Hi,

I work on Windows 11 using latest vs code (v1.95.3) and your latest plugin (v0.17.2)

I am new to using VS Code for Raspberry Pi Pico development.
I usually work with VisualGDB in VS2022. I followed the tutorials available at the following links:

• Raspberry Pi Pico VS Code Extension Tutorial
• Getting Started with Raspberry Pi Pico (PDF)

In Chapter 3 ("Install the Raspberry Pi Pico VS Code Extension") of the PDF, there is no mention of defining the PICO_SDK_PATH or adding the compiler's bin folder to the PATH system variable.

The Problem

I followed all the steps but encountered issues:

• I couldn't create a new project or example.
• After some investigation, I discovered that the problem was in the pico_project.py script.

The script calls the CheckPrerequisites function, which looks for the compiler in the PATH. However, this PATH is not set and is eventually overridden by the following line:

compilerPath = Path(codeToolchainPath(args.toolchainVersion) + "/bin/" + COMPILER_NAME())

The Fix

Fix 1: Update CheckPrerequisites

I added a check for args.toolchainVersion in the CheckPrerequisites function. If this value is set, I return "FOUND" without further checks.

Here’s the updated function:

def CheckPrerequisites():
    global isMac, isWindows, isx86
    isMac = platform.system() == "Darwin"
    isWindows = platform.system() == "Windows"
    isx86 = platform.machine().lower() in ["x86_64", "amd64"]

    # Do we have a compiler?
    if args.toolchainVersion:  # Check if toolchainVersion is set
        return "FOUND"
    return shutil.which(COMPILER_NAME(), 1, os.environ["Path" if isWindows else "PATH"])

Fix 2: Update CheckSDKPath

The script checks for the PICO_SDK_PATH environment variable in the CheckSDKPath function. If the variable is not set, the script aborts. I modified this function to try to locate the SDK using sdkVersion if PICO_SDK_PATH is not defined.

Here’s the updated function:

def CheckSDKPath(gui):
    sdkPath = os.getenv("PICO_SDK_PATH")
    if sdkPath is None:
        sdkPath = propertiesSdkPath(sdkVersion, force_windows=False)

    if sdkPath is None:
        m = "Unable to locate the Raspberry Pi Pico SDK, PICO_SDK_PATH is not set"
        print(m)
    elif not os.path.isdir(sdkPath):
        m = "Unable to locate the Raspberry Pi Pico SDK, PICO_SDK_PATH does not point to a directory"
        print(m)
        sdkPath = None

    return sdkPath

Outcome

After applying these fixes, everything worked as expected.