FATAL ERROR: CMake is not installed or cannot be found; cannot build.

[yuanFang]

Using the 54l15 chip, with the NCSv3.2.1 version, the example is compiled using peripheral_uart.

I have been using this environment for over a year now.

1. When I was compiling today, I encountered the following problem

2. I attempted to delete C:\UserTools\Cmake, but encountered the following error message.

west build --build-dir e:/ncs/low_power_backup/peripheral_uart_update_1/build e:/ncs/low_power_backup/peripheral_uart_update_1 --pristine --board nrf54l15dk/nrf54l15/cpuapp -- -DCONFIG_DEBUG_THREAD_INFO=y

-- west build: generating a build system
FATAL ERROR: CMake is not installed or cannot be found; cannot build.

3. I attempted to reinstall the "NRF Connect for VS Code" within VS Code from scratch.

     FATAL ERROR: CMake is not installed or cannot be found; cannot build.

4. I uninstalled all the extensions of VSCode and finally uninstalled VSCode itself. Then I reinstalled them, but still got an error message.

     FATAL ERROR: CMake is not installed or cannot be found; cannot build.

5. Compile using the nrf connet port



The SDK for my NCS is not on the C drive, but on another drive. I'm not sure if this will cause any problems.The SDK is not on the C drive. I have always used it this way.

Could you please take a look at it and help solve it as soon as possible? It's extremely urgent!

Looking forward to your reply very much.

[Edvin]

Hello,

Can you please try to generate support information:

And paste the output here?

Best regards,

Edvin

[yuanFang]

hello,

thank you for your reply.

When I deleted "E:\nsc", and then re-downloaded a new "toolchains" on the C drive.It can be compiled and built normally.

When I re-added "E:\nsc", and selected "toolchains" as the E drive, the compilation still went smoothly.

After I deleted the "toolchains" folder on the C drive, the problem of being unable to find Cmake occurred.

Looking forward to your reply very much.

Thanks

[Turbo J]

There is another case I've seen and it has the correct solution - which is to manually downgrade the extension to 2026.1.1327 version from ~1 month ago.

[Edvin]

I think the workaround for now is to roll back the VS Code extension version, as Turbo J suggests.
However, to solve this, it would be useful if you could generate and post the support information (see the description in my previous reply).

Best regards,

Edvin

[yuanFang]

hello，

Here is the supporting information.

After reinstalling the plugin and VSCode, I opened the NCS directory and compiled the code in the overlay file. However, the code could not jump to the file or view the definitions.This has caused me a lot of trouble. Could you please take a look at it?

// 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": "win32",
    "osVersion": "Windows 10 Pro",
    "osKernel": "10.0.19044",
    "vscode": "1.111.0",
    "electron": "39.6.0",
    "node": "v22.22.0",
    "appName": "Visual Studio Code",
    "appHost": "desktop"
  },
  "system": {
    "date": "2026-03-11T10:15:40.467Z",
    "vscodeRoot": "d:\\Microsoft VS Code\\ce099c1ed2\\resources\\app",
    "nrfConnectForDesktopInstalled": true,
    "vscodeUptime": "02:18:06",
    "osUptime": "02:24:03",
    "cpu": "11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-11500 @ 2.70GHz"
  },
  "workspace": {
    "name": "project",
    "workspaceFile": null,
    "folders": [
      "e:\\ncs\\project"
    ]
  },
  "sdks": [
    {
      "version": "v3.2.2",
      "path": "e:\\ncs\\v3.2.2"
    },
    {
      "version": "v3.2.1",
      "path": "e:\\ncs\\v3.2.1"
    },
    {
      "version": "v3.0.0",
      "path": "e:\\ncs\\v3.0.0"
    },
    {
      "version": "v2.6.0",
      "path": "d:\\nrfconnectSetup\\SDK_NCS\\v2.6.0"
    },
    {
      "version": "v2.6.0",
      "path": "f:\\svnProject\\QQQQ\\code"
    },
    {
      "version": "v2.6.0",
      "path": "f:\\svnBackups\\NCS_Script\\code"
    }
  ],
  "activeBuild": "/ncs/project/WWWW/build",
  "apps": [
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      "uri": "e:\\ncs\\project\\EEEE",
      "buildConfigurations": [
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          "boardId": "nrf54l15dk/nrf54l15/cpuapp",
          "type": "Sysbuild",
          "isChild": false,
          "isStale": false,
          "taskBindings": {
            "build": [],
            "pristineBuild": [],
            "flash": [],
            "eraseAndFlash": []
          },
          "sdk": "e:\\ncs\\v3.2.1",
          "toolchain": "nRF Connect SDK Toolchain v3.2.1"
        },
        {
          "id": "/ncs/project/EEEE/MUbuild/EEEE",
          "name": "MUbuild/EEEE",
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            "eraseAndFlash": []
          },
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          "toolchain": "nRF Connect SDK Toolchain v3.2.1"
        },
        {
          "id": "/ncs/project/EEEE/SUbuild",
          "name": "SUbuild",
          "boardId": "nrf54l15dk/nrf54l15/cpuapp",
          "type": "Sysbuild",
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          "sdk": "e:\\ncs\\v3.2.1",
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        },
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          "boardId": "nrf54l15dk/nrf54l15/cpuapp",
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    "C:\\Program Files\\SEGGER\\JLink_V832\\JLink.exe": "8.32",
    "C:\\Program Files\\Nordic Semiconductor\\nrf-command-line-tools\\bin\\nrfjprog.exe": "10.24.2",
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    "E:\\ncs\\toolchains\\66cdf9b75e\\nrfutil\\home\\bin\\nrfutil-device.exe": "2.16.0",
    "E:\\ncs\\toolchains\\66cdf9b75e\\cmake": "3.21.0",
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    "E:\\ncs\\toolchains\\66cdf9b75e\\opt\\bin\\python.exe": "3.12.4",
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    "E:\\ncs\\toolchains\\66cdf9b75e\\opt\\bin\\gperf.exe": "3.1",
    "E:\\ncs\\toolchains\\66cdf9b75e\\opt\\bin\\dtc.exe": "1.4.7",
    "E:\\ncs\\toolchains\\66cdf9b75e\\opt\\bin\\gn.exe": "2223",
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    "debugger (riscv)": "e:\\ncs\\toolchains\\66cdf9b75e\\opt\\zephyr-sdk\\riscv64-zephyr-elf\\bin\\riscv64-zephyr-elf-gdb.exe"
  },
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        "expectedVersion": {
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          "versionFormat": "string"
        },
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  },
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      "HOMEPATH": "\\Users\\fyuan",
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      "applications": [
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        "${workspaceFolder}\\EEEE",
        "${workspaceFolder}\\WWWW"
      ],
      "applicationOptions": {},
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      "taskBindings": {},
      "buildTerminal": {
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        "bindings": {},
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      "enableTelemetry": true,
      "thirdpartyIntegration": {},
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        "installDirectory": "E:/ncs"
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      "sdkManager": {
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        "isActive": true
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    "external": {
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}

Looking forward to your reply very much.

Thanks

[Edvin]

Thank you! We are looking into it, and trying to reproduce the issue. 

Question: Does the issue only occur when you use a different drive than the C-drive for the installation of NCS and the toolchain? Or also if you just use a custom location?

Best regards,

Edvin

[yuanFang]

hello,

Thank you for your reply.

This problem will occur when installing on a non-C drive.

as shown blow

I have now rolled back the version. There are no toolchains on the C drive either, and the problem has been resolved.

Thanks

[Edvin]

What I wanted to know if if you have tried installing NCS and the toolchain on the C-drive (can still be a custom path on the C drive) or if it only happens when you install it on the E drive.

BR,
Edvin

[yuanFang]

I haven't tried installing it in a custom path on the C drive.Only custom installation on the E drive