Build and Packaging

This page describes how to build G-Pilot from source and how to build Qt Creator designer plugins.

Build requirements

• Qt 6.8 with LLVM/Clang compiler (recommended) or MinGW/GCC 64-bit
• MSVC compiler is not officially supported and may not work correctly

Note: CMake files in the repository are not maintained. The supported build system is QMake (gpilot.pro).

Build with Qt Creator (recommended)

1. Clone the repository with submodules:

   git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/etet100/G-Pilot-GCode-Sender
   cd G-Pilot-GCode-Sender
   git submodule update --init --recursive
   

2. Open gpilot.pro in Qt Creator.
3. Select Qt 6.x and LLVM/Clang (recommended) or MinGW 64-bit.
4. (Optional) Enable multi-threaded compilation:
   • Projects → Build → Build Steps → Make → Make arguments
   • Add -j8 (adjust to your CPU core count)
5. (Optional) Configure auto-copy of DLL files after build:
   • Projects → Build or Deploy Settings → Build Steps → Custom Process Step
   • Command: python
   • Arguments: copy_files.py %{ActiveProject:BuildConfig:Path} %{ActiveProject:BuildConfig:Path}\src\gpilot\
   • Working directory: %{ActiveProject:ProjectDirectory}\scripts
6. Build the project (Ctrl+B).
7. Executable and DLL files will appear in the bin folder.

Build with qmake from command line

1. Add Qt bin directory to the PATH:

   set PATH=C:\Qt\6.8.1\llvm-mingw_64\bin;%PATH%
   

2. Run qmake to generate Makefile:

   qmake gpilot.pro
   

3. Build the project (LLVM/Clang or MinGW):

   mingw32-make -j8
   

4. The executable and DLL files will be generated in the bin folder.

Packaging

• Copy files from the bin directory (exe, dll, translations, LICENSE).
• Make sure that all required DLLs are present (Qt and vendor DLLs).

Qt Creator designer plugins

G-Pilot includes custom Qt Designer widgets that can be used in Qt Creator. These plugins must be built with the same compiler that was used for Qt Creator (typically MSVC 2022 64-bit).

Important: The main G-Pilot project uses a different compiler (LLVM/Clang or MinGW). Designer plugins are built separately.

Steps

1. In Qt Creator open src/designerplugins/designerplugins.pro.
2. Select Qt 6.x with MSVC 2022 64-bit kit (same as Qt Creator).
3. Build Release configuration (Qt Creator cannot load Debug plugins).
4. Configure install path, for example:

   qmake QTCREATOR_PLUGINS_PATH="C:/YourPath/QtCreator/bin/plugins/designer"
   

   or set environment variable:

   set QTCREATOR_PLUGINS_PATH=C:/YourPath/QtCreator/bin/plugins/designer
   

5. Build and install:
   • Build project (Ctrl+B)
   • Run make install or add an install step in Qt Creator
6. Restart Qt Creator. Custom widgets (for example ColorPicker, Slider, SliderBox, StyledToolButton) will appear in the Designer widget palette.