Getting Started

Choose the workflow that matches your operating system and development environment. If you are new to Qt/QML, start with a template project, build it once, and inspect how the C# code and QML files relate to each other.

For an integrated experience, use VS Code on Windows, Linux, and macOS, or Visual Studio on Windows. Use the CLI workflow if you prefer another editor or a terminal-first workflow.

Choose your workflow

VS Code on Windows, Linux, and macOS

Use this workflow if you work in VS Code. The Qt Extension for VS Code creates projects, helps you select the Qt installation, and provides QML editing, QML Preview, and QML debugging.

Windows and Visual Studio

Use this workflow if you work in Visual Studio on Windows. The extension provides project and item templates, plus bridge-aware QML editor support after the first build.

Windows with .NET CLI

Use this workflow if you prefer command-line project creation or want to inspect the template output directly.

Linux with .NET CLI

Use this workflow if you are evaluating Qt Bridge for C# on Linux or WSL. Linux requires an external Qt installation selected during build.

macOS with .NET CLI

Use this workflow if you are evaluating Qt Bridge for C# on macOS arm64 (Apple Silicon). macOS requires an external Qt installation selected during build.

Common requirements

All workflows require:

  • .NET SDK 8+
  • CMake and Ninja
  • A C++ toolchain

CMake, Ninja, and the C++ toolchain are used by the bridge build behind the scenes; you do not need to write CMake files or C++ code for a template project.

Windows workflows target Windows x64 or arm64. Linux workflows target Linux x64 or arm64, and macOS workflows target macOS arm64; both require a Qt 6 installation that contains lib/cmake/Qt6/Qt6Config.cmake, lib64/cmake/Qt6/Qt6Config.cmake (Fedora, openSUSE), or lib/<multiarch>/cmake/Qt6/Qt6Config.cmake (Debian, Ubuntu).

What the first build does

The first successful build is important because the bridge setup is more than a plain C# compile. It:

  • Restores the bridge package
  • Runs the native and managed build steps needed by the bridge
  • Prepares the bridge information and native support used by the QML side
  • Makes exposed C# types available to QML
  • Enables bridge-aware QML editor support in VS Code and Visual Studio

Basic QML syntax highlighting and completion are available when you open a QML file. The first build gives the editor the project information it needs to understand QML-facing C# types and imports.

Where to go from here