Qt Tools for Android Studio

Overview

What you need to know about the plugin:

Features

The plugin allows you to import new or existing Qt QML projects to a new or existing Android Studio project.

Supported configurations

You can find what is supported here.

Host environments

The host environment limitations for building Qt applications also exist for the plugin. The plugin has been tested on the following operating systems:

• Linux (Ubuntu 22.04)
• Windows (10, 11)
• macOS ARM (Xcode version 15.2)

Android Studio

Android Studio Giraffe (2022.3.1) to Iguana (2023.2.1) is supported.

Qt for Android

Qt for Android version 6.7 or later is required.

Android SDK

The following configurations are supported in this Qt release:

Tools

The CMake and Ninja versions that are supported are packaged with the version of Qt you are installing.

Licensing

This plugin is covered by the Qt Community Edition license.

Getting started

Here we cover installing the plugin, installing all the minimum required Qt dependencies for using the plugin, runs through importing an example Qt for Android project, and building and running the project on a target device. There is also information on the plugin features and UI.

Installing dependencies

• Qt for Android installation (6.7 or later)
• Google's Android Studio IDE
• The Android SDK

Install Qt for Android

There are two ways to get Qt for Android, but for most users, we recommended the following way:

With the Qt Online Installer

To download and install Qt for Android, follow the instructions on the Get and Install Qt page, and do a custom install that includes at least the minimum requirements:

• Qt for Android
• CMake
• Ninja

The following instructions assume you don't want to install Qt Design Studio and Qt Creator. These would normally be installed by default but the instructions here explicitly deselect these and anything not required.

1. Select custom install. If you change the location make sure to note this as you will need it later.
2. Deselect Qt Design Studio.
3. Expand Qt 6.7 or later and select Qt for Android.
4. Deselect Developer and Designer Tools.
5. Select CMake and Ninja.
6. Select any optional Qt modules you might need.
7. Proceed to install.

Clone, build and install Qt yourself

This method should only be used by developers who are working with unreleased or modified Qt builds. It won't be covered here.

See Qt for Android - Building from Source.

Install Android Studio and the plugin

This plugin is installed like any other IntelliJ plugin.

1. Download and install Android Studio version Giraffe | 2023.1.1 Canary 1 or later.
2. Head to the plugin's Intellij marketplace page to download the plugin's jar file.
3. Start Android Studio.
4. On top-right corner select Settings(gear-icon)->Install Plugins From Disk

   

5. Select file and select OK.

   

6. Check that the plugin is installed.

   

Configure the plugin

The plugin needs to know where certain parts of the Qt toolchain are.

1. On top-left corner select File -> Settings.

   

2. Expand Build,Execution,Deployment and Select Qt.

   

3. On this page, you need to set the path to the qt-cmake script, located in[Qt Folder Path]/<qt version>/android_<architecture>/bin. Make sure to select the right architecture for the platform you are targeting.

   

   • For a windows host select qt-qmake.bat.
   • For other operating systems select qt-cmake.

Install the Android SDK

Use Android Studio's SDK manager to install the correct API, platform, and tools for this version of Qt. See Android SDK.

Running the example

Test your development setup by running the examples shipped with the Qt installation. You'll need to know your Qt folder path first. When using the Qt Online Installer, the default install locations for the Qt folder are:

• Windows: C:/Qt
• macOS: ~/Qt
• Linux: ~/Qt

The example projects are located under your Qt installation directory in Qt/Examples/<qt version>/qtdeclarative/examples/platforms/android/. To test the examples:

1. From Android Studio's welcome screen, select Open.

   

2. Select the Qt project example you want.

   

Compiling and deploying to a target device or emulator

To compile and deploy, select Run.

This will build the Qt project and the Android Studio project and run it.

Debugging

Debugging QML or C++ is not possible with the plugin. For that, see Qt Creator.

Writing your first application from scratch

1. From Android Studio top-left select File -> New -> New Qt Project.

   

2. Set the name for the project, select the projects folder, select the Qt version and select OK.

   

3. Start writing your first Qt QML application!

If you are a returning user or just getting started with QML, the QML Reference has what you need.

Integrating QML in an Android application

The API documentation for embedding QML in Android applications has specific implementation details and insights into this.