Where to place custom .xml flash device files for Quartus Programmer?

Frank, good question — this is a common field-deployment pain point. Let me walk through what the documentation actually says about the options.

How the Custom database directory works

The Custom database directory specifies the location of the .xml file that preserves a flash memory device definition and flow information. The default location is the project directory or current working directory. Generic Flash Programmer User Guide: Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition This setting is configured at the time the .jic is generated (via the Convert Programming Files dialog or Programming File Generator), so it is effectively "baked in" to the generation-time context — not something the standalone Programmer re-prompts for when it later loads the .jic.

You must always have this .xml file in the directory specified by the Custom database directory field when using the Quartus Programmer. AN 981: Using Generic QSPI Flash on SDM Devices

Your two practical options for field deployment

The documentation explicitly describes exactly the two options you've already identified:

1. Option 1 (recommended for field use): Store the defined flash XML at the quartus/common/devinfo/programmer/xml directory, which is the default option. Error(210026): File / .jic is corrupted This is the most robust approach for standalone Programmer deployments because it requires no project structure — the Programmer always looks there.
2. Option 2: Store the XML and JIC files in the same directory. Error(210026): File / .jic is corrupted When you specify a non-default folder for the Custom database directory location, place the .sof and .jic files in the same folder as the .xml file to avoid missing a defined flash database or corruption of the .jic file. Generic Flash Programmer User Guide: Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition

Root cause context

Due to a problem with Quartus Prime Software version 19.1, the user-defined flash device database in the Convert Programming Files and Programming File Generator is missing when XML, SOF, and JIC files are not located in the same directory. This caused the Configuration Device to be unable to locate the user-defined flash stored in the directory when doing file generation. Why is my user-defined flash device database in the Configuration Device missing? This problem is fixed starting with Quartus Prime Standard Software version 19.1 and Quartus Prime Pro Edition Software version 19.2. Error(210026): File / .jic is corrupted

Recommendation for your field service scenario

For a standalone Programmer installation with no project, Option 1 is the cleaner operational choice: pre-populate the custom .xml into the installation's programmer/xml directory as part of your field service kit preparation. This way the Programmer resolves the flash device definition regardless of where the .jic file happens to reside on the technician's machine.

Option 2 (co-locate .xml + .jic) also works reliably and may be preferable if you want a self-contained programming package (a single folder handed to the technician), but it does require that the technician keeps those files together — any copy that separates them will break the lookup.

There is no documented mechanism to specify or override the Custom database directory path interactively within the standalone Programmer when loading a pre-built .jic; that path is set at .jic generation time, making the two options above the supported approaches.

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