Set Up Build Kits

The MRS SDK for Qt leverages Qt Creator kits to cross-compile projects for various MRS products.

Tip

Qt Creator kits can be difficult to understand at first. If you have never worked with kits before, it is recommended to read Qt’s documentation before diving in blindly.

Here are some of the most relevant pages:

• Managing Qt versions
• Managing registered compilers
• Manage kits
• Configuring projects

Install Qt Creator

NOTE: Qt Creator is installed by default in the standard MRS SDK VM. If you are using the standard VM (and do not need to update Qt Creator), skip to kit setup.

If you have never installed Qt before, or do not have the Qt Maintenance Tool, use the Qt Online Installer steps. If you have installed Qt before, but didn’t install Qt Creator or want to update it, use the Qt Maintenance Tool steps.

Qt Online Installer

NOTE: these steps are based on version 4.10.0 of the Qt Online Installer.

1. Create a new Qt account: https://login.qt.io/register

2. Download the Qt Online Installer from here: https://my.qt.io/download

   • If you are using an Ubuntu/Linux VM, use the Linux x64 installer

3. Run the installer (make it executable if on Linux). Log in with your Qt credentials and accept the licenses.

4. Choose a directory to install Qt. The default of $HOME/Qt is fine, or you can choose a different location.

5. You will be presented with a list of components available to be installed. Choose Qt Creator:

   

6. When you reach the “You are installing” screen, you should see only Maintenance Tool and Qt Creator.

7. Click Install to finish the installation.

Qt Maintenance Tool

NOTE: these steps are based on version 4.10.0 of the Qt Maintenance Tool.

1. Run the Qt Maintenance Tool. It is located at the top level of your existing Qt installation.

2. Log in with your Qt credentials, then select Update components as the maintenance action.

3. You will be presented with a list of components available to install/update. Choose Qt Creator, CMake, Ninja, and SDKTool. Make sure Qt Design Studio is unavailable or deselected; you do not need it for developing with the MRS Qt SDK.

   

4. Click Update to finish the installation.

Which kits do I need?

Most users will not need to set up all of the possible SDK kits. For example, if you have only NeuralPlex devices, you will only need 1 of the 5 kits to work on your projects.

The following table summarizes which kits you’ll need:

Product	Kits Required
NeuralPlex	desktop-qt6
MConn	mconn-yocto, mconn-buildroot, desktop-qt5
FUSION	fusion-buildroot, desktop-qt5

NOTE: any contributors to the SDK project will need to set up all kits in order to have full testing capabilities.

Configure Kits

Note

Make sure you install Qt Creator before trying to configure any kits.

CMake

The SDK exports a few helper scripts under lib/cmake/mrs-sdk-qt/toolchains for bootstrapping CMake with the right Qt version:

File	Qt version	Target OS identifier
qt5-buildroot.cmake	Buildroot Qt 5.9.1	buildroot
qt5-yocto.cmake	Yocto Qt 5.12.9	yocto
qt5-desktop.cmake	Desktop Qt 5.15	desktop
qt6-desktop.cmake	Desktop Qt 6.8	desktop

Each helper sets cache variables used in lib/cmake/mrs-sdk-qt/config.cmake to compute a consistent kit identity. When creating SDK kits, you’ll pass the location of this helper with something like -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=lib/cmake/mrs-sdk-qt/toolchains/qt5-yocto.cmake.

QMake

The SDK exports a few helper scripts under lib/qmake/mrs-sdk-qt/toolchains for bootstrapping QMake with the right Qt version:

File	Qt version	Target OS identifier
qt5-buildroot.pri	Buildroot Qt 5.9.1	buildroot
qt5-yocto.pri	Yocto Qt 5.12.9	yocto
qt5-desktop.pri	Desktop Qt 5.15	desktop
qt6-desktop.pri	Desktop Qt 6.8	desktop

Each helper sets variables used in lib/qmake/mrs-sdk-qt/config.pri to compute a consistent kit identity. When creating SDK kits, you’ll pass the location of this helper with something like -DQMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=lib/qmake/mrs-sdk-qt/toolchains/qt5-yocto.pri.

In addition to configuring the helper script to use, you’ll have to tell the kit which MRS product it targets.

---

MConn Yocto (Qt5)

Setup steps coming soon!

MConn Buildroot (Qt5)

Setup steps coming soon!

FUSION Buildroot (Qt5)

Setup steps coming soon!

Desktop Qt6

NOTE: these steps are based on version 13.0.0 of Qt Creator, which is the version installed by default in the MRS SDK VM.

1. Open Qt Creator and go to Edit > Preferences > Kits.

2. There will be a few tabs across the top of the window. Go to Qt Versions.

3. Add the Qt 6.8 version by selecting its qmake program, located at /opt/Qt/6.8.0/gcc_64/bin/qmake:

   

4. Go to Compilers. Verify the C/C++ compilers were auto-detected:

   

   There may be multiple compiler options on your system even if only one was auto-detected. Look for paths like /usr/bin/gcc, /bin/gcc, or /usr/lib/ccache/gcc. Run apt install build-essential to install the GNU compilers if necessary.

5. Go to Debuggers. Verify a system GDB debugger was auto-detected:

   

   Look for paths like /usr/bin/gdb or /bin/gdb. Run apt install gdb to install the GDB debugger if necessary.

6. Navigate to the CMake section in the sidebar, then go to the Tools tab.

7. Verify a system CMake tool was auto-detected:

   

   Look for the path /usr/bin/cmake. Run apt install cmake to install CMake if necessary.

8. Now that all the kit’s components have been verified, it’s time to create the kit! Navigate back to Kits.

9. Click Add to add a new kit. Edit the configuration to match this:

   

   Make sure the proper compiler, debugger, and CMake tool are selected.

10. Next, you’ll need to add some environment variables to configure the SDK. Click the Change… button for the Environment configuration and add the following, inserting the path to your MRS SDK installation:

    MRS_SDK_QT_TARGET_DEVICE=Desktop
    QMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=<path-to-sdk-installation>/current/lib/qmake/mrs-sdk-qt/toolchains/qt6-desktop.pri

    

11. Finally, you need to verify CMake is configured for the SDK properly. Click the Change… button next to CMake Configuration and add the following, inserting the path to your MRS SDK installation:

    -DQT_QMAKE_EXECUTABLE:FILEPATH=%{Qt:qmakeExecutable}
    -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH:PATH=%{Qt:QT_INSTALL_PREFIX}
    -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER:FILEPATH=%{Compiler:Executable:C}
    -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER:FILEPATH=%{Compiler:Executable:Cxx}
    -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE:STRING=<path-to-mrs-sdk-installation>/current/lib/cmake/mrs-sdk-qt/toolchains/qt6-desktop.cmake

    

12. Your Desktop Qt6 kit is now complete and ready to use with the MRS SDK!

Desktop Qt5

NOTE: these steps are based on version 13.0.0 of Qt Creator, which is the version installed by default in the MRS SDK VM.

1. Open Qt Creator and go to Edit > Preferences > Kits.

2. There will be a few tabs across the top of the window. Go to Qt Versions.

3. Add the Qt 5.15 version by selecting its qmake program, located at /opt/Qt/5.15.0/gcc_64/bin/qmake:

   

4. Go to Compilers. Verify the C/C++ compilers were auto-detected:

   

   There may be multiple compiler options on your system even if only one was auto-detected. Look for paths like /usr/bin/gcc, /bin/gcc, or /usr/lib/ccache/gcc. Run apt install build-essential to install the GNU compilers if necessary.

5. Go to Debuggers. Verify a system GDB debugger was auto-detected:

   

   Look for paths like /usr/bin/gdb or /bin/gdb. Run apt install gdb to install the GDB debugger if necessary.

6. Navigate to the CMake section in the sidebar, then go to the Tools tab.

7. Verify a system CMake tool was auto-detected:

   

   Look for the path /usr/bin/cmake. Run apt install cmake to install CMake if necessary.

8. Now that all the kit’s components have been verified, it’s time to create the kit! Navigate back to Kits.

9. Click Add to add a new kit. Edit the configuration to match this:

   

   Make sure the proper compiler, debugger, and CMake tool are selected.

10. Next, you’ll need to add some environment variables to configure the SDK. Click the Change… button for the Environment configuration and add the following, inserting the path to your MRS SDK installation:

    MRS_SDK_QT_TARGET_DEVICE=Desktop
    QMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=<path-to-sdk-installation>/current/lib/qmake/mrs-sdk-qt/toolchains/qt5-desktop.pri

    

11. Finally, you need to verify CMake is configured for the SDK properly. Click the Change… button next to CMake Configuration and add the following, inserting the path to your MRS SDK installation:

    -DQT_QMAKE_EXECUTABLE:FILEPATH=%{Qt:qmakeExecutable}
    -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH:PATH=%{Qt:QT_INSTALL_PREFIX}
    -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER:FILEPATH=%{Compiler:Executable:C}
    -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER:FILEPATH=%{Compiler:Executable:Cxx}
    -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE:STRING=<path-to-mrs-sdk-installation>/current/lib/cmake/mrs-sdk-qt/toolchains/qt5-desktop.cmake

    

12. Your Desktop Qt5 kit is now complete and ready to use with the MRS SDK!