v2.5.0   C:\ncs\toolchains\c57af46cb7
v2.2.0   C:\ncs\toolchains\v2.2.0
* v2.6.0   C:\ncs\toolchains\cf2149caf2

Edition   Windows 10 Pro
Version   22H2
Installed on   ‎4/‎10/‎2021
OS build   19045.4170
Experience   Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.19054.1000.0

RE: nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --terminal does not work on Windows

Aaron F — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:04:17 GMT

Yes, this works and it's what I've been using already. I just wasn't sure about it since it involves mixing use of the VS Code/nrfutil method of managing toolchains with the nRF Connect desktop app.

RE: nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --terminal does not work on Windows

Edvin — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 13:10:19 GMT

1: Can you please check what nrfutil says if you enter:

"nrfutil toolchain-manager list"?

2: And what about if you enter:

"cmd.exe /c start"?

Does it open a new terminal? Or does it open and close immediately?

3: And finally, what windows version do you have?

Best regards,

Edvin

RE: nrfutil toolchain-manager launch --terminal does not work on Windows

Edvin — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 11:51:04 GMT

Hello,

I have seen the same issues that you are seeing. Is it an option to use the nRF Connect for Desktop -> Toolchain Manager -> Generate environment script ?

At least until we get out the bugs in the nrfutil -> toolchain-manager, I think this is the way to go.

After generating the environment script, you can rename and put this somewhere in your path. I use this to switch between NCS versions, and I think it is faster than using the nrfutil method for now. (although I understand that it may not be as good in a scripting environment), as it requires some clicking to set it up for each NCS version.)

Best regards,

Edvin