build: Upgrade depends to Qt6 by kwsantiago · Pull Request #231 · bitcoinknots/bitcoin

kwsantiago · 2025-11-05T00:56:21Z

Upgrades the depends system to build Qt 6.7.3, preparing the codebase for Qt6 compatibility.

Changes

Add Qt6 (6.7.3) package definitions and patches
Update Qt build configuration to support both Qt5 and Qt6
Add automatic Qt version detection in depends toolchain
Add libxcb_util_cursor package for Qt6 Linux builds
Remove obsolete Qt5-specific patches

Details

This PR modernizes the Qt dependency infrastructure without changing application behavior. The Qt6 upgrade provides:

Long-term Qt support (Qt5 reaches end-of-life in 2025)
Better compatibility with modern platforms
Foundation for future Qt6-specific features

luke-jr · 2025-11-08T14:55:11Z

This shouldn't have the wintaskbar changes - isolate that to the other PR

luke-jr · 2026-02-05T03:01:49Z

Annoyingly, it looks like Qt does not allow open source projects to use LTS or even stable branches, which forces us to be the guinea pigs... only their latest version (currently 6.10.2) is up to date on fixes.

Which leads me to think we might actually be better off with 5.15. We still have to track security vulnerabilities for it somewhat manually (Qt is still maintaining it commercially), but at least there isn't a constant wave of new features introducing new bugs.

The problem then is that Qt 5 isn't up to par on HiDPI or "dark mode" support. So in the end, Qt 6 is the only real option. :(

But let's try to at least stay close to Core on this for now. I'm expecting a branch to look like this: v29.3.knots20260203rc1...luke-jr:bitcoin:knots-qt6-experiment-20260204

Mind you, that branch does NOT build currently (due to some freetype issue). But it would be a good starting point to remake this with.

This reverts commit bd4eee5, reversing changes made to 91f80d5.

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 5e794e6

This change helps avoid patch duplication between a package and its native counterpart. Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 0268f52

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 248613e

Unlike Qt 5, Qt 6 requires a separate native Qt build for cross-building. See: https://www.qt.io/blog/qt-6-build-system. Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: ab399c4

1. Do not set `C{PLUS}_INCLUDE_PATH` variables The build system for Qt 6 differs entirely from that of Qt 5. Building a set of native Qt 6 tools now forms a separate step when cross-compiling. Under these new circumstances, the `C{PLUS}_INCLUDE_PATH` environment variables may alter the default include directories for both native and cross compilers. Previously, we explicitly unset these variables when invoking clang for cross-compiling; however, that approach proved suboptimal (see bitcoin#30451). This change sets the native toolchain for dependencies explicitly, rather than relying on the `C{PLUS}_INCLUDE_PATH` environment variables. Additionally, it facilitates the transition towards using clang for building native tools when cross-compiling for macOS. 2. Add `ninja` package. 3. Adjust allowed symbol lists. Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 551e13a

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 629d292

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 30dd1f1

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 80b9179

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: f003457

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 6d42149

On older systems, such as Ubuntu 22.04, `qt6-tools-dev-tools` and `libgl-dev` are not treated as dependencies of `qt6-tools-dev` and `qt6-base-dev`, respectively. This change explicitly lists them in the installation documentation. Github-Pull: bitcoin#32211 Rebased-From: 2e751f5

This change updates the vcpkg manifest baseline from the "2024.09.30 Release" to the "2025.03.19 Release", with the following package changes: - boost: 1.85.0#1,2 --> 1.87.0 - qtbase: 6.7.2#3 -> 6.8.2#1 - qttools: 6.7.2#1 -> 6.8.2 - sqlite3: 3.46.1 --> 3.49.1 Github-Pull: bitcoin#32213 Rebased-From: fe5a6dc

This change makes vcpkg skip unused features such as `dnslookup`, `openssl`, etc. Github-Pull: bitcoin#32213 Rebased-From: d85895e

This change fixes cross-compilation from macOS to macOS with another architecture. Github-Pull: bitcoin#32215 Rebased-From: 690f5da

Github-Pull: bitcoin#32215 Rebased-From: d0cce41

Github-Pull: bitcoin#32357 Rebased-From: 35e57fb

Extend `getFrameworks()` with an optional `rpath` parameter to replace `@rpath` in dependency paths. This fixes resolution of framework dependencies when using Homebrew's `qt@6` package. Github-Pull: bitcoin#32287 Rebased-From: 938208d

Homebrew’s `qt@6` package places the `translations` and `plugins` directories in the `share/qt` subdirectory. This change updates the `macdeployqtplus` script accordingly. Github-Pull: bitcoin#32287 Rebased-From: fad57e9

Otherwise we end up with ~1.5GB of binaries (Linux) when DEBUG=1.. Github-Pull: bitcoin#33304 Rebased-From: c9d5f21

Modern Ubuntu isn't shipping with this library installed by default. Staticly link it to remove the need for end-users to install it. Closes bitcoin#33432. Github-Pull: bitcoin#33434 Rebased-From: eca5085

Github-Pull: bitcoin#33906 Rebased-From: 8558902

Looks like this was fixed in 6.5 or 6.6, via https://codereview.qt-project.org/c/qt/qtbase/+/492580. Github-Pull: bitcoin#33860 Rebased-From: 3e9aca6

Github-Pull: bitcoin#33865 Rebased-From: 0dd8d5c

Replace the unreliable https://code.qt.io with the GitHub mirror link. Github-Pull: bitcoin#33918 Rebased-From: 50cbde3

Rebased-From: 3c63cbf

See: - qt/qtbase@30e0434 - https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-119901 Rebased-From: 1c4eea6

kwsantiago · 2026-02-16T21:18:30Z

@luke-jr Rebased on your branch. Issue was dbus/wayland, not freetype. Builds now with 6.10.2

…atch

…ng qrencode

@available

- chmod +x CentOS Qt5 CI setup script (lint-files.py) - add NO_QR=1 to CentOS DEP_OPTS so toolchain sets WITH_QRENCODE=OFF (qrencode not built by depends when NO_QT=1) - add compiler-rt __isPlatformVersionAtLeast shim for macOS cross builds (Qt6 Cocoa plugin uses @available() which needs this compiler builtin not available when cross-compiling from Linux with clang + lld)

pdath · 2026-07-11T23:22:22Z

+          sudo apt-get install clang ccache build-essential cmake ninja-build pkgconf python3-zmq libevent-dev libboost-dev libsqlite3-dev libdb++-dev systemtap-sdt-dev libminiupnpc-dev libzmq3-dev qt6-base-dev qt6-tools-dev qt6-l10n-tools libqrencode-dev -y
      - name: Compile and run tests
        run: |
          # Run tests on commits after the last merge commit and before the PR head commit


From CodeRabbit:

Keep -DWARN_INCOMPATIBLE_BDB=OFF in this job

.github/workflows/ci.yml:92 still configures WITH_BDB=ON, and CMakeLists.txt fatal-errors on non-4.8 BDB unless this flag is disabled. libdb++-dev on Ubuntu 24.04 is BDB 5.3, so dropping it will make this CI leg fail at configure time.

pdath · 2026-07-11T23:24:16Z

+$(package)_config_opts += -no-feature-designer
+$(package)_config_opts += -no-feature-pixeltool
+$(package)_config_opts += -no-feature-qdoc
+$(package)_config_opts += -no-feature-qtattributionsscanner
+$(package)_config_opts += -no-feature-qtdiag
+$(package)_config_opts += -no-feature-qtplugininfo


From CodeRabbit:

Make extraction directory creation idempotent.

After a partial extraction, rerunning this recipe fails at mkdir qtbase (or the other plain mkdir calls) instead of reusing the existing directories. Use mkdir -p so interrupted dependency builds can be retried.

mkdir qtbase && \

mkdir -p qtbase &&
...

mkdir qttranslations && \

mkdir -p qttranslations &&
...

mkdir qttools && \

mkdir -p qttools &&
...

mkdir cmake && \

mkdir -p cmake && \

pdath · 2026-07-11T23:25:20Z


 #### GUI Dependencies
-###### Qt5
+###### Qt6


From CodeRabbit:

Fix the heading level jump.

Line 65 uses H6 immediately under the H4 GUI Dependencies heading, skipping H5 and triggering markdownlint MD001. Use ##### Qt6.

pdath · 2026-07-11T23:26:02Z


 #### GUI Dependencies
-###### Qt5
+###### Qt6


From Code Rabbit:

Fix the heading level jump.

Line 67 uses H6 immediately under the H4 GUI Dependencies heading, skipping H5 and triggering markdownlint MD001. Use ##### Qt6.

pdath · 2026-07-11T23:26:47Z


 #### GUI Dependencies
-###### Qt5
+###### Qt6


From Code Rabbit:

Fix the heading level jump.

Line 67 uses H6 immediately under the H4 GUI Dependencies heading, skipping H5 and triggering markdownlint MD001. Use ##### Qt6.

pdath · 2026-07-11T23:27:25Z


-    sudo apt install qtwayland5
+    sudo apt install qt6-wayland



From CodeRabbit:

Use fenced code blocks for the new commands.

Lines 85-89 and 140-144 use indented code blocks, triggering markdownlint MD046. Convert each command block to a fenced bash block.

Also applies to: 140-144

pdath · 2026-07-11T23:28:03Z

 | [MiniUPnPc](../depends/packages/miniupnpc.mk) (networking) | [link](https://miniupnp.tuxfamily.org/) | [2.2.7](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/29707) | 2.1 | No |
 | [qrencode](../depends/packages/qrencode.mk) (gui) | [link](https://fukuchi.org/works/qrencode/) | [4.1.1](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/27312) | N/A | No |
-| [Qt](../depends/packages/qt.mk) (gui) | [link](https://download.qt.io/archive/qt/) | 5.15.18 | [5.11.3](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/24132) | No |
+| [Qt](../depends/packages/qt.mk) (gui) | [link](https://download.qt.io/archive/qt/) | [6.7.3](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/30997) | [6.2](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/30997) | No |


From CodeRabbit:

Use descriptive link labels.

The touched rows still use generic [link] text, triggering MD059 and reducing accessibility. Replace it with labels such as [MiniUPnP], [qrencode], and [Qt].

pdath · 2026-07-11T23:29:48Z

A "bit" from CodeRabbit for .github/workflows/ci.yml:

Workflow has no explicit permissions: block.

zizmor flags this job as running with default (overly broad) GITHUB_TOKEN permissions since no permissions: block is defined at the workflow or job level. Scoping this down (e.g., contents: read) follows least-privilege practice for the token used by these steps.

kwsantiago mentioned this pull request Nov 5, 2025

GUI: Port Windows taskbar progress to COM #215

Closed

kwsantiago force-pushed the kwsantiago/qt6-depends-upgrade branch from 32ad8cd to a975bc0 Compare November 9, 2025 00:53

kwsantiago force-pushed the kwsantiago/qt6-depends-upgrade branch 2 times, most recently from 0b5e2aa to ed0e1fc Compare November 16, 2025 01:34

luke-jr added the high priority label Jan 8, 2026

kwsantiago marked this pull request as ready for review January 8, 2026 20:37

Ari4ka approved these changes Feb 15, 2026

View reviewed changes

luke-jr and others added 21 commits February 16, 2026 15:13

Revert "Merge upd_qt5-29.2"

1cc52e0

This reverts commit bd4eee5, reversing changes made to 91f80d5.

build: Change default WITH_QT_VERSION to 6

c2979e0

depends: Bump qt package up to 6.7.3

532a3d1

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 5e794e6

depends: Introduce customizable $(package)_patches_path variables

50e2ed1

This change helps avoid patch duplication between a package and its native counterpart. Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 0268f52

depends: Factor out Qt modules' details

08c43b4

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 248613e

depends: Add native_qt package

5c9e92f

Unlike Qt 5, Qt 6 requires a separate native Qt build for cross-building. See: https://www.qt.io/blog/qt-6-build-system. Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: ab399c4

test: Update sanitizer suppressions for Qt 6

6a4b93e

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 629d292

ci: Update for Qt 6

4e7c17c

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 30dd1f1

build, msvc: Update vcpkg.json for Qt 6

77ec139

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 80b9179

doc: Update dependencies.md for Qt 6

a024a6a

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: f003457

CI: Add Qt5-based CentOS task

8b56e6d

doc: Update for Qt 6

7c8fcfd

Github-Pull: bitcoin#30997 Rebased-From: 6d42149

build, msvc: Build only required qtbase features

3547db9

This change makes vcpkg skip unused features such as `dnslookup`, `openssl`, etc. Github-Pull: bitcoin#32213 Rebased-From: d85895e

depends: Specify Objective C/C++ compilers for native_qt package

d420187

This change fixes cross-compilation from macOS to macOS with another architecture. Github-Pull: bitcoin#32215 Rebased-From: 690f5da

depends: Fix mv command compatibility with macOS

0506dc3

Github-Pull: bitcoin#32215 Rebased-From: d0cce41

depends: Fix cross-compiling qt package from macOS to Windows

2157e00

Github-Pull: bitcoin#32357 Rebased-From: 35e57fb

build: Resolve @rpath in macdeployqtplus

46ae2a2

Extend `getFrameworks()` with an optional `rpath` parameter to replace `@rpath` in dependency paths. This fixes resolution of framework dependencies when using Homebrew's `qt@6` package. Github-Pull: bitcoin#32287 Rebased-From: 938208d

build: Fix macdeployqtplus after switching to Qt 6

962b0bb

Homebrew’s `qt@6` package places the `translations` and `plugins` directories in the `share/qt` subdirectory. This change updates the `macdeployqtplus` script accordingly. Github-Pull: bitcoin#32287 Rebased-From: fad57e9

fanquake and others added 9 commits February 16, 2026 15:15

depends: strip when installing qt

c7dc0b7

Otherwise we end up with ~1.5GB of binaries (Linux) when DEBUG=1.. Github-Pull: bitcoin#33304 Rebased-From: c9d5f21

depends: static libxcb_cursor

d7a60a2

Modern Ubuntu isn't shipping with this library installed by default. Staticly link it to remove the need for end-users to install it. Closes bitcoin#33432. Github-Pull: bitcoin#33434 Rebased-From: eca5085

depends: Add patch for Windows11Style plugin

f95db1a

Github-Pull: bitcoin#33906 Rebased-From: 8558902

depends: drop qtbase-moc-ignore-gcc-macro.patch qt patch

2e54827

Looks like this was fixed in 6.5 or 6.6, via https://codereview.qt-project.org/c/qt/qtbase/+/492580. Github-Pull: bitcoin#33860 Rebased-From: 3e9aca6

cmake: Specify Windows plugin path in test_bitcoin-qt property

a6acc8d

Github-Pull: bitcoin#33865 Rebased-From: 0dd8d5c

depends: Update Qt download link

a9a3bed

Replace the unreliable https://code.qt.io with the GitHub mirror link. Github-Pull: bitcoin#33918 Rebased-From: 50cbde3

depends: Update Qt to 6.10.1

80aaf1c

Rebased-From: 3c63cbf

qt: Drop QT_ENABLE_CXX_EXTENSIONS

f0602f7

See: - qt/qtbase@30e0434 - https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-119901 Rebased-From: 1c4eea6

depends: Update Qt to 6.10.2

c7365fb

kwsantiago force-pushed the kwsantiago/qt6-depends-upgrade branch from ed0e1fc to c7365fb Compare February 16, 2026 20:17

depends: fix Qt6 depends build on Linux

be21701

fix: add -DWITH_QT_VERSION=5 to CentOS Qt5 CI job and remove unused p…

fe9266e

…atch

Ari4ka approved these changes Feb 17, 2026

View reviewed changes

kwsantiago added 2 commits February 17, 2026 11:54

fix: resolve Qt6 CI failures for deprecated API, WinExtras, and missi…

083ad61

…ng qrencode

Ari4ka approved these changes Feb 17, 2026

View reviewed changes

kwsantiago added 4 commits February 17, 2026 19:01

cmake: allow FindQt to search system paths for Qt packages

a7b5773

fix: install python3.12 on CentOS Stream 9 for cmake >= 3.10 requirement

1420553

fix: include system header in _FORTIFY_SOURCE=3 compile check

a77af32

cmake: treat missing Qt components as fatal in FindQt

775359e

pdath reviewed Jul 11, 2026

View reviewed changes

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build: Upgrade depends to Qt6 - #231

build: Upgrade depends to Qt6#231
kwsantiago wants to merge 47 commits into
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