Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

RE: Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

house_tiger — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 05:13:07 GMT

not sure if you already found a resolution to this, but I encountered the same issue and found a workaround.

close VS Code if it's open
open the file "config.json" located here: C:\Users\<your username>\.vscode\extensions\nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2026.1.1327-win32-x64\platform\nrfutil\config\nrfutil-sdk-manager\config.json
- your extension version may be different from mine so check the .vscode\extensions folder for the exact version you have

update the "install_dir" property from "null" to your desired path, in my case "d:\\ncs"

{
  "default": {
    "install_dir": "d:\\ncs",
    "toolchain_index": null,
    "sdk_index": null
  },
  "toolchain_indexes": {},
  "sdk_indexes": {}
}

open VS Code, select the nRF Connect tab, click "Install SDK", and now you can provide a path for the SDK on the same drive as "install_dir", such as "D:\ncs\v3.2.1" and the process will finish successfully. all SDK and toolchain files will be installed on the D: drive

I couldn't find a setting in the nRF Connect extension which would let you change this in a more user-friendly way. I set up a Dev Drive in Windows and thus I wanted the SDK, project files, and everything on that second partition.

RE: Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

Øyvind — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 08:10:40 GMT

Perfect! Thank you. One of my colleagues will get back to you within the day.

Kind regards,
Øyvind

RE: Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

Al. — Sat, 22 Nov 2025 03:29:57 GMT

Done: case id 354434

Thanks

RE: Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

Al. — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 09:36:21 GMT

Despite my doubts (see comment below), I did try this. (nrfutil sdk-manager install .....) but with current version (v3.1.1) and my path (d:\data\programfiles\nordic\ncs.

It appeared to download and unpack successfully - the resulting ncs directory is 10GB! But how does haveing done this relate to or effect the extension for nRF development in VSCode? VSCode still shows no extensions installed. I'm guessing if I go to install the extension from within VSCode it will go through the process exactly as before, and assume the install-dir is c:\ncs.

Now that (hopefully) the sdk and toolchain is installed via the command line, how to sync this with VSCode?

RE: Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

Øyvind — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 09:17:14 GMT

Hello, please open a new ticket with your issue and provide details about your development environment and the problem you are having.

Thanks.
Kind regards,
Øyvind

RE: Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

Al. — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 02:04:42 GMT

I've tried all that, at least all files at all locations I know of. I've also scanned the registry for zombie entries to remove. I haven't (and can't) try on a virgin machine.

Are you suggesting that the tool using c:\ncs for install-dir is a "memory" from an earlier install? I think it is just the tool's default, which can't be overriden in the VSCode interface.

RE: Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

Al. — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 01:52:30 GMT

I'm not sure that would be a long-term solution ... what would happen the first time there is an update applied from within VSCode? Won't it go looking for the install-dir on C:, since this update process is happeng from inside VSCode, where the correct path can't be specified?

RE: Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

Al. — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 01:49:01 GMT

I have the same problem trying to install sdk from within VSCode (for me, sdk v3.1.1, 2025-11-20); . More detail: the following error message also displays, along with error code -4058:

Error: The configured `install-dir` directory (C:\ncs) and the `--sdk-path` directory (d:\Data\ProgramFiles\Nordic\ncs\v3.1.1) are on different drives. The installation requires directories on the same drive. Use the `--install-dir` flag to specify a directory on the same drive as for `--sdk-path`. Caused by: Provided path are from different drives

Clearly the VS code integration is failing to offer user ability to specify install-dir. And is then making the faulty assumption to use a hard-coded location instead of the same location as sdk-path.

Like rOn9, I need to conserve disk space on C: drive, so installation in default location is a no-go.

RE: Unable to install nRF Connect SDK to a non-default location on Windows 11

Øyvind — Mon, 26 May 2025 13:06:16 GMT

Hello,

Could you please test using e.g. nrfutil sdk-manager install v3.0.1 --sdk-path e:\ncs\v3.0.1 --install-dir e:\ncs?

Kind regards,
Øyvind