Qt Project Setup Plugin

An IntelliJ/CLion plugin that generates Qt6 project scaffolding with CMake configuration, ready-to-build source files, and optional QML support.

Features

• Qt6 Project Generation - Creates a complete Qt6 project structure with CMake build system
• UI Framework Selection - Choose between Qt Widgets or QML (Qt Quick) for your UI
• Static/Dynamic Linking - Support for both statically and dynamically linked Qt builds
• Custom Titlebar - Optional frameless window with custom titlebar (Windows native integration)
• Demo Interface - Generated projects include a demo startup page with animated button
• Windows Icon Support - Automatic resource file generation for application icons
• Settings Persistence - Qt path, static linking preference, and UI framework choices are cached

Installation

1. Build the plugin using Gradle:

   ./gradlew buildPlugin

2. Install the plugin from build/distributions/qt_project_setup-*.zip in your IDE

Usage

1. Open CLion or IntelliJ IDEA
2. Create a new project and select "Qt Application" from the project types
3. Configure your project settings:
   • Qt Installation Path - Path to your Qt installation (e.g., C:/Qt/6.8.0/mingw_64)
   • Window Title - The title for your application window
   • UI Framework - Qt Widgets or QML (Qt Quick)
   • Minimum/Startup Size - Window dimensions
   • Use Static Qt - Enable for statically linked Qt builds
   • Custom Titlebar - Enable for frameless window with custom titlebar

Generated Project Structure

project/
├── .idea/
│   └── cmake.xml           # CMake configuration with Qt path
├── cmake/
│   └── QtStaticHelpers.cmake   # (or QtDynamicHelpers.cmake)
├── include/
│   └── ui/
│       ├── mainwindow.h
│       └── startup_page.h  # (Qt Widgets only)
├── src/
│   ├── main.cpp
│   └── ui/
│       ├── mainwindow.cpp
│       └── startup_page.cpp  # (Qt Widgets only)
├── ui/
│   ├── mainwindow.ui
│   └── startup_page.ui     # (Qt Widgets only)
├── res/
│   ├── resources.qrc
│   ├── app.rc              # Windows icon resource
│   ├── icons/
│   │   ├── app.ico
│   │   └── app.png
│   ├── styles/
│   │   └── base.qss
│   └── qml/                # (QML only)
│       ├── main.qml
│       └── AnimatedButton.qml
├── CMakeLists.txt
└── .gitignore

Configuration Options

Qt Installation Path

The path to your Qt6 installation directory. For dynamic builds, this should contain a bin directory with Qt DLLs. For static builds, it should contain a lib directory with static libraries.

Validation:

• Dynamic Qt: Checks for bin/Qt6Core.dll
• Static Qt: Checks for lib/libQt6Core.a (MinGW) or lib/Qt6Core.lib (MSVC)

UI Framework

Framework	Description
Qt Widgets	Traditional desktop UI with .ui files and C++ widgets. Includes a StartupPage component with animated button demo.
QML (Qt Quick)	Modern declarative UI using QML. Includes animated button component. Note: May have limitations with static Qt builds.

Static vs Dynamic Linking

Mode	Description
Dynamic	Links against Qt DLLs. Smaller executable but requires Qt DLLs at runtime. Plugin auto-deploys required DLLs.
Static	Links Qt statically into executable. Larger file but no runtime dependencies. Requires static Qt build.

Custom Titlebar

When enabled, generates a frameless window with:

• Custom titlebar with minimize/maximize/close buttons
• Windows 11 Snap Layouts support
• Native window resize behavior
• Rounded corners on Windows 11+

Build Output

The generated CMake configuration outputs binaries to:

• Debug: bin/debug/
• Release: bin/release/

For dynamic Qt builds on Windows, required DLLs and plugins are automatically copied to the output directory.

Requirements

• JetBrains CLion or IntelliJ IDEA with C++ support
• Qt6 installation (6.x recommended)
• CMake 3.20 or later
• C++20 compatible compiler

Development

Building the Plugin

./gradlew buildPlugin

Running in Development

./gradlew runIde

Running Tests

./gradlew test

License

See LICENSE for details.