Qt Creator Debug button disabled / breakpoints not hit with custom executable (Shotcut build)

Amit Khobragade

Hi,

I’m trying to use Qt Creator purely as a debugger for an externally built Qt application (Shotcut, which uses the MLT framework), and I’m running into issues with the debugger setup.

Setup:

OS: Windows
Build method: Official build-shotcut-msys2.sh script
Qt: 6.10.x (MSYS2 MinGW build)
Qt Creator: (your version)
Compiler/Kit: MinGW (matching MSYS2 environment)

What works:

Shotcut builds successfully.
Running shotcut.exe directly works without issues.

What I’m trying to do:
Use Qt Creator only for debugging (no build inside Qt Creator).

Issues:

Debug button disabled
- After creating a custom Run configuration (Custom Executable), the Debug (F5) button is disabled.
- It seems Qt Creator does not recognize the setup as debuggable.
Breakpoints not hit (in some cases)
- In certain attempts, I managed to start debugging (e.g., via Application Output pane).
- However:
  - Breakpoints are not reliably hit.
  - Stepping (F11) does not work as expected.
Application exits immediately (when debugger does start)
- When debugging does start:
  - App launches
  - Then exits quickly without clear error

Qt Creator configuration:

Build and Clean steps disabled
Custom Run configuration:
- Executable: shotcut.exe (from MSYS2 build)
- Working directory: set to build/runtime folder
- Environment: PATH adjusted to include required DLLs
Noted that the auto-generated configuration:
```
build/shotcut/src/shotcut.exe
```
is not editable, so I created a new one.

Suspicions:

Kit configuration might be incomplete (debugger not properly attached?)
Qt Creator may not treat “Custom Executable” as debuggable unless something specific is set
Environment mismatch (MSYS2 vs Qt Creator)
Possible leftover/invalid run configurations interfering

Questions:

What is the correct way to enable debugging for a custom executable in Qt Creator?
Why would the Debug button remain disabled even when an executable is set?
What configuration is required for Qt Creator to recognize breakpoints and allow stepping?
Is there a recommended workflow for debugging MSYS2-built Qt apps inside Qt Creator?

If needed, I can share screenshots, kit configuration, or debugger logs.

Thanks!

cristian-adam

I don't think somebody tests this hybrid use case.

The easiest way to get things running is to have consistency. Do install Qt Creator and MinGW from MSYS2.

See mingw-w64-x86_64-qt-creator and mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc.

Amit Khobragade

thanks cristian for reply....

as we can clearly see the problem, MLT has very limited (maybe old and obsolete) documentation for steps on compiling MLT (including Shotcut) in Windows platform, hence, the hybrid thing was the approach for successful compilation.

if possible can I have links to documentations for compilation on Windows platform, and in case if further new development is required using MLT framework, which QTCreator needs to be used.?