Cross compile Qt (Windows) to Raspberry 3

[lygstate]

If the steps is not appear, then following the steps in https://visualgdb.com/tutorials/raspberry/qt/embedded/, otherwise using the steps below instead

• Step 3: Download gcc 4.9.2 for Windows
  https://wiki.qt.io/MinGW
  https://download.qt.io/online/qtsdkrepository/windows_x86/desktop/tools_mingw/
  The download URL is
  https://download.qt.io/online/qtsdkrepository/windows_x86/desktop/tools_mingw/qt.tools.win32_mingw492/4.9.2-1i686-4.9.2-release-posix-dwarf-rt_v3-rev1.7z
  extract as C:/SysGCC/mingw32
  gcc would placed at C:/SysGCC/mingw32/bin/gcc.exe

• Step 5: Download Qt 5.8.0/Qt 5.6.1 source
  and extract as
  C:\SysGCC\qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0
  There is path C:\SysGCC\qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0\qtbase

• Step 6: Sync sysroot

  /lib
  /usr/include
  /usr/lib
  /usr/local/include
  /usr/local/lib
  /opt
  
  /opt/vc
  

• Step 7: Install MSYS2
  Download newest msys2 from http://www.msys2.org/
  http://repo.msys2.org/distrib/x86_64/msys2-x86_64-20161025.exe
  Install it.
  open msys2/mingw32.exe

  pacman -S make perl pkg-config diffutils
  

  Close the shell

• Steop 8: Edit ~/.bashrc
  Append following lines

  export PATH=$PATH:/c/SysGCC/mingw32/bin
  export PATH=$PATH:/c/Python27
  export PATH=$PATH:/c/SysGCC/Raspberry/bin
  mkdir -p /c/SysGCC/qt-build
  cd /c/SysGCC/qt-build
  

  open msys2/mingw32.exe

• Step 9: Check that gcc is linked to C:/SysGCC/mingw32/bin/gcc.exe

• Step10: Prepare the source code
  Copy folder qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0\qtbase\mkspecs\linux-arm-gnueabi-g++\
  and it's contents as
  qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0\qtbase\mkspecs\linux-arm-gnueabihf-g++\
  in folder qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0\qtbase\mkspecs\linux-arm-gnueabihf-g++\
grep -irn arm-linux-gnueabi- arm-linux-gnueabihf- .

  Edit qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0\qtbase\mkspecs\devices\linux-rpi3-g++\qmake.conf
  Replace part lines with (This should also works for Qt 5.6.1, not tested for OpenGL ES):

  VC_LIBRARY_PATH         = $$[QT_SYSROOT]/opt/vc/lib
  VC_INCLUDE_PATH         = $$[QT_SYSROOT]/opt/vc/include
  
  QMAKE_LFLAGS           += -L$${VC_LIBRARY_PATH}
  
  VC_LINK_LINE            = -L$${VC_LIBRARY_PATH}
  

• Step 12: Configure for Host & Target(Only Qt 5.8 and upper, Qt 5.7 not tested)
  For Qt 5.8 Host & Target
  No step 16, results are in step 16.

  ../qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/configure -skip qtscript -platform win32-g++ -xplatform linux-arm-gnueabihf-g++ -release -device linux-rpi3-g++ -sysroot C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot -prefix /usr/local/qt5 -device-option CROSS_COMPILE=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf- -nomake examples -opensource -confirm-license
  

  For Qt 5.6 and lower, Only Host

  ../qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.6.1/configure -skip qtscript -platform win32-g++ -xplatform linux-arm-gnueabihf-g++ -release -device linux-rpi3-g++ -sysroot C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot -prefix /usr/local/qt5 -opensource -confirm-license
  

• Step13: Skip

• Step 14: This is normal as long as qmake.exe got built. Check this by running qtbase/bin/qmake -v

• Step 15: Skip

• Step 16: Configure the Target (Only Qt 5.6 and lower), otherwise Skip it
  Remove -std=c++1z from qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.6.1\qtbase\mkspecs\devices\linux-rpi3-g++\qmake.conf
  Qt 5.6.x execute the following command

  ../qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.6.1/configure -skip qtscript -platform win32-g++ -xplatform linux-arm-gnueabihf-g++ -release -device linux-rpi3-g++ -sysroot C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot -prefix /usr/local/qt5 -device-option CROSS_COMPILE=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf- -nomake examples -opensource -confirm-license
  

• Step 17: Building And Install

  make && make install
  

[jsulm]

@lygstate Pass this to configure:

-skip qtscript

[lygstate]

@jsulm Thanks, I am using this method.

[CrazyCreepy]

I do all the tuto and i can make a excutable with qt but the qlabel and the qpushbutton it isn't show. i think it's because when create the qmake the modul gtk isn't enable. when i try to enable it that said

ERROR: Feature 'gtk3' was enabled, but the pre-condition 'features.glib && libs.gtk3' failed.

it's do 1 week i try to fine how to fix the pre-condition.

[jsulm]

@CrazyCreepy "qlabel and the qpushbutton it isn't show" - what does it mean? Are they not shown at all, or no text?
For gtk3 support you probably need to install gtk3 dev packages, but it actually should work without.
If there is no text then you probably have some font issues.

[CrazyCreepy]

@jsulm I mean the label and push button doesn't exist! if i wants to close my windows i will use httop... it work without gtk3 but not all feature is enable and this can be very problematic later... and i installe Gtk3 on my rasp, but they change noting i need to configure in my compiler but i don't know how .

[jsulm]

@CrazyCreepy As I said you need to install gtk3/glib dev packages on your RPi/sysroot and then build Qt (there is nothing to configure in compiler).
"label and push button doesn't exist" - you probably mean - they are not shown?

[CrazyCreepy]

that what i get on my raspberry pi

and that was i get

I have already install the glib and gtk3 on my raspberry... I also try to syncronize all of my raspberry pi with smartputty in my sysroot and it's doesn't work... I'm little exhausted of this.... thanks for help.

[pinballsp]

Hello.

Very good instructions to config QT5 for RPY3 with cross. I try to install but fail in step6, seem some permissions problem, but do not know why, I work with Administrator user, and I have change permissions to all files to get access to all users.

This is capture screen about fail when I try to run step 6 to syncronize sysroot. Somebody may help me, why fail ??. Translation to english language about the error message is "Cannot connect: Try to access to one socket not allowed because your access permissions 192.168.1.7"

If I run directly StmarTTY from Windows work perfectly, but I run SmarTTY from a DOS window also fail with same error message,

[pinballsp]

.

Hello.

My before problem was because the firewall, already solved. I have follow instructions of lystate user, and all seem ok but fail in last step, with this error message.

Somebody know how to solve this problem to may compile ??

.

And this is the content of the config.log file:

executing config test use_gold_linker
cd C:\SysGCC\qt-build\qtbase\config.tests && C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++ -fuse-ld=gold -o conftest-out conftest.cpp
cc1plus.exe: error: unrecognized command line option '-fuse-ld=gold'

test config.qtbase.tests.use_gold_linker FAILED
executing config test verifyspec

cd C:\SysGCC\qt-build\qtbase\config.tests\common\verifyspec && C:\SysGCC\qt-build\qtbase\bin\qmake.exe -qtconf C:/SysGCC/qt-build/qtbase/bin/qt.conf "CONFIG -= qt debug_and_release app_bundle lib_bundle" "CONFIG += shared console" "QMAKE_CFLAGS += --sysroot=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot" "QMAKE_CXXFLAGS += --sysroot=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot" "QMAKE_LFLAGS += --sysroot=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot" C:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/config.tests/common/verifyspec

cd C:\SysGCC\qt-build\qtbase\config.tests\common\verifyspec && set MAKEFLAGS=& C:/SysGCC/msys2/usr/bin/make

C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++ -c -march=armv8-a -mtune=cortex-a53 -mfpu=crypto-neon-fp-armv8 -mfloat-abi=hard --sysroot=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot -O2 -Wall -W -fPIC -IC:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/config.tests/common/verifyspec -I. -IC:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/mkspecs/devices/linux-rpi3-g++ -o verifyspec.obj C:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/config.tests/common/verifyspec/verifyspec.cpp

cc1plus.exe: error: bad value (armv8-a) for -march switch
cc1plus.exe: error: bad value (cortex-a53) for -mtune switch

C:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/config.tests/common/verifyspec/verifyspec.cpp:1:0: error: invalid floating point option: -mfpu=crypto-neon-fp-armv8
make: *** [Makefile:176: verifyspec.obj] Error 1
executing config test verifyspec

cd C:\SysGCC\qt-build\qtbase\config.tests\common\verifyspec && C:\SysGCC\qt-build\qtbase\bin\qmake.exe -qtconf C:/SysGCC/qt-build/qtbase/bin/qt.conf "CONFIG -= qt debug_and_release app_bundle lib_bundle" "CONFIG += shared console" "QMAKE_CFLAGS += --sysroot=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot" "QMAKE_CXXFLAGS += --sysroot=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot" "QMAKE_LFLAGS += --sysroot=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot" C:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/config.tests/common/verifyspec

cd C:\SysGCC\qt-build\qtbase\config.tests\common\verifyspec && set MAKEFLAGS=&

C:/SysGCC/msys2/usr/bin/make clean && set MAKEFLAGS=& C:/SysGCC/msys2/usr/bin/make
rm -f verifyspec.obj
rm -f *~ core *.core

C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++ -c -march=armv8-a -mtune=cortex-a53 -mfpu=crypto-neon-fp-armv8 -mfloat-abi=hard --sysroot=C:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot -O2 -Wall -W -fPIC -IC:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/config.tests/common/verifyspec -I. -IC:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/mkspecs/devices/linux-rpi3-g++ -o verifyspec.obj C:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/config.tests/common/verifyspec/verifyspec.cpp

cc1plus.exe: error: bad value (armv8-a) for -march switch
cc1plus.exe: error: bad value (cortex-a53) for -mtune switch

C:/SysGCC/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0/qtbase/config.tests/common/verifyspec/verifyspec.cpp:1:0: error: invalid floating point option: -mfpu=crypto-neon-fp-armv8

make: *** [Makefile:176: verifyspec.obj] Error 1

[jsulm]

@pinballsp armv8-a? Shouldn't it be armv7 for RPi? Please show your configure call.

[ahmedawad]

@lygstate I followed your steps in details, but it looks like there is something wrong in step 10. My compilation terminates due to #include <EGL/egl.h> not found.

Please can you elaborate step 10 again. Inside the directory "qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0\qtbase\mkspecs" , there only exist "linux-arm-gnueabi-g++" and no other directory called "linux-arm-gnueabihf-g++" under that path found.
Is it the same to open "qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.8.0\qtbase\mkspecs\linux-arm-gnueabi-g++\qmake.conf" and change every instance of arm-linux-gnueabi- with arm-linux-gnueabihf- ??

Any way the error I get is as follows:


Please did you go through all these steps and compiled 5.8 at the end ?

Thanks in advance

[K-Str]

This post is deleted!

[K-Str]

@etiennedm ,
thanks for this very good tutorial.
It works without any problems and you can follow them without any modification.
I would be happy if I can find such detailed description also for actual Qt5 for cross compiling on a Windows machine and other Qt5 topics!
Kurt

[megakoresh]

Hello, it appears this tutorial does not work with the QT version 5.9.1 due to the following error:

S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-591/qtbase/src/corelib/io/qsettings.cpp:965:40: error: 'KNOWNFOLDERID' does not name a type
S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-591/qtbase/src/corelib/io/qsettings.cpp:965:55: error: ISO C++ forbids declaration of 'type' with no type [-fpermissive]
S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-591/qtbase/src/corelib/io/qsettings.cpp: In function 'QString windowsConfigPath(const int&)':
S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-591/qtbase/src/corelib/io/qsettings.cpp:970:53: error: 'SHGetKnownFolderPath' was not declared in this scope
S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-591/qtbase/src/corelib/io/qsettings.cpp:976:21: error: 'FOLDERID_ProgramData' was not declared in this scope
S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-591/qtbase/src/corelib/io/qsettings.cpp:978:28: error: 'FOLDERID_RoamingAppData' was not declared in this scope
S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-591/qtbase/src/corelib/io/qsettings.cpp: In function 'void initDefaultPaths(QMutexLocker*)':
S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-591/qtbase/src/corelib/io/qsettings.cpp:1080:64: error: 'FOLDERID_RoamingAppData' was not declared in this scope
S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-591/qtbase/src/corelib/io/qsettings.cpp:1081:61: error: 'FOLDERID_ProgramData' was not declared in this scope

So I tried with version 5.6.2 and that one works until step 16 - since I need OpenGL and libxcb, I can't omit them, and then I get the error that OpenGL is missing:

The OpenGL ES 2.0 functionality test failed!
 Use of pkg-config is not enabled, maybe you want to pass -pkg-config?
 You might need to modify the include and library search paths by editing
 QMAKE_INCDIR_OPENGL_ES2, QMAKE_LIBDIR_OPENGL_ES2 and QMAKE_LIBS_OPENGL_ES2 in
 S:/Development/qt-everywhere-opensource-src-562/qtbase/mkspecs/devices/linux-rpi3-g++.

From my understanding, judging from the -v option output, it's trying to include a file gl2.h, but failing:

S:/Development/SysGCC/Raspberry/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++ -c -march=armv8-a -mtune=cortex-a53 -mfpu=crypto-neon-fp-armv8 -mfloat-abi=hard --sysroot=S:/Development/SysGCC/Raspbery/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot -g -std=gnu++0x -Wall -W -fPIC  -I. -I/opt/vc/include -I/opt/vc/include/GLES2 -I/opt/vc/include/GLES -I/opt/vc/include/EGL -I/opt/vc/include/vcinclude -I/opt/vc/include/interface/vcos/pthreads -I/opt/vc/include/interface/vmcs_host/linux -I../../../mkspecs/devices/linux-rpi3-g++ -o opengles2.obj opengles2.cpp
opengles2.cpp:37:25: fatal error: GLES2/gl2.h: No such file or directory
   #include <GLES2/gl2.h>

However, the file actually does exit as the sysroot:

Looking at the internet for 2 days, it appears that proper cross-compilation of QT from Windows to Raspberry is literally just impossible. Or am I missing something?

EDIT: The tutorial says to replace MinGW with MinGW64 with GCC 4.9>=, but the sysprogs website only has one with 4.6. I went to MinGW site to obtain the latest, but that one has some strange parameters in the installer (sjsj??) I don't know what to set there.

EDIT#2:
I managed to get the build to completion by replacing SysProg's synchronization with rsync using Windows 10 Bash and by manually installing the latest version of MinGW64 instead of using SysProgs installer. Manually rsyncing using the following command seemed to have resolved the symlink mess (need to cd to parent of sysroot first):

RSYNC_OPTS='-rtkLDvz --no-specials --no-devices'
sshpass -p $RSYNC_PASSWORD rsync $RSYNC_OPTS pi@$R_HOST:/lib sysroot && \
sshpass -p $RSYNC_PASSWORD rsync $RSYNC_OPTS pi@$R_HOST:/usr/include sysroot/usr && \
sshpass -p $RSYNC_PASSWORD rsync $RSYNC_OPTS pi@$R_HOST:/usr/lib sysroot/usr && \
sshpass -p $RSYNC_PASSWORD rsync $RSYNC_OPTS pi@$R_HOST:/usr/share/X11 sysroot/usr/share && \
sshpass -p $RSYNC_PASSWORD rsync $RSYNC_OPTS pi@$R_HOST:/opt/vc sysroot/opt

Where RSYNC_PASSWORD is the password to your raspberry host.
However after running the build, I looked into the qt5 directory and saw Windows .exe files in there instead of qmake that raspberry can use. Then I couldn't get the QT Creator to work with that toolchain because it just didnt detect the qmake (ofc it didnt theres a windows .exe in there instead!). So any suggestions? The final configure call before I run make && make install is:

../../qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.6.2/qtbase/configure -platform win32-g++ -xplatform linux-arm-gnueabi-g++ -release -device linux-rpi3-g++ -sysroot E:/SysGCC/Raspberry/arm-linux-gnueabihf/sysroot -prefix /usr/local/qt5 -device-option CROSS_COMPILE=E:/SysGCC/Raspberry/bin/arm-linux-gnueabihf- -nomake examples -opensource -confirm-license -opengl es2

(Drive is different since its another PC)

EDIT#3
From the limited amount of information online about this, it seems like qmake is not required on target since the package is a runnable binary, and at first glance the QtCreator CAN build my package, however it can not deploy and it can not debug. And when I manually rsync-ed the app binary to the raspberry and tried to run it, it gave me a bunch of strange errors like Qt_5 is not defined in some header, etc. and didn't run. But the binary is at least in the correct format to run at raspberry so at least the cross compiler worked. Can someone help me get that Qt Creator and GDB setup?

EDIT#4
I managed to solve the problem by setting an env variable in bashrc to point to the qt installation, then it started complaining about some plugin that failed to load, so I had to add the plugin variable, and then finally the font variable:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/usr/local/qt5/lib
export QT_PLUGIN_PATH=/usr/local/qt5/plugins
export QT_QWS_FONTDIR=/usr/local/qt5/lib/fonts

Now the app complains a different thing:

qt.qpa.egldeviceintegration: Failed to load EGL device integration "eglfs_brcm"
Could not open egl display
Aborted

If I start the app using ./app -platform linuxfb it works, but looks horrible, lags and has some strange graphical artifacts whenever I change window position.

EDIT#5:
After I disabled the desktop login, like the SysProgs tutorial suggests, I set the app to start using the following command

/usr/bin/startx /home/pi/app -platform linuxfb

so the opengl stuff still doesn't work (cant find display, I suspect this is a system configuration problem), but without the desktop running, the app looks fine (we have no intensive graphics anyway). In QT Creator make sure its set to login to device as root (and enable root login over ssh on your development raspberry), then set deployment to a custom command, set the command to /usr/bin/startx and everything that comes after that (/home/pi/app -platform linuxfb) as arguments. Then QT should be able to deploy the app. Now the problem is with debugger, as QT can not use the toolchain debugger due to no pythin support. I have to build it myself. When I manage to do that, I try to document the full process and link it here.

[hervir]

@pinballsp I am having the same problem. Did you find a way to solve it?

[Csaba911]

This is just gibberish, its mindboggling that there is no option it Qt5 to add raspberry and it will install all option/setting its required.
Linux and Qt is so discouraging to use it, I don't understand people and their mind, either this instructions are written poorly or just always assuming that the person will understand what being told.
Instruction provided here is extremely disorganized and actually not working, maybe it was working when it was created but not now.

[jsulm]

@csaba911 You can't expect QtCompany to provide official Qt installers/binaries for every existing and future platform/hardware. This is simply not possible because of limited resources and time.
If you want to do cross compilation, then yes you have to learn how it works, this is life.
Did you check https://wiki.qt.io/Raspberry_Pi_Beginners_Guide ?

"Linux and Qt is so discouraging to use it, I don't understand people and their mind" - then don't use it, really...
I use both since many many years and don't want to use anything other than Linux for software development.

Posts like yours do not improve anything, sorry. Constructive critic, improvement suggestions and patches are welcome (this is how open source works).

[ThomasX]

The tutorial this thread relates to, + the bare existence of this thread, shows how incredibly poor Qt works. "Easy" is what they try to sell it as. What a load of bulls....

And Yes, we can expect Qt to provide official installer for the RPI. And they did, it just doesn't work. As does, seemingly, nothing else. And it seems Qt doesn't bother to fix it or even inform about the problems or how to work around them, if even possible.

Having tried to get this s**t to work for a few days now and having googled a lot to find info, I can conclude that the official info is incredibly messy and never complete, and anything else is just out-dated and non-working. This thread is more than three years old, and the forum seems pretty dead, not a single response for days on my post, and very few views.

I don't know, perhaps Qt has some corporate customers getting a lot of support from Qt to get things working, but other than that, is seems totally wasted. Sorry, but that's the impression I am getting.

Constructive criticism? Sure: Fix the things that doesn't work: Like Qt2Boot for RPI3. Write tutorials that start at the beginning and works through to the end, and that are up to date.

And this is just not the open source, it's the same issues with the commercial stuff. I know, I tried it!

And if there really are people out there who's used it for years, knows how to do it, why not give som help? Telling us not to use it isn't helping, really...

[ThomasX]

@hervir @Csaba911

Try CDP Studio instead. In less than 30 minutes I had a full graphical demo interface up and running on Pi3B+ with working touch screen and all. That was truly magically simple.