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Installing Qt6 on Windows (Minimal ~3-5 GB)

Why Qt Installer Shows 60+ GB

The Qt installer shows the total size of ALL components (Android, iOS, WebAssembly, source code, debug symbols, etc.). You only need a small subset for this project.

Minimal Installation Steps

1. Download Qt Online Installer

https://www.qt.io/download-qt-installer-oss

File: qt-online-installer-windows-x64-4.x.x.exe (~2 MB)

2. Run Installer

  • Create Qt Account (free) or log in
  • Accept license agreements (LGPL/GPL for open source)
  • Choose installation folder: C:\Qt (recommended, script auto-detects this)

3. Select Components (CRITICAL - Only Check These!)

When you reach "Select Components" screen:

✅ Check ONLY These Items:

Qt
└── Qt 6.7.3 (or latest 6.7.x)
    ├── ✅ MSVC 2019 64-bit          (~1.5 GB) ← REQUIRED
    ├── ✅ Qt WebEngine              (~800 MB) ← For preview window
    ├── ✅ Qt 5 Compatibility Module (~50 MB)  ← Sometimes needed
    └── ✅ Sources                   (~500 MB) ← OPTIONAL, uncheck to save space

Developer and Designer Tools
├── ✅ Qt Creator 13.x CDB Debugger (~500 MB) ← OPTIONAL but recommended
└── ✅ CMake 3.27.x                 (~100 MB) ← Only if you don't have CMake

Qt Design Studio
└── ❌ Uncheck all                 ← Not needed for this project

❌ DO NOT Check:

  • Android builds (saves ~10 GB)
  • iOS builds (saves ~5 GB)
  • WebAssembly (saves ~2 GB)
  • MinGW compiler (we use MSVC)
  • Additional Libraries (Qt Charts, Qt Data Visualization, etc.)
  • Debug Information Files (saves ~5 GB)
  • Multiple Qt versions (only install one version)
  • Qt Design Studio (different tool, not needed)

4. Installation Size Breakdown

Absolute Minimum (just compiler):

  • MSVC 2019 64-bit: ~1.5 GB

Recommended for this project:

  • MSVC 2019 64-bit: ~1.5 GB
  • Qt WebEngine: ~800 MB
  • Qt Creator: ~500 MB
  • CMake: ~100 MB
  • Total: ~3-4 GB

With sources (for reference):

  • Add ~500 MB
  • Total: ~4-5 GB

5. After Installation

The installer will place Qt at:

C:\Qt\6.7.3\msvc2019_64\

Our build.ps1 script automatically searches for Qt in these paths:

  • C:\Qt\6.7.0\msvc2019_64
  • C:\Qt\6.6.0\msvc2019_64
  • C:\Qt\6.5.0\msvc2019_64
  • C:\Qt\6.4.0\msvc2019_64
  • C:\Qt\6.3.0\msvc2019_64
  • C:\Qt\6.2.0\msvc2019_64

6. Build the Project

# Navigate to project
cd C:\Users\andre\Desktop\Projects\LaTeXEditor

# Build (script auto-detects Qt)
.\build.ps1

# Or build and run
.\build.ps1 run

Alternative: Offline Installer

If you have slow/metered internet:

  1. Download Qt 6.7.x Offline Installer from: https://www.qt.io/offline-installers

  2. Select file: qt-opensource-windows-x86-6.7.x.exe (~4 GB single download)

  3. During install, still uncheck Android/iOS/WebAssembly to save disk space

Verification

After installation, verify Qt is found:

# Check if Qt6_DIR can be set
$qtPath = "C:\Qt\6.7.3\msvc2019_64"
if (Test-Path $qtPath) {
    Write-Host "✓ Qt6 found at $qtPath"
} else {
    Write-Host "✗ Qt6 not found, check installation path"
}

Troubleshooting

Still shows 60+ GB during installation

This is total available size, not what will be installed. Pay attention to the checkboxes you select, not the total size shown.

CMake still can't find Qt6

If Qt installed to non-standard location:

# Set environment variable
$env:Qt6_DIR = "C:\YourCustomPath\Qt\6.7.3\msvc2019_64\lib\cmake\Qt6"

# Then build
.\build.ps1

Need even smaller installation?

Skip Qt Creator and use Visual Studio instead:

  • Only install "MSVC 2019 64-bit" + "Qt WebEngine"
  • Size: ~2.3 GB
  • Build using build.ps1 or Visual Studio

What Each Component Does

Component Size Purpose Required?
MSVC 2019 64-bit 1.5 GB Qt libraries for Windows ✅ YES
Qt WebEngine 800 MB Chromium-based web rendering (preview) ⚠️ Recommended
Qt Creator 500 MB IDE for Qt development ⚠️ Recommended
CMake 100 MB Build system Only if not installed
Sources 500 MB Qt source code (reference) ❌ Optional
Android 10+ GB Mobile development ❌ Not needed
iOS 5+ GB Mobile development ❌ Not needed
WebAssembly 2 GB Browser deployment ❌ Not needed
MinGW 2 GB Alternative compiler ❌ Not needed (we use MSVC)
Debug Info 5+ GB Debugging Qt itself ❌ Not needed

Summary

For this LaTeX Editor project:

  • Download: 3-5 GB (not 60 GB!)
  • Install time: 10-20 minutes
  • Required components: MSVC 2019 64-bit + Qt WebEngine
  • Optional: Qt Creator (makes development easier)

The 60 GB is if you select everything (all platforms, all modules, all versions, debug symbols, sources). You only need ~3 GB for Windows desktop development.