Qt Creator
Qt Creator is a cross-platform IDE for building applications for desktop, embedded, and mobile systems, as well as web browsers. It supports work from project creation and UI design through coding, building, deployment, execution, and debugging. Its editor offers semantic highlighting, syntax checks, completion, search, and refactoring. The IDE understands C++ and QML and provides some Python language services when a language server is available. Build integrations include CMake, qmake, Qbs, and Autotools, and generic projects can use configurable build commands. Debuggers and analysis tools can help detect memory leaks, profile execution, and examine CPU use. Integrated testing includes Boost.Test, Catch2, Google Test, Qt Quick Test, and Qt Test, with CTest support. Qt Creator supports AI agents, including documented GitHub Copilot and MCP Server extensions. Binary packages are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows. An open-source version is available; commercial Qt use requires an active license for each developer, and Qt-based devices may also require distribution licenses. The commercial evaluation lasts 10 days and is not for production development.
Who it is for
Qt Creator suits developers creating desktop, embedded, mobile, or browser applications, especially those working with C++ or QML. Teams considering commercial Qt development should account for developer and possible distribution licensing.
What is good
- Supports project work from setup through debugging.
- Includes CMake, qmake, Qbs, and Autotools integrations.
- Integrated testing supports several named frameworks.
- Binary packages are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
- An open-source version is available.
What to know first
- Commercial evaluation lasts 10 days.
- Commercial use requires an active license for each developer.
- Qt-based devices may require distribution licenses.
- External vendor extensions are not checked for security flaws or malicious intent.
Verdict
Qt Creator covers editing, builds, testing, and debugging across several application targets. The open-source version and commercial licensing have different obligations, so developers should check which applies to their work.
Qt Creator plans and pricing
All plansCompared on integrated development environments
- Free plan
- Yes
