Introduction

Dev Drive is a feature from Microsoft for Windows 11. It uses a specialized file system that supports and enhances the developer experience. One benefit of Dev Drive is increased performance. This article explains how to configure Studio Pro to use Dev Drive to increase performance.

Environment

Studio Pro (all versions)

Instructions/Procedure

Microsoft recommends moving commonly scanned files to Dev Drive. These files include project files, Gradle files, and caches used in development.

1. Enable Performance mode on Dev Drive. For guidance, see the official Microsoft documentation on setting up and installing Dev Drive
2. Move the project root folder to the Dev Drive:
   1. Create a folder on the Dev Drive, for example: D:\MendixProjects (where D: is the Dev Drive)
   2. Move the project root folder from the standard drive into this folder. For example: any project folders found in: C:\Users\UserName\MendixProjects
3. Move the Gradle installation to the Dev Drive:
   1. Create a folder on the Dev Drive for the Gradle installations, for example: D:\GradleInstallations
   2. Find the default Gradle installation folder in the Studio Pro menu: Edit>Preferences>Deployment under Build. For example: C:\Program Files\Mendix\gradle-x.x.x.
   3. Move any gradle-x.x.x folders to the new folder created on the Dev Drive
4. Move the Gradle cache to the Dev Drive:
   1. Create a Gradle cache directory in the Dev Drive, for example: D:\packages\gradle
   2. Set a global environment variable GRADLE_USER_HOME to point to that path, for example: use setx /M GRADLE_USER_HOME D:\packages\gradle in the command line to set it system-wide
   3. If there are existing Gradle files, move the contents of the current cache to this new directory. The default Gradle cache location is: C:\Users\UserName\.gradle

Outcome

Studio Pro benefits from the performance increases and other advantages of Dev Drive, resulting in faster load, run and open times.

Additional information

Other Documentation: 

• Set up a Dev Drive on Windows 11
• Protect Dev Drive using performance mode