Visual Studio Code: Unable to find worker executable / Unable to flash target

[radio200000]

Hi all

Coming back to an nrf52840 project after some weeks, VScode nRF extension do not work anymore.

Trying to recover a board (nRF52840DK) gives error:

08:52:50] nrfutil-device recover --serial-number 001050261677 --json
[08:52:51] Error: One or more recover tasks failed:
* 1050261677: Unable to find worker executable: Custom { kind: NotFound, error: "Failed to find file plugin-probe-worker. Looked for file in <none>, <none>, /home/vsts/.cargo/registry/src/eu.files.nordicsemi.com-aeee3781a8ecf169/target/release/plugin-probe-worker and /home/developer/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2025.9.754-linux-x64/platform/nrfutil/bin/plugin-probe-worker" } (Generic)

Trying to flash a binary to the target gives error:

Executing task: nRF Connect: Flash: <project-directory><project-name> (active)

Flashing <project-name> to nRF52840 DK
west flash -d /home/developer/work/<project-directory>/build --domain <project-name> --dev-id 1050261677

-- west flash: rebuilding
[0/10] Performing build step for '<project-name>'
ninja: no work to do.
[1/10] Performing build step for 'mcuboot'
ninja: no work to do.
[4/10] cd /home/developer/work/<project-directory>/build/_sysbuild && /home/developer/ncs/tool[7/9] cd /home/developer/work/<project-directory>/build/_sysbuild && /home/developer/ncs/toolc[8/9] cd /home/developer/work/<project-directory>/build/_sysbuild && /home/developer/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/bin/cmake -E true
-- west flash: using runner nrfutil
-- runners.nrfutil: reset after flashing requested
FATAL ERROR: required program nrfutil not found; install it or add its location to PATH

Validating the toolchain gives no errors:

[09:09:41] =========== Toolchain validation report for nRF Connect SDK Toolchain v3.0.2 ===========
Package Using the nRF Connect SDK v3.0.2 at /home/developer/ncs/v3.0.2
No issues were detected with the toolchain.

Versions:

Visual Studio Code: 1.104.0

nRF Connect for VS Code Extension Pack: 2025.4.4

nRF Connect for VS Code: 2025.9.754

nRF DeviceTree: 2025.8.140

nRF Kconfig: 2025.9.123

nRF Terminal: 2025.8.103

Any idea what's wrong here?

Thanks!

--

Kind regards

[Vidar Berg]

Hello,

[08:52:51] Error: One or more recover tasks failed:
* 1050261677: Unable to find worker executable: Custom { kind: NotFound, error: "Failed to find file plugin-probe-worker. Looked for file in <none>, <none>, /home/vsts/.cargo/registry/src/eu.files.nordicsemi.com-aeee3781a8ecf169/target/release/plugin-probe-worker and /home/developer/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2025.9.754-linux-x64/platform/nrfutil/bin/plugin-probe-worker" } (Generic)

This is an unfortunate bug introduced in recent update of our VS code extension. We are planning to make a new release to address this soon. In the meantime if you need to recover a board, please use the "nrfutil device recover" from the command line instead.

FATAL ERROR: required program nrfutil not found; install it or add its location to PATH

This indicates that the nRF Util executable is not found on your system. It's not part of the toolchain and needs to be installed separately following the instructions here: https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/nrfutil/page/guides/installing.html 

Kind regards,

Vidar

[lcj]

I was able to flash by rolling back the extension to the previous version, 2025.9.732.

[Vidar Berg]

We published a new release just now (Build number: 2025.9.789) which addresses this. 

[radio200000]

Thanks for the quick response. I updated the extension but it still fails to recover the board.

[13:43:59] nrfutil-device recover --serial-number 001050261677 --json
[13:44:00] Error: One or more recover tasks failed:
* 1050261677: Unable to find worker executable: Custom { kind: NotFound, error: "Failed to find file plugin-probe-worker. Looked for file in <none>, <none>, /home/vsts/.cargo/registry/src/eu.files.nordicsemi.com-aeee3781a8ecf169/target/release/plugin-probe-worker and /home/developer/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2025.9.789-linux-x64/platform/nrfutil/bin/plugin-probe-worker" } (Generic)

The extension expects the plugin-probe-worker worker in:

/home/developer/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2025.9.789-linux-x64/platform/nrfutil/bin/plugin-probe-worker"

 

But 

$ locate plugin-probe-worker
/home/developer/.config/nrfconnect/nrfutil-sandboxes/device/2.10.2/lib/nrfutil-device/plugin-probe-worker
/home/developer/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2025.9.789-linux-x64/platform/nrfutil/lib/nrfutil-device/plugin-probe-worker

 

bin != lib/nrf-util-device (yes, I updated the locate db).

Any ideas?

[Vidar Berg]

That's unfortunate. I'm able to reproduce the same here. Will discuss this with the developers again.