Error "Failed to build a simple Qt application"

Last edited on

Symptom

During a build from sources the configure script fails with:

Failed to build a simple Qt application, building Squish is very likely to fail too.

This error message is emitted if a sanity check signals that the detected (or specified) build configuration is invalid.

More details

The configure script is logging its steps to a config.log file. A look at the last lines of this files - more specifically the output between the following lines

? Checking whether a simple Qt application can be built
....
# Failed to build a simple Qt application, building Squish is very likely to fail too.

may reveal what exactly is wrong. For help with the interpretation contact technical support with the config.log attached to your e-mail.

Possible Cause and Suggested Solution

The most typical cause of above error is a mismatch between the detected compiler, compiler switches and the detected Qt installation.

Example:

/usr/bin/ld: skipping incompatible /usr/local/Trolltech/Qt-5.5.0/lib/libQt5Core.so when searching for -lQt5Core
/usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lQt5Core

The link tool (ld) is complaining about the Qt library having an architecture that is different from the compiler's target architecture. Adding --enable-qmake-config to the list of configure switches can help to correct the compiler switches. If the problem persists please contact support.