linux nrf-connect v2024.12.55 broken, "Actions" stuck on "Pristine Build"

[Daniel Chisholm]

nRF Connect for VS Code v2024.12.55 showed up yesterday and it seems to be broken for me; the "build", "flash", debug" buttons are not available to me, I am stuck with "Pristine Build":

I have had the same problem for more than a month now...  all versions of nRF Connect for VS Code since v2024.9.31 are broken/not usable for me.  The the latest working version for me has been v2024.7.13, which I am able to sort-of coax into working though with many drawbacks and limitations and to be honest it is holding me back from development work (v2024.7.13 does not support sysbuild, nor HWMv2, nor debugging of nrf54L15)

This is similar to After Upgrade to 2023.9.169 version of NRF Connect Plugin for VScode, all projects are stuck in the “The Build Configuration is stale. Run a Pristine Build” State and as far I can tell it is exactly the same problem reported by someone else in VS Code always asks for a Pristine Build with NCS v1.9.1

This problem does not occur on an old Windows-10 laptop (which is too old and slow to be a usable development system)

Here's the support info report from vscode:

Fullscreen nrf-connect-support-20241211171359.jsonc.txt Download

// IMPORTANT: The following data can contain sensitive or confidential information about your environment.
// If you do not want others to see this information, make sure to remove it before sharing the data.

// For help and support, visit Nordic Semiconductor's DevZone at https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/.

{
  "platform": {
    "os": "linux",
    "osVersion": "#49-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Mon Nov  4 02:06:24 UTC 2024",
    "osKernel": "6.8.0-49-generic",
    "vscode": "1.95.3",
    "electron": "32.2.1",
    "node": "v20.18.0",
    "name": "Linux Mint",
    "id": "linuxmint",
    "version": "22 (Wilma)",
    "versionId": "22"
  },
  "system": {
    "date": "2024-12-11T17:13:59.215Z",
    "vscodeRoot": "/usr/share/code/resources/app",
    "nrfConnectForDesktopInstalled": "unknown",
    "vscodeUptime": "00:17:23",
    "osUptime": "314:22:39",
    "cpu": "Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500 CPU @ 3.30GHz"
  },
  "workspace": {
    "name": "blinky-sample-1255-290rc1",
    "workspaceFile": null,
    "folders": [
      "/home/[...redacted....]/blinky-sample-1255-290rc1"
    ]
  },
  "sdks": [
    {
      "version": "v2.9.0-rc1",
      "path": "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/v2.9.0-rc1"
    },
    {
      "version": "v2.8.0",
      "path": "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/v2.8.0"
    }
  ],
  "activeBuild": "/home/[...redacted....]/blinky-sample-1255-290rc1/build-L15",
  "apps": [
    {
      "workspace": "/home/[...redacted....]/blinky-sample-1255-290rc1",
      "uri": "/home/[...redacted....]/blinky-sample-1255-290rc1",
      "buildConfigurations": [
        {
          "id": "/home/[...redacted....]/blinky-sample-1255-290rc1/build-L15",
          "name": "build-L15",
          "boardId": "nrf54l15dk/nrf54l15/cpuapp",
          "type": "Sysbuild",
          "isChild": false,
          "isStale": true,
          "taskBindings": {
            "build": [],
            "pristineBuild": [],
            "flash": [],
            "eraseAndFlash": []
          },
          "sdk": "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/v2.9.0-rc1"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "toolchains": [
    {
      "version": "2.9.0-rc1",
      "path": "/home/dmc2/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312"
    },
    {
      "version": "2.8.0",
      "path": "/home/dmc2/ncs/toolchains/b81a7cd864"
    }
  ],
  "connectedDevices": [
    {
      "serialNumber": "001050643342"
    },
    {
      "serialNumber": "001050286746"
    },
    {
      "serialNumber": "001057766350"
    }
  ],
  "tools": {
    "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/zephyr-sdk/arm-zephyr-eabi/bin/arm-zephyr-eabi-gcc": "0.17.0",
    "/opt/SEGGER/JLink/JLinkExe": "7.94i",
    "/usr/local/bin/nrfjprog": "10.24.2",
    "/usr/local/bin/nrfutil": "7.13.0",
    "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/local/bin/cmake": "3.21.0",
    "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/local/bin/west": "1.2.0",
    "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/local/bin/python3": "3.12.4",
    "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/local/bin/ninja": "1.10.2",
    "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/bin/gperf": "3.1",
    "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/bin/dtc": "1.5.0",
    "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/bin/gn": "2132",
    "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/local/bin/git": "2.37.3",
    "arm-gdbPath": "/home/dmc2/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/zephyr-sdk/arm-zephyr-eabi/bin/arm-zephyr-eabi-gdb",
    "riscv-gdbPath": "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/zephyr-sdk/riscv64-zephyr-elf/bin/riscv64-zephyr-elf-gdb"
  },
  "nrfutil": {
    "nrfutil-device": {
      "version": "2.7.2",
      "binPath": "/home/dmc2/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2024.12.55-linux-x64/platform/nrfutil/bin/nrfutil-device",
      "jlinkInfo": {
        "name": "JlinkARM",
        "version": "JLink_V7.94i",
        "versionFormat": "string"
      }
    },
    "nrfutil-toolchain-manager": {
      "version": "0.14.4",
      "binPath": "/home/dmc2/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2024.12.55-linux-x64/platform/nrfutil/bin/nrfutil-toolchain-manager"
    }
  },
  "environment": {
    "westEnv": {
      "GIT_EXEC_PATH": "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/local/libexec/git-core",
      "HOME": "/home/dmc2",
      "PATH": "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/bin:/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/bin:/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/local/bin:/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/bin:/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/nanopb/generator-bin:/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/zephyr-sdk/arm-zephyr-eabi/bin:/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/zephyr-sdk/riscv64-zephyr-elf/bin:/home/dmc/CodeSourcery/Sourcery_G++_Lite/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin:/home/dmc/CodeSourcery/Sourcery_G++_Lite/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin",
      "ZEPHYR_BASE": "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/v2.9.0-rc1/zephyr",
      "ZEPHYR_TOOLCHAIN_VARIANT": "zephyr",
      "ZEPHYR_SDK_INSTALL_DIR": "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/zephyr-sdk",
      "PYTHONPATH": "/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/local/lib/python3.12:/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages",
      "USER": "dmc"
    },
    "inherited": {
      "ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE": "1",
      "HOME": "/home/dmc2",
      "PATH": "/home/dmc/CodeSourcery/Sourcery_G++_Lite/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin",
      "USER": "dmc"
    }
  },
  "terminal": {
    "defaultProfile": null
  },
  "config": {
    "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect": {
      "topdir": "",
      "toolchain": {
        "path": ""
      },
      "ozonePath": "",
      "applications": [],
      "applicationOptions": {},
      "kconfig": {
        "interface": "kconfig"
      },
      "west": {
        "env": {
          "$base": "terminal"
        }
      },
      "boardRoots": [],
      "taskBindings": {},
      "buildTerminal": {
        "condensedProgress": true
      },
      "debugging": {
        "flash": true,
        "bindings": {},
        "justMyCode": false
      },
      "activeAppFollowActiveEditor": true,
      "flash": {
        "softreset": false,
        "erase": false,
        "recover": false
      },
      "enableTelemetry": false,
      "thirdpartyIntegration": {},
      "toolchainManager": {
        "indexURL": null,
        "installDirectory": null
      },
      "nrfutil": {
        "home": null
      },
      "defaultOpenAction": "ask",
      "terminalProfile": {
        "shell": null
      }
    },
    "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal": {
      "terminalMode": "character"
    }
  },
  "extensions": {
    "internal": {
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect": {
        "version": "2024.12.55",
        "path": "/home/dmc2/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2024.12.55-linux-x64",
        "isActive": true
      },
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal": {
        "version": "2024.9.14",
        "path": "/home/dmc2/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal-2024.9.14",
        "isActive": true
      },
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-devicetree": {
        "version": "2024.12.15",
        "path": "/home/dmc2/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-devicetree-2024.12.15",
        "isActive": true
      },
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-kconfig": {
        "version": "2024.12.13",
        "path": "/home/dmc2/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-kconfig-2024.12.13",
        "isActive": true
      }
    },
    "external": {
      "marus25.cortex-debug": null,
      "ms-vscode.cpptools": "1.22.11",
      "ms-vscode.js-debug": "1.95.3",
      "ms-vscode.js-debug-companion": "1.1.3",
      "ms-vscode.vscode-js-profile-table": "1.0.10",
      "mathematic.vscode-pdf": "0.0.6",
      "ms-vscode.cpptools-extension-pack": "1.3.0",
      "ms-vscode.cpptools-themes": "2.0.0",
      "ms-vscode.hexeditor": "1.11.1",
      "trond-snekvik.gnu-mapfiles": "1.1.0",
      "twxs.cmake": "0.0.17"
    }
  }
}

[Øyvind]

Hello, 

I saw a similar issue on my macbook and have reported to our VS Code extension team. Are you opening an "old" project? If so, it seems that you need to either add a new build configuration. This should remove "Pristine build" and allow you to build and flash normally. 

Let me know how that works for you.

Kind regards,
Øyvind

[Daniel Chisholm]

This is  newly created project, and build configuration.   After updating the software I did "create a new application", copying it from the zephyr blinky sample (keep things simple, right?). I then created new build configuration for that.

I have tried to create the cleanest possible test case.  The only thing I can think of that I haven't tried yet is to remove and reinstall VS Code (which I tried last time with 2024.11.75 but i didn't help then)

[Øyvind]

Hi, can you please provide the output from Generate Support information? 

Thanks!

Kind regards,
Øyvind

[Daniel Chisholm]

Already done, please see attachment to my original post. 

[Øyvind]

I have forwarded and awaiting further information from our developers. 

[Øyvind]

Hello,

Have you been able to get any further with this issue?

Our developers ask: Would it be possible for you to share the value from CMakeCache in the build/blinky for CMAKE_C_COMPILER?

Kind regards,
Øyvind

[Daniel Chisholm]

Hello Øyvind, thanks.  I have not gotten any further, and it is substantially holding back my work - so your followup is most appreciated.

In the "build/blinky" directory, the file CMakeCache.txt contains these lines:

//C compiler
CMAKE_C_COMPILER:STRING=/a2/home/dmc/blo/nrf-dmc/ncs/toolchains/b77d8c1312/opt/zephyr-sdk/arm-zephyr-eabi/bin/arm-zephyr-eabi-gcc