Command Line Options

The CLI uses argparse to parse the command line options so the short or long versions may be used and the long options may be truncated to the shortest unambiguous abbreviation.

Generic commands

aqt help

show generic help

aqt version

display version

List-* Commands

These commands are used to list the packages available for installation with aqt.

list-qt command

aqt list-qt [-h | --help]
            [-c | --config]
            [--spec <specification>]
            [--modules      (<Qt version> | latest) <architecture> |
             --long-modules (<Qt version> | latest) <architecture> |
             --arch         (<Qt version> | latest) |
             --archives     (<Qt version> | latest) architecture [modules...]
             --latest-version]
            <host> [<target>]

List available versions of Qt, targets, modules, and architectures.

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows or mac

target: desktop, winrt, ios or android. When omitted, the command prints all the targets available for a host OS. Note that winrt is only available on Windows, and ios is only available on Mac OS.

--help, -h: Display help text

--spec <Specification>: Print versions of Qt within a SimpleSpec that specifies a range of versions. You can specify partial versions, inequalities, etc. "*" would match all versions of Qt; ">6.0.2,<6.2.0" would match all versions of Qt between 6.0.2 and 6.2.0, etc. For example, aqt list-qt windows desktop --spec "5.12" would print all versions of Qt for Windows Desktop beginning with 5.12. May be combined with any other flag to filter the output of that flag.

--modules (<Qt version> | latest) <architecture>: This flag lists all the modules available for Qt 5.X.Y with a host/target/architecture combination, or the latest version of Qt if latest is specified. You can list available architectures by using aqt list-qt with the --arch flag described below.

--long-modules (<Qt version> | latest) <architecture>: Long display for modules: Similar to --modules, but shows extra metadata associated with each module. This metadata is displayed in a table that includes long display names for each module. If your terminal is wider than 95 characters, aqt list-qt will also display release dates and sizes for each module. An example of this output is displayed below.

$ python -m aqt list-qt windows desktop --long-modules latest win64_mingw

   Module Name                         Display Name                       Release Date   Download Size   Installed Size
=======================================================================================================================
debug_info          Desktop MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit debug information files   2022-07-07     1.0G            6.4G
qt3d                Qt 3D for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                         2022-07-07     2.8M            21.3M
qt5compat           Qt 5 Compatibility Module for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit     2022-07-07     679.3K          2.5M
qtactiveqt          Qt 3D for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                         2022-07-07     5.9M            32.6M
qtcharts            Qt Charts for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                     2022-07-07     713.0K          7.5M
qtconnectivity      Qt Connectivity for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit               2022-07-07     227.5K          1.5M
qtdatavis3d         Qt Data Visualization for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit         2022-07-07     565.7K          4.3M
qthttpserver        Qt HTTP Server for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                2022-07-07     73.2K           372.6K
qtimageformats      Qt Image Formats for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit              2022-07-07     184.6K          705.5K
qtlanguageserver    Qt language Server for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit            2022-07-07     300.1K          1.8M
qtlottie            Qt Lottie Animation for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit           2022-07-07     131.7K          704.0K
qtmultimedia        Qt Multimedia for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                 2022-07-07     9.7M            79.2M
qtnetworkauth       Qt Network Authorization for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit      2022-07-07     85.5K           507.6K
qtpositioning       Qt Positioning for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                2022-07-07     347.2K          2.2M
qtquick3d           Qt Quick 3D for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                   2022-07-07     13.0M           75.4M
qtquick3dphysics    Quick: 3D Physics for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit             2022-07-07     35.5M           203.9M
qtquicktimeline     Qt Quick Timeline for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit             2022-07-07     54.6K           301.4K
qtremoteobjects     Qt Remote Objects for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit             2022-07-07     424.4K          2.0M
qtscxml             Qt State Machine for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit              2022-07-07     448.5K          2.9M
qtsensors           Qt Sensors for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                    2022-07-07     175.7K          2.0M
qtserialbus         Qt SerialBus for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                  2022-07-07     208.8K          1.2M
qtserialport        Qt SerialPort for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                 2022-07-07     58.3K           255.3K
qtshadertools       Qt Shader Tools for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit               2022-07-07     1.2M            4.1M
qtspeech            Qt Speech for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                     2022-07-07     81.8K           427.9K
qtvirtualkeyboard   Qt Virtual Keyboard for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit           2022-07-07     2.1M            6.0M
qtwebchannel        Qt WebChannel for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                 2022-07-07     114.0K          500.3K
qtwebsockets        Qt WebSockets for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                 2022-07-07     96.3K           509.6K
qtwebview           Qt WebView for MinGW 11.2.0 64-bit                    2022-07-07     64.2K           470.7K

--arch (<Qt version> | latest): Qt version in the format of “5.X.Y”. When set, this prints all architectures available for Qt 5.X.Y with a host/target, or the latest version of Qt if latest is specified.

--archives (<Qt version> | latest) architecture [modules...]

This flag requires a list of at least two arguments: ‘Qt version’ and ‘architecture’. The ‘Qt version’ argument can be in the format “5.X.Y” or the “latest” keyword. You can use the --arch flag to see a list of acceptable values for the ‘architecture’ argument. Any following arguments must be the names of modules available for the preceding version and architecture. You can use the --modules flag to see a list of acceptable values.

If you do not add a list of modules to this flag, this command will print a list of all the archives that make up the base Qt installation.

If you add a list of modules to this flag, this command will print a list of all the archives that make up the specified modules.

The purpose of this command is to show you what arguments you can pass to the archives flag when using the install-* commands. This flag allows you to avoid installing parts of Qt that you do not need.

--latest-version: Print only the newest version available May be combined with the --spec flag.

list-src command

aqt list-src [-h | --help]
             [-c | --config]
             <host> (<Qt version> | <spec>)

List source archives available for installation using the install-src command.

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows or mac

Qt version: This is a Qt version such as 5.9.7, 5.12.1 etc. Use the list-qt command to list available versions.

spec

This is a SimpleSpec that specifies a range of versions. If you type something in the <Qt version> positional argument that cannot be interpreted as a version, it will be interpreted as a SimpleSpec, and aqt will select the highest available version within that SimpleSpec.

For example, aqt list-src mac 5.12 would print archives for the latest version of Qt 5.12 available (5.12.11 at the time of this writing).

list-doc command

aqt list-doc [-h | --help]
             [-c | --config]
             [-m | --modules]
             <host> (<Qt version> | <spec>)

List documentation archives and modules available for installation using the install-doc command.

By default, list-doc will print a list of archives available for installation using the install-doc command, with the --archives option.

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows or mac

Qt version: This is a Qt version such as 5.9.7, 5.12.1 etc. Use the list-qt command to list available versions.

spec

This is a SimpleSpec that specifies a range of versions. If you type something in the <Qt version> positional argument that cannot be interpreted as a version, it will be interpreted as a SimpleSpec, and aqt will select the highest available version within that SimpleSpec.

For example, aqt list-doc mac 5.12 would print archives for the latest version of Qt 5.12 available (5.12.11 at the time of this writing).

--modules: This flag causes list-doc to print a list of modules available for installation using the install-doc command, with the --modules option.

list-example command

aqt list-example [-h | --help]
                 [-c | --config]
                 [-m | --modules]
                 <host> (<Qt version> | <spec>)

List example archives and modules available for installation using the install-example command.

By default, list-example will print a list of archives available for installation using the install-example command, with the --archives option.

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows or mac

Qt version: This is a Qt version such as 5.9.7, 5.12.1 etc. Use the list-qt command to list available versions.

spec

This is a SimpleSpec that specifies a range of versions. If you type something in the <Qt version> positional argument that cannot be interpreted as a version, it will be interpreted as a SimpleSpec, and aqt will select the highest available version within that SimpleSpec.

For example, aqt list-example mac 5.12 would print archives for the latest version of Qt 5.12 available (5.12.11 at the time of this writing).

--modules: This flag causes list-example to print a list of modules available for installation using the install-example command, with the --modules option.

list-tool command

aqt list-tool [-h | --help] [-c | --config] [-l | --long] <host> [<target>] [<tool name>]

List available tools

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows or mac

target: desktop, winrt, ios or android. When omitted, the command prints all the targets available for a host OS. Note that winrt is only available on Windows, and ios is only available on Mac OS.

tool name

The name of a tool. Use aqt list-tool <host> <target> to see accepted values. When set, this prints all ‘tool variant names’ available.

The output of this command is meant to be used with the aqt install-tool below.

--help, -h: Display help text

--long, -l: Long display: shows extra metadata associated with each tool variant. This metadata is displayed in a table, and includes versions and release dates for each tool. If your terminal is wider than 95 characters, aqt list-tool will also display the names and descriptions for each tool. An example of this output is displayed below.

$ python -m aqt list-tool windows desktop tools_conan -l

 Tool Variant Name           Version         Release Date     Display Name              Description
============================================================================================================
qt.tools.conan         1.33-202102101246     2021-02-10     Conan 1.33          Conan command line tool 1.33
qt.tools.conan.cmake   0.16.0-202102101246   2021-02-10     Conan conan.cmake   Conan conan.cmake (0.16.0)

Install-* Commands

These commands are used to install Qt, tools, source, docs, and examples.

Common Options

Most of these commands share the same command line options, and these options are described here:

--help, -h: Display help text

--outputdir, -O <Output Directory>: Specify output directory. By default, aqt installs to the current working directory.

--base, -b <base url>: Specify mirror site base url such as -b https://mirrors.dotsrc.org/qtproject where ‘online’ folder exist.

--config, -c <settings_file_path>: Specify the path to your own settings.ini file. See the Configuration section.

--timeout <timeout(sec)>: The connection timeout, in seconds, for the download site. (default: 5 sec)

--external, -E <7zip command>

Specify external 7zip command path. By default, aqt uses py7zr for this task.

In the past, our users have had success using 7-zip on Windows, Linux and Mac. You can install 7-zip on Windows with Choco. The Linux/Mac port of 7-zip is called p7zip, and you can install it with brew on Mac, or on Linux with your package manager.

--internal: Use the internal extractor, py7zr

--keep, -k: Keep downloaded archive when specified, otherwise remove after install. Use --archive-dest <path> to choose where aqt will place these files. If you do not specify a download destination, aqt will place these files in the current working directory.

--archive-dest <path>

Set the destination path for downloaded archives (temp directory by default). All downloaded archives will be automatically deleted unless you have specified the --keep option above, or aqt crashes.

Note that this option refers to the intermediate .7z archives that aqt downloads and then extracts to --outputdir. Most users will not need to keep these files.

--modules, -m (<list of modules> | all): Specify extra modules to install as a list. Use the appropriate aqt list-* command to list available modules:

Install command	List command	Usage of list command
install-qt	list-qt command	`list-qt <host> <target> --modules <version> <arch>`
install-example	list-example command	`list-example <host> <version> --modules`
install-doc	list-doc command	`list-doc <host> <version> --modules`

This option only applicable to install-qt, install-example, and install-doc.

You can install multiple modules like this:
$ aqt install-* <host> <target> <Qt version> -m qtcharts qtdatavis3d qtlottie qtnetworkauth \
    qtpurchasing qtquicktimeline qtscript qtvirtualkeyboard qtwebglplugin
If you wish to install every module available, you may use the all keyword instead of a list of modules, like this:
aqt install-* <host> <target> <Qt version> <arch> -m all

--archives <list of archives>

[Advanced] Specify subset of archives to limit installed archives. It will only affect the base Qt installation and the debug_info module. This is advanced option and not recommended to use for general usage. Main purpose is speed up CI/CD process by limiting installed modules. It can cause broken installation of Qt SDK.

This option is applicable to all the install-* commands except for install-tool.

You can print a list of all acceptable values to use with this command by using the appropriate aqt list-* command:

Install command	List command	Usage of list command
install-qt	list-qt command	`list-qt <host> <target> --archives <version>`
install-example	list-example command	`list-example <host> <version>`
install-src	list-src command	`list-src <host> <version>`
install-doc	list-doc command	`list-doc <host> <version>`

install-qt command

aqt install-qt
    [-h | --help]
    [-c | --config]
    [-O | --outputdir <directory>]
    [-b | --base <mirror url>]
    [--timeout <timeout(sec)>]
    [-E | --external <7zip command>]
    [--internal]
    [-k | --keep]
    [-d | --archive-dest] <path>
    [-m | --modules (all | <module> [<module>...])]
    [--archives <archive> [<archive>...]]
    [--autodesktop]
    [--noarchives]
    <host> <target> (<Qt version> | <spec>) [<arch>]

Install Qt library, with specified version and target. There are various combinations to accept according to Qt version.

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows, windows_arm64, all_os, or mac. The operating system on which the Qt development tools will run.

target: desktop, ios, winrt, or android. The type of device for which you are developing Qt programs. If your target is ios, please be aware that versions of Qt older than 6.2.4 are expected to be non-functional with current versions of XCode (applies to any XCode greater than or equal to 13).

Qt version: This is a Qt version such as 5.9.7, 5.12.1 etc. Use the list-qt command to list available versions.

spec

This is a SimpleSpec that specifies a range of versions. If you type something in the <Qt version> positional argument that cannot be interpreted as a version, it will be interpreted as a SimpleSpec, and aqt will select the highest available version within that SimpleSpec.

For example, aqt install-qt mac desktop 5.12 would install the newest version of Qt 5.12 available, and aqt install-qt mac desktop "*" would install the highest version of Qt available.

When using this option, aqt will print the version that it has installed in the logs so that you can verify it easily.

arch

The compiler architecture for which you are developing. Options:

gcc_64 or linux_gcc_64 for linux desktop
linux_gcc_arm64 for linux_arm64 desktop
clang_64 for mac desktop
win64_msvc2022_64, win64_mingw, win64_llvm_mingw, win64_msvc2019_64, win64_msvc2019_arm64, win64_msvc2017_64, win64_msvc2015_64, win32_msvc2015, win32_mingw53 for windows desktop
win64_msvc2022_arm64 for windows_arm64 desktop
android_armv7, android_arm64_v8a, android_x86, android_x86_64 for android

Use the list-qt command to list available architectures.

--autodesktop: If you are installing an ios, android, WASM, or msvc_arm64 version of Qt6, the corresponding desktop version of Qt must be installed alongside of it. Turn this option on to install it automatically. This option will have no effect if the desktop version of Qt is not required.

--noarchives: [Advanced] Specify not to install all base packages. This is advanced option and you should use it with --modules option. This allow you to add modules to existent Qt installation.

See common options.

install-src command

aqt install-src
    [-h | --help]
    [-c | --config]
    [-O | --outputdir <directory>]
    [-b | --base <mirror url>]
    [--timeout <timeout(sec)>]
    [-E | --external <7zip command>]
    [--internal]
    [-k | --keep]
    [-d | --archive-dest] <path>
    [--archives <archive> [<archive>...]]
    [--kde]
    <host> [<target>] (<Qt version> | <spec>)

Install Qt source code for the specified version and target.

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows or mac

target: Deprecated and marked for removal in a future version of aqt. This parameter exists for backwards compatibility reasons, and its value is ignored.

Qt version: This is a Qt version such as 5.9.7, 5.12.1 etc. Use the list-qt command to list available versions.

spec

This is a SimpleSpec that specifies a range of versions. If you type something in the <Qt version> positional argument that cannot be interpreted as a version, it will be interpreted as a SimpleSpec, and aqt will select the highest available version within that SimpleSpec.

For example, aqt install-src mac 5.12 would install sources for the newest version of Qt 5.12 available, and aqt install-src mac "*" would install sources for the highest version of Qt available.

--kde: by adding --kde option, KDE patch collection is applied for qtbase tree. It is only applied to Qt 5.15.2. When specified version is other than it, command will abort with error when using --kde.

See common options.

install-doc command

aqt install-doc
    [-h | --help]
    [-c | --config]
    [-O | --outputdir <directory>]
    [-b | --base <mirror url>]
    [--timeout <timeout(sec)>]
    [-E | --external <7zip command>]
    [--internal]
    [-k | --keep]
    [-d | --archive-dest] <path>
    [-m | --modules (all | <module> [<module>...])]
    [--archives <archive> [<archive>...]]
    <host> [<target>] (<Qt version> | <spec>)

Install Qt documentation for the specified version and target.

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows or mac

target: Deprecated and marked for removal in a future version of aqt. This parameter exists for backwards compatibility reasons, and its value is ignored.

Qt version: This is a Qt version such as 5.9.7, 5.12.1 etc. Use the list-qt command to list available versions.

spec

This is a SimpleSpec that specifies a range of versions. If you type something in the <Qt version> positional argument that cannot be interpreted as a version, it will be interpreted as a SimpleSpec, and aqt will select the highest available version within that SimpleSpec.

For example, aqt install-doc mac 5.12 would install documentation for the newest version of Qt 5.12 available, and aqt install-doc mac "*" would install documentation for the highest version of Qt available.

See common options.

install-example command

aqt install-example
    [-h | --help]
    [-c | --config]
    [-O | --outputdir <directory>]
    [-b | --base <mirror url>]
    [--timeout <timeout(sec)>]
    [-E | --external <7zip command>]
    [--internal]
    [-k | --keep]
    [-d | --archive-dest] <path>
    [-m | --modules (all | <module> [<module>...])]
    [--archives <archive> [<archive>...]]
    <host> [<target>] (<Qt version> | <spec>)

Install Qt examples for the specified version and target.

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows or mac

target: Deprecated and marked for removal in a future version of aqt. This parameter exists for backwards compatibility reasons, and its value is ignored.

Qt version: This is a Qt version such as 5.9.7, 5.12.1 etc. Use the list-qt command to list available versions.

spec

This is a SimpleSpec that specifies a range of versions. If you type something in the <Qt version> positional argument that cannot be interpreted as a version, it will be interpreted as a SimpleSpec, and aqt will select the highest available version within that SimpleSpec.

For example, aqt install-example mac 5.12 would install examples for the newest version of Qt 5.12 available, and aqt install-example mac "*" would install examples for the highest version of Qt available.

See common options.

install-tool command

aqt install-tool
    [-h | --help]
    [-c | --config]
    [-O | --outputdir <directory>]
    [-b | --base <mirror url>]
    [--timeout <timeout(sec)>]
    [-E | --external <7zip command>]
    [--internal]
    [-k | --keep]
    [-d | --archive-dest] <path>
    <host> <target> <tool name> [<tool variant name>]

Install tools like QtIFW, mingw, Cmake, Conan, and vcredist.

host: linux, linux_arm64, windows or mac

target: desktop, ios or android

tool name: install tools specified. tool name may be ‘tools_openssl_x64’, ‘tools_vcredist’, ‘tools_ninja’, ‘tools_ifw’, ‘tools_cmake’

tool variant name: Optional field to specify tool variant. It may be required for vcredist and mingw installation. tool variant names may be ‘qt.tools.win64_mingw810’, ‘qt.tools.vcredist_msvc2013_x64’.

You should use the list-tool command to display what tools and tool variant names are available.

See common options.

Legacy subcommands

The subcommands install, tool, src, doc, and examples have been deprecated in favor of the newer install-* commands, but they remain in aqt in case you still need to use them. Documentation for these older commands is still available at https://aqtinstall.readthedocs.io/en/v1.2.4/

Command examples

Example: Installing Qt SDK 5.12.12 for Linux with QtCharts and QtNetworkAuth:

pip install aqtinstall
sudo aqt install-qt --outputdir /opt linux desktop 5.12.12 -m qtcharts qtnetworkauth

Example: Installing the newest LTS version of Qt 5.12:

pip install aqtinstall
sudo aqt install-qt linux desktop 5.12 gcc_64

Example: Installing the newest LTS version of Qt 6.7 for linux arm64:

pip install aqtinstall
sudo aqt install-qt linux_arm64 desktop 6.7

Example: Installing Android (armv7) Qt 5.13.2:

aqt install-qt linux android 5.13.2 android_armv7

Example: Installing Android (armv7) Qt 6.4.2:

aqt install-qt linux android 6.4.2 android_armv7 --autodesktop

Example: Install examples, doc and source:

aqt install-example windows 5.15.2 -m qtcharts qtnetworkauth
aqt install-doc windows 5.15.2 -m qtcharts qtnetworkauth
aqt install-src windows 5.15.2 --archives qtbase --kde

Example: Print archives available for installation with install-example/doc/src:

aqt list-example windows 5.15.2
aqt list-doc windows 5.15.2
aqt list-src windows 5.15.2

Example: Print modules available for installation with install-example/doc:

aqt list-example windows 5.15.2 --modules
aqt list-doc windows 5.15.2 --modules

Example: Install Web Assembly

aqt install-qt linux desktop 5.15.0 wasm_32

Example: Install Qt6 for Web Assembly

aqt install-qt linux desktop 6.2.4 wasm_32 --autodesktop

Example: List available versions of Qt on Linux

aqt list-qt linux desktop

Example: List available versions of Qt6 on macOS

aqt list-qt mac desktop --spec "6"

Example: List available modules for latest version of Qt on macOS

aqt list-qt mac desktop --modules latest clang_64   # prints 'qtquick3d qtshadertools', etc

Example: List available architectures for Qt 6.1.2 on windows

aqt list-qt windows desktop --arch 6.1.2    # prints 'win64_mingw81 win64_msvc2019_64', etc

Example: List available tools on windows

aqt list-tool windows desktop    # prints 'tools_ifw tools_qtcreator', etc

Example: List the variants of IFW available:

aqt list-tool linux desktop tools_ifw       # prints 'qt.tools.ifw.41'
# Alternate: `tools_` prefix is optional
aqt list-tool linux desktop ifw             # prints 'qt.tools.ifw.41'

Example: List the variants of IFW, including version, release date, description, etc.:

aqt list-tool linux desktop tools_ifw -l    # prints a table of metadata

Example: Install an Install FrameWork (IFW):

aqt install-tool linux desktop tools_ifw

Example: Install vcredist on Windows:

aqt install-tool windows desktop tools_vcredist
.\Qt\Tools\vcredist\vcredist_msvc2019_x64.exe /norestart /q

Example: Install MinGW 8.1.0 on Windows:

aqt install-tool -O c:\Qt windows desktop tools_mingw qt.tools.win64_mingw810
set PATH=C:\Qt\Tools\mingw810_64\bin

Example: Install MinGW 11.2.0 on Windows:

aqt install-tool -O c:\Qt windows desktop tools_mingw90
set PATH=C:\Qt\Tools\mingw1120_64\bin

Note

This is not a typo; it is a mislabelled tool name! tools_mingw90 and the tool variant qt.tools.win64_mingw900 do not contain MinGW 9.0.0; they actually contain MinGW 11.2.0! Verify with aqt list-tool --long windows desktop tools_mingw90 in a wide terminal.

Example: Show help message

aqt help