How To
The following topics describe how to use Qt Creator to perform a particular task.
Analyze
Use integrated code analysis tools to detect memory leaks, profile function execution, analyze CPU use, and eliminate unnecessary complexity of code. Other integrated tools provide code coverage and visualize trace events.
- Prevent code erosion
- Analyze code with Clang-Tidy and Clazy
- Configure Clang diagnostics
- Profile CMake code
- Create compiler explorer sessions
- Explore compiler code
- Specify Valgrind settings for a project
Build and Run
Use integrated cross-platform systems for build automation to compile your source code for different target platforms or with different compilers, debuggers, or Qt versions. Deploy applications to the target platforms and run them there.
- Use compilation databases
- Edit vcpkg manifest files
- Add custom output parsers
- Activate custom output parsers
- Edit Qbs profiles
- Build for many platforms
- Customize the build process
- Configure projects for building
- Enable debugging
Build with CMake
CMake controls the software compilation process by using simple configuration files, called CMakeLists.txt files.
- Debug CMake project files
- Profile CMake code
- View CMake project contents
- Read CMake documentation
- Add CMake tools
- Edit CMake configuration files
- Complete CMake code
- Format CMake files
- Manage files in CMake projects
- Add libraries to CMake projects
Build with qmake
qmake automates the generation of Makefiles based on the information in a project file that has the extension .pro.
Run applications
Run applications on local and remote desktop systems, as well as on embedded and mobile devices that you connect to the computer.
- Run in Qt Application Manager
- Run on remote Linux devices
- Configure projects for running
- Specify a custom executable to run
- Run on many platforms
- Run Python applications
- Run on QNX devices
Create Models and Diagrams
Create Universal Modeling Language (UML) style models with structured and behavioral diagrams that offer different views to your system. Or, use a file wizard to create State Chart XML (SCXML) files with boilerplate code and edit them with an SCXML editor.
- Create UML-style models
- Create package diagrams
- Create class diagrams
- Create component diagrams
- Create state charts
Debug
Use native debuggers to inspect the state of your application while debugging.
Design UIs
Design UIs with either Qt Quick or Qt Widgets. Qt Creator integrates a visual editor, Qt Designer, for designing widget-based UIs in the Design mode. For Qt Quick UIs, use a separate visual editor, Qt Design Studio, or the Edit mode.
Develop for Devices
Install the toolchain for building applications for the targeted embedded or mobile platform on the computer, and use Qt Online Installer to install Qt libraries that are built for the platform. Then add a kit with the toolchain and the Qt version for the device's architecture. When possible, Qt Online Installer creates suitable kits for you.
MCUs
Install Qt for MCUs and connect devices to the computer to run and debug applications on them.
Edit Code
The code editor offers useful features for editing C++ and QML code, such as semantic highlighting, checking code syntax, code completion, and quick fixes. Some of these features are also for other programming languages, such as Python, for which a language server is available that provides information about the code to IDEs.
- Complete code
- Indent text or code
- Check code syntax
- Automatically format QML/JS files
- Paste and fetch code snippets
- Move between files
- Move to symbols
- Insert multiple cursors
- Split the editor view
- Bookmark code
- Parse files
- Inspect the code model
- Use GitHub Copilot
- Compare files
- Edit Markdown files
- Record text editing macros
- Apply quick fixes
- Download highlight definitions
- Highlight code blocks
- Document code
- Switch to Edit mode
- Locate files using the keyboard
- Perform calculations
- Move in QML code
- Paste text from clipboard history
- Enclose code in brackets or quotes
- Select the current code block
- Write down notes
- Edit properties of QML types
Configure Editors
Configure the code and text editor to suit your specific needs by changing the fonts, colors, highlighting, and indentation.
- Add code snippets to the auto-complete menu
- Change editor colors
- Beautify source code
- Change text encoding
- Select line ending style
- Edit like in Vim
- Edit MIME types
- Specify code style
Manage Language Servers
Configure language servers that Qt Creator adds by default or add more of them.
- Add generic language servers
- Add a Java language server
- Configure Python language servers
- Turn on QML Language Server
- Inspect language clients
- Configure language server workspace
Search
Use the incremental and advanced search to search in currently open projects or files on the file system or use the locator to browse through projects, files, classes, functions, documentation, and file systems.
- Rename symbols
- Find symbols
- Navigate with locator
- Search in current file
- Search in projects or file systems
- Turn on Silver Searcher
- Search and replace using a regular expression
Manage Kits
Qt Creator groups build and run specific settings as kits to make cross-platform development easier. Each kit consists of a set of values that define one environment, such as a device, tool chain, Qt version, and debugger command to use.
Manage Projects
Create projects for developing applications and libraries. Then configure the projects for building and running the applications on target platforms.
- Add libraries to CMake projects
- Create vcpkg manifest files
- Import an existing project
- Configure projects for building
- Specify the environment for projects
- Edit environment settings
- Enable debugging
- Configure projects for running
- Use Qt Creator variables
- Develop Qt for Python applications
- Run Python applications
Create Projects
Use preset wizards to create projects or add custom wizards. You can also import projects from version control systems.
- Add wizards
- Select the build system
- Use project wizards
- Add subprojects to projects
- Add libraries to qmake projects
- Create Nimble projects
- Create Qt Quick Applications
- Create Qt Quick UI Prototypes
- Create VCS repositories for new projects
Add Files
Add files to projects.
- Add a license header template for C++ code
- Create files
- Create C++ classes
- Set C++ file naming preferences
- Create resource files
- Create OpenGL fragment and vertex shaders
- Add translation files
Configure Projects
Change the default configurations that installation programs and project wizards create.
- Link projects to Axivion dashboards
- Specify Clang tools settings
- Specify clangd settings
- Specify settings for quick fixes
- Configure language server workspace
- Specify project contents
- Open projects
- Specify dependencies
- Specify editor settings
- Activate kits for a project
- Share project settings
- Exclude files from to-do lists
- Link projects with GitLab
Read Documentation
Qt Creator integrates the reference documentation for the Qt versions that you install. You can add documentation from other sources.
- Read CMake documentation
- Get help
- Find information in Qt documentation
- Add bookmarks to help pages
- Search from documentation
- Add external documentation
- Detach the help window
- Select the help start page
- Filter documentation
Test
Create and run code based tests and build system based tests. Code based testing offers special handling for particular testing frameworks that strongly ties to the underlying code models or specialized parsers. Build system based testing is independent from any testing frameworks. It retrieves information directly from the underlying build system and uses it or even the build system as such to execute the respective tests.
- Create Qt tests
- Create Qt Quick tests
- Create Google tests
- Create Boost tests
- Create Catch2 tests
- Create CTest Based Tests
- Add tests to existing test projects
- Build and run tests
Use Qt Creator
Use basic Qt Creator features and preinstalled plugins. Install more plugins and configure external tools for use.
- Use external tools
- Use Qt Linguist
- Use external text editors
- Contact Qt
- Enable and disable plugins
- Find settings files
- Install plugins
- Install Qt Creator
- Record screens
- Run Qt Creator from the command line
- Inspect internal logs
- Manage sessions
- Manage data collection
- Collect usage statistics
- Set up version control systems
- Use common VCS functions
Use the UI
Navigate the UI or change its appearance and behavior.