The workflow for managing and downloading the nRF Connect SDK and its toolchain is currently based around nRF Connect for Desktop's Toolchain Manager application. While this provides a streamlined workflow for getting started with new nRF Connect SDK projects, it is not compatible with Zephyr's workflow centered on west. This means that it is harder to set up workspace applications, target a fork or an unreleased branch of the nRF Connect SDK, and use third-party SDKs or raw Zephyr installations.
To support these workflows and remove the reliance on nRF Connect for Desktop, we will be adding several new tools for managing your workspaces and toolchains directly in VS Code. While it is not yet possible to bypass nRF Connect for Desktop (or command line west commands) entirely, we have started making changes to the VS Code extensions to provide full control over your development environment without relying on additional tools or downloads.