Welcome View - nRF Connect for VS Code
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Welcome View

The Welcome View is one of the Sidebar Views. This View contains actions for managing SDKs and toolchains installed on your machine, as well as actions to help you get started with creating your application.

Welcome View

Tip

See Extension configuration overview for more information about the criterias for selecting Toolchains and SDKs and other extension settings.

Manage toolchains

This action is critical for configuring the extension settings. Here is where you can specify the nRF Connect SDK Toolchain version for your application.

From here you can also manage the toolchain versions you have installed outside of the extension, for example manually on the system PATH or using a custom toolchain URL.

The following actions are available in the Manage toolchains menu:

Action Description
Install Toolchain Installs one or more nRF Connect SDK Toolchain versions from the list of available toolchains.

You can use the Change Toolchain Index button to provide a custom toolchain URL.
Change Toolchain Index
You can use the Change Toolchain Install Directory button to provide a custom installation directory.
Change Toolchain Install Directory
Uninstall Toolchain Uninstalls toolchain versions from the computer, including the ones installed outside of the extension.
Set Default Toolchain Changes the toolchain for the currently selected application, regardless of the application type, also to a version installed outside of the extension. This can for example be an installation of the Zephyr SDK found in the PATH. Setting a different active toolchain requires you to run a pristine build.
Set Active Toolchain Appears instead of Set Default Toolchain when you are working with a VS Code workspace. Also allows you to Clear user settings and Clear workspace settings from the Toolchain selection list if you have set these settings manually.
Open Toolchain Directory Opens the directory of the currently selected, installed toolchain version.
Open Terminal Profile Opens the nRF Connect terminal profile in the Panel View.
Validate Toolchain Validates the toolchain installation against the requirements file in the nRF Connect SDK. Any failures are reported in the Output window.

Tip

An information next to the selected Toolchain version indicates the origin of the Toolchain. The possible values are:

Manage SDKs

This action is critical for configuring the extension settings. Here is where you can specify the nRF Connect SDK version for your application. The Manage SDKs action is only visible when a freestanding application is open.

From here, you can also manage the nRF Connect SDK versions you have installed outside of the extension, for example using the command line.

The following actions are available in the Manage SDKs menu:

Action Description
Install SDK Installs the nRF Connect SDK version from the list of available SDKs for use by freestanding applications. You can also Select Custom SDK Repository from the quick pick menu header.
Uninstall SDK Uninstalls an SDK version from the computer, including the ones installed outside of the extension. (Any changes you have made to the deleted SDK installation will be lost.)
Set Default SDK Changes the SDK for the currently selected application, including the ones installed outside of the extension. Setting a different active SDK requires you to run a pristine build. Also allows you to Clear user settings and Clear workspace settings from the SDK selection list if you have set these settings manually.
Set Active SDK Appears instead of Set Default SDK when you are working with a VS Code workspace.
Open SDK Directory Opens the directory of the currently selected SDK version. You can also open custom SDK repository from the quick pick menu header.
Create West Workspace Starts the process for creating a west workspace. Lets you create a new west manifest file and then select an SDK version to install. It then moves your application one level down into an application directory, and then automatically begins to set up the workspace around it.

When you hover over the Manage SDKs entry, the Refresh SDKs button appears. You can use this button to scan the extension settings for any changes to the SDK configuration. This is useful if the setting is not picked up when you create a new workspace or add a new build configuration.

Refresh SDKs button

Tip

An information next to the selected SDK version indicates the origin of the SDK. The possible values are:

The asterisk (*) next to the SDK version number indicates that the selected SDK is a fork of the nRF Connect SDK.

Manage west workspace

When you work with a west workspace or a workspace application, the Manage SDKs action is replaced with the Manage west workspace action. From here, you can manage your west manifest files.

The following actions are available in the Manage west workspace menu:

Action Description
Switch West Manifest Repository Allows you to change the active manifest from the list of available west manifests. The currently selected manifest repository is mentioned next to the action name.
Open West Manifest Opens the workspace's west.yaml file.
Create New West Manifest Creates a west manifest file in the current VS code workspace. You can edit this file to set up a west workspace around it.
West Update Updates the west repository based on the revisions provided in the west manifest file for the currently selected west workspace.

Open an existing application

This action opens the Select Folder window, in which you can select the directory of the application that you want to build and test. For example, this can be your own application or one of the samples provided in the nRF Connect SDK tree that can be run out of the box with their basic configuration.

You can also use this option to open an application obtained from different sources. For example, this could be an nRF Connect SDK application that you worked on in a different IDE, such as SEGGER Embedded Studio Nordic Edition, or an application created by someone else who shares it with you from their fork.

Note

Opening an application directly from the nRF Connect SDK tree is not recommended since this can pollute and change the nRF Connect SDK sources.

Create a new application

Use this action when you are starting your own project and want to develop an application based on an existing template. This action creates a local version of the application from the template.

Using this action opens a wizard that lets you select an application base, its location, and the name of your custom application. The new application is then added to the Applications View in the Sidebar.

For detailed steps, see How to create and build an application page.

Action Description
Create a blank application Creates an application from the basic template that includes the following essential application files in its smallest possible version: CMakeLists.txt (build system file), prj.conf (Kconfig settings definition), and main.c (entry point for the application firmware).
Copy a sample Copies an existing nRF Connect SDK or Zephyr sample or application and sets up a basic Git repository around it. You need a local copy of the nRF Connect SDK to copy a sample from.
Browse application index Copies a revision of an existing out-of-tree application compatible with the nRF Connect SDK from the online application index and sets up a west workspace repository around it.

For more information about the available application types, see the Applications page.

Create a new board

Clicking Create a new board opens the Create New Board wizard that lets you select the parameters of a new custom board and use it in a build configuration. For more information, see How to add a new board.

Browse samples

Use this action when you want to test a sample out of the box. This option opens the Sample Browser dialog that lets you open an existing nRF Connect SDK application or sample. In the dialog, you can search for a specific sample by typing its name into the search field. The extension will run a fuzzy search on sample names and paths based on your input.

Sample browser

Each entry features buttons for opening the sample's directory, the application's documentation, or its location in the repository. You can use the documentation to check the sample requirements or steps for testing.

Caution

When opening a sample in the SDK using the Browse samples action, any changes you make to the sample code change your SDK installation. This can cause issues later if you want to change the SDK to a different version. Use the Create a new application workflow if you want to change the sample code.

When you have found the sample you want to use, click its name to open it in the Applications View in a new Visual Studio Code instance. You can also use the nrf-connect.defaultOpenAction setting to configure the default action to take.

Note

Some samples in the nRF Connect SDK are currently not designed to work out-of-tree. You may need to manually configure your sample to work correctly in the extension.

Sample browser filters

You can use the buttons in the Sample Browser dialog header to filter the list of available samples:

  • Select SDK - Allows you to browse samples from an SDK version installed on your machine (also different from the active SDK).
  • Filter By Module - Filters the list by one or more west modules.
  • Filter By Board - Filters the list by one or more board names.

Filter by Board

Application detection

The extension scans for applications in all the west modules in the manifest and automatically adds them to the application list.

If you want to have your application appear in the list, make sure it meets the following requirements:

  • The application must have a sample.yaml file.
  • The application must be located in either the samples or applications folder of your module in the SDK. The extension looks for the pattern ${topdir}/**/(applications|samples)/**/sample.yaml.
  • The sample.yaml file must not be deeper than 8 levels from ${topdir}.

Toolbar actions

Hover over the Welcome View area to reveal the View Toolbar actions.

Welcome View Toolbar actions

Button Icon Description
View Extension Documentation View Extension Documentation Opens the extension's documentation site in your default browser.
Give Feedback Give Feedback Opens the Give Feedback form, which you can use to send feedback about the extension, including what you would like to see implemented in the future.

Note: This is not a way to get support with the nRF Connect SDK applications and related hardware. For support, visit the Nordic Semiconductor's DevZone.
Generate Support Information Generate Support Information Creates a log in Output in the Panel View that you can copy and forward to the Nordic Semiconductor's DevZone to provide more context for an issue.

The log includes a set of information that can be useful for debugging the issue, including your platform and system details, nRF Connect SDK and the SDK toolchain versions, and summary of environment settings.

Tip: The data could contain sensitive or confidential information about your environment. If you do not wish this to be seen by others, make sure to remove it before sharing.