Building Mac ARM/Intel Universal binaries on Mac

[AndyBrice]

I have recently upgraded to a Qt commercial license. This has given me access to Qt 5.15.10, which supports build ARM/Intel Universal ('fat') binaries on Mac.

I am trying to build a Universal binary on my Intel iMac with:

• macOS 12.5.1
• XCode 13.4
• 'Desktop Qt 5.15.10 for macOS (Universal)' kit.

My .pro file includes:

QMAKE_APPLE_DEVICE_ARCHS = x86_64 arm64

I use macdeployqt to create the .app file.

The .app file I create runs on my Intel Mac, but not on my ARM laptop. It crashes at:

QGuiApplicationPrivate::createPlatformIntegration()

lipo -detailed_info EasyDataTransform_Universal.app/Contents/MacOS/EasyDataTransform

Gives:

Fat header in: EasyDataTransform_1_34_1_snapshot_2_Universal_2.app/Contents/MacOS/EasyDataTransform
fat_magic 0xcafebabe
nfat_arch 2
architecture x86_64
cputype CPU_TYPE_X86_64
cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_X86_64_ALL
capabilities 0x0
offset 16384
size 4469408
align 2^14 (16384)
architecture arm64
cputype CPU_TYPE_ARM64
cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_ARM64_ALL
capabilities 0x0
offset 4489216
size 4657312
align 2^14 (16384)

But the Qt libraries don't appear to be recognized as Universal.

lipo -detailed_info EasyDataTransform_Universal.app/Contents/Frameworks/QtCore.framework/QtCore

Gives:

input file EasyDataTransform_Universal.app/Contents/Frameworks/QtCore.framework/QtCore is not a fat file
Non-fat file: EasyDataTransform_Universal.app/Contents/Frameworks/QtCore.framework/QtCore is architecture: x86_64

Before I dig into this more, has anyone actually managed to build a Universal binary on an Intel Mac with Qt 5.15.10 using macdeployqt? Am I missing some magic words?

[sierdzio]

Since you have a commercial license, you can ask Qt Company and get priority help from them.

[AndyBrice]

It is a small business license, so I believe I am only entitled to help with installation.

[sierdzio]

Ah, sorry then, I don't know the answer here :-(

[AndyBrice]

I found the issue. I was using
<QtDir>/macos/bin/macdeployqt not <QtDir>/clang_64/bin/macdeployqt .

More at:
https://successfulsoftware.net/2022/09/30/creating-a-mac-universal-binary-for-intel-and-arm-m1-m2-with-qt/