Installing the nRF Connect SDK Bare Metal option
You can use Visual Studio Code and the nRF Connect for Visual Studio Code extension to install Bare Metal.
Install prerequisites
Complete the following steps to install the prerequisites:
Install nRF Connect for Desktop. Pay attention to the following information:
nRF Connect for Desktop requires SEGGER J-Link. When you install nRF Connect for Desktop, nRF Connect for Desktop asks you to install the recommended version of SEGGER J-Link.
nRF Connect for Desktop has some additional requirements for some operating systems.
nRF Connect for Desktop installs the Quick Start app automatically.
Connect the nRF54L15 DK to your PC.
In nRF Connect for Desktop, launch the Quick Start app. The nRF54L15 DK will be detected by the app and it will guide you through initial configuration.
Complete the steps of the Quick Start wizard. Make sure to select VS Code IDE as the development environment and to install the Serial Terminal app.
Install the latest version of Visual Studio Code.
In Visual Studio Code, install the latest version of the nRF Connect for Visual Studio Code extension. The nRF Connect for VS Code extension comes with its own bundled version of some of the nRF Util commands.
Getting the code
Every nRF Connect SDK Bare Metal option release consists of:
A combination of Git repositories at different versions and revisions, managed together by West.
A pre-packaged SDK containing a source mirror of the Git repositories required to get started with Bare Metal.
Complete the following steps to get the Bare Metal code using the nRF Connect for VS Code extension.
If this is your first time installing the SDK, click Install SDK in the extension’s Welcome View.
If you have installed an SDK or a Toolchain before, click on Manage SDKs in the extension’s Welcome View. Then, select Install SDK from the quick pick menu that appears.
Select the region for download.
You only need to select the region for downloads once. The selected region applies to all future SDK and toolchain downloads. You can later change it in the Visual Studio Code settings.
When prompted to Select SDK type, click nRF Connect SDK Bare Metal.
When prompted to Select an SDK version (or enter the branch, tag or commit SHA) to install…, click v2.0.0 marked on the right by the label Pre-packaged SDKs & Toolchains.
When prompted to select a destination for the SDK, the default suggestion is recommended. Then, press Enter. The installer will proceed to install Bare Metal and the respective toolchain that it requires.
Install the toolchain.
The Bare Metal toolchain includes tools and modules required to build the samples and applications on top of it.
Use nRF Connect for VS Code to install the toolchain:
Note
These instructions are tested using nRF Connect for VS Code extension version 2025.5.92. Newer versions of the extension might feature changes to the user interface. It is recommended to use the latest version of the extension.
Open the nRF Connect extension in Visual Studio Code by clicking its icon in the Activity Bar.
If this is your first time installing the toolchain, click Install Toolchain in the extension’s Welcome View.
If you have installed a toolchain before, click on Manage toolchains in the extension’s Welcome View. Then, select Install Toolchain from the quick pick menu that appears.
The list of available stable toolchain versions appears in the Visual Studio Code’s quick pick.
Select the toolchain version to install. For this release of Bare Metal, use version v3.3.0 of the toolchain.
Note
Every Bare Metal release uses the toolchain of the nRF Connect SDK version that it is based on.
The toolchain installation starts in the background, as can be seen in the notification that appears. If this is your first installation of the toolchain, wait for it to finish before moving to the next step of this procedure (getting the code).
When you install the toolchain for the first time, the installed version is automatically selected for your project.
Install the SDK.
Complete the following steps to get the Bare Metal code using the nRF Connect for VS Code extension.
In the extension’s Welcome View, click Manage SDKs. A popup window will appear.
Click Install SDK.
When prompted to Select SDK type, click nRF Connect SDK Bare Metal.
When prompted to Select an SDK version (or enter the branch, tag or commit SHA) to install…, click v2.0.0 marked on the right by the label GitHub.
When prompted to select a destination for the SDK, the default suggestion is recommended. Then, press Enter. Bare Metal will now be installed.
Your directory structure should now look similar to this:
ncs
├─── toolchains
│ └─── <toolchain_version>
└─── nrf-bm/<sdk_version>
├─── bootloader
├─── modules
├─── nrf
├─── nrf-bm
├─── nrfxlib
├─── test
├─── tools
├─── zephyr
Next steps
You can now proceed to test the Samples included in this version of Bare Metal.
The samples can be found in the nrf-bm/samples folder, and are divided into subfolders:
bluetoothfor the samples showcasing Bluetooth® LE functionalities using the SoftDevice. See Bluetooth samples.bootfor the samples showcasing the functionalities related to Device Firmware Update. See DFU samples.nfcfor the samples showcasing the functionalities of Near Field Communication (NFC). See NFC samples.peripheralsfor the samples showcasing various peripheral functionalities that do not require the SoftDevice. See Peripheral samples.subsysfor the samples showcasing the usage of subsystems. See Subsystem samples.
Each sample documentation contains full information on how to build, flash, and test the respective sample.