Change AppData Board Manager Storage Location

[rs77can]

I am running into the 90 char limit for filenames during the ESP32 board manager install (this also happens with Portenta installs as well).

Is there any way to change the location of the board manager install - without having to uninstall the whole IDE, and reinstall as ALL Users (that would make it shorter).

Thanks

[ptillisch]

Hi @rs77can.

@rs77can

I am running into the 90 char limit for filenames

Are you sure it is a filename length limit you are hitting and not the path length limit? I can't imagine what would cause a filename limit to be hit, since the same filenames are used for all installations, and thus everyone would experience the same problem.

It is possible that you could hit a path length limit because the platform is installed under the user folder, and so a user with an exceptionally long username might hit a limit that someone with a short username would not.

@rs77can

Is there any way to change the location of the board manager install

Boards Manager installs platforms under the packages subfolder of the IDE's "data folder", which is also used to store some related files.

You can configure the location of the "data folder", and thus also where Boards Manager installs platforms.

I'll provide instructions:

1. Select File > Quit from the Arduino IDE menus if the IDE is running.
   All Arduino IDE windows will close.
2. Use any text editor to open the file at the following path:

   C:\Users\<username>\.arduinoIDE\arduino-cli.yaml
   

   (where <username> is your Windows username)
3. You will see a line like this in the file:

     data: c:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Arduino15
   

   (where <username> is your Windows username)
   Change the path on that line to the path you want to use as the data folder.
4. Save the file.

If there are files in the folder at the previous data folder path , you can move them to the new data folder.