Qt for Linux/X11 - Building from Source

This page describes configuring and building Qt for Linux/X11 from sources. Note that it is typically easier to install the pre-built Qt libraries and tools via Qt Online Installer. A lot of Linux distributions also provide Qt packages through their package manager. Build Qt from sources, however, if you want to customize Qt further or are using a distribution for which no binary Qt packages (in the right version) are available.

Distribution packagers can find further information on how to package Qt in the packaging recommendations.

Step 1: Getting the Sources

Qt sources can be installed in Qt Online Installer. Source packages are also available through Git, as archives in the Qt Account (commercial users), and on download.qt.io (open-source users).

If you install the sources through Qt Online Installer, they will be available in the Qt installation directory, for example $HOME/Qt/6.8.1/Src.

If you downloaded the single source archive, extract it to a directory of your choice:

cd /tmp
tar xf ~/Downloads/qt-everywhere-src-6.8.1.tar.xz

Step 2: Install Build Requirements

Building Qt requires a build environment with tools, compilers, and development packages.

Build Tools

Compilers & Development Packages

The following compilers and configurations are supported in Qt 6.8:

Other compilers and configurations might work but are not actively tested.

Qt also relies on the availability of various libraries and development packages, which are typically installed by the package manager of the respective resolution. See Qt for X11 Requirements for the details.

Step 3: Build the Qt Libraries and Tools

To configure your build, create a build directory and run the ./configure script in this directory:

mkdir -p ~/dev/qt-build
cd ~/dev/qt-build
/tmp/qt-everywhere-src-6.8.1/configure

By default, Qt is configured for installation in the /usr/local/Qt-6.8.1 directory. This can be changed by using the -prefix option. See the list of configure options to tweak further.

Did configure run successfully? Then proceed with building the libraries and tools:

cmake --build . --parallel

After building, you need to install the libraries and tools in the appropriate place (unless you enabled a developer build):

cmake --install .

Note that this might require root access.

Step 4: Building Your Application

After Qt is installed, you can start building applications with it.

If you work from the command line, consider adding the Qt tools to your default PATH. This is done as follows:

In .profile (if your shell is bash, ksh, zsh or sh), add the following lines:

PATH=/usr/local/Qt-6.8.1/bin:$PATH
export PATH

In .login (if your shell is csh or tcsh), add the following line:

setenv PATH /usr/local/Qt-6.8.1/bin:$PATH

If you plan to use Qt from an IDE, you need to register the Qt version explicitly there. For Qt Creator, see Qt Creator: Adding Qt Versions.