<![CDATA[Icon on QPushButton does not show when running the application (Qt Widgets, CMake, .qrc)]]>Hello, everyone :)
I created a very simple Qt Widgets project in Qt Creator. Then I created a res.qrc file and added a .ico image from the img folder into it.
I also added the res.qrc file to my CMakeLists.txt. In Qt Creator's Design, I dragged a QPushButton onto the widget and set its icon using the image from the resource file.

However, when I run the program, the button icon does not appear at all.

What could be the reason for this?Did I miss something when adding the .qrc resource file or setting the icon?

project dir

-.qtcreator
-build
-img
-- exit.png
-CMakeLists.txt
-dialog.cpp
-dialog.h
-dialog.ui
-main.cpp
-res.qrc

CMakeLists.txt

eb1c52c3-5b5a-4d0d-a8fe-508f55844a17-image.png

res.qrc

9eda5984-ac5a-4595-8c56-13ebc8970f61-image.png
b448c06e-bb74-4b1e-ba0e-91a1d336014d-image.png

dialog.ui

9c5801d3-7fcc-4cf6-b852-5952173f9b79-image.png
bf91e012-4acb-4893-b9e8-25ff9d2eb1dd-image.png

dialog.cpp

"qDebug() << icon.isNull();" always output true
d21a01a2-59bf-4534-8a38-f5fed3593a12-image.png

main.cpp

a3058706-f73e-4fbd-b673-59e054a2e195-image.png

]]>https://forum.qt.io/topic/163913/icon-on-qpushbutton-does-not-show-when-running-the-application-qt-widgets-cmake-.qrcRSS for NodeSun, 13 Sep 2026 05:13:07 GMTThu, 11 Dec 2025 18:44:07 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Icon on QPushButton does not show when running the application (Qt Widgets, CMake, .qrc) on Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:46:51 GMT]]>@JonB Thanks!
I think I’ve found the cause of the problem.
It turned out that RCC was not executed automatically, so the icons were not included in the build.
After adding

set(CMAKE_AUTORCC ON)

to my CMakeLists.txt and rebuilding the project, the icons started showing correctly.

Thanks again for your help :)

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/834541https://forum.qt.io/post/834541Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:46:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Icon on QPushButton does not show when running the application (Qt Widgets, CMake, .qrc) on Sat, 13 Dec 2025 02:18:04 GMT]]>@JonB
In another case, I didn’t use set(CMAKE_AUTORCC ON) or qt_add_resources(), and it still worked correctly.
When using qt_add_executable(), it is not necessary to call qt_add_resources() explicitly — you can simply list the .qrc file directly in qt_add_executable().

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/834590https://forum.qt.io/post/834590Sat, 13 Dec 2025 02:18:04 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Icon on QPushButton does not show when running the application (Qt Widgets, CMake, .qrc) on Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:15:26 GMT]]>@CheeseLatte
https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/prop_tgt/AUTORCC.html#prop_tgt:AUTORCC

AUTORCC is a boolean specifying whether CMake will handle the Qt rcc code generator automatically, i.e. without having to use commands like qt4_add_resources(), qt5_add_resources(), etc. Currently, Qt versions 4 to 6 are supported.

So did your other case have an explicit qt_add_resources() like I wrote earlier? It looks like you can use one or the other. I am thinking Creator should perhaps insert an qt_add_resources() when you add/create a resource file via its interface?

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/834558https://forum.qt.io/post/834558Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:15:26 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Icon on QPushButton does not show when running the application (Qt Widgets, CMake, .qrc) on Fri, 12 Dec 2025 02:29:07 GMT]]>@JonB
That's right ! I haven't used qmake. CMake does require set(CMAKE_AUTORCC ON) to work, but there's a strange thing: the last time I created a project, I used CMake, and it loaded resources correctly even without "set(CMAKE_AUTORCC ON)". However, subsequent projects don't work that way.

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/834547https://forum.qt.io/post/834547Fri, 12 Dec 2025 02:29:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Icon on QPushButton does not show when running the application (Qt Widgets, CMake, .qrc) on Thu, 11 Dec 2025 21:25:02 GMT]]>@CheeseLatte
https://forum.qt.io/topic/143377/resources-management-in-qt-creator
Like the poster there, I assumed Creator would manage adding this sort of thing for cmake when you put resources into a project. Looks like it worked without manual intervention with qmake.

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/834542https://forum.qt.io/post/834542Thu, 11 Dec 2025 21:25:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Icon on QPushButton does not show when running the application (Qt Widgets, CMake, .qrc) on Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:46:51 GMT]]>@JonB Thanks!
I think I’ve found the cause of the problem.
It turned out that RCC was not executed automatically, so the icons were not included in the build.
After adding

set(CMAKE_AUTORCC ON)

to my CMakeLists.txt and rebuilding the project, the icons started showing correctly.

Thanks again for your help :)

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/834541https://forum.qt.io/post/834541Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:46:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Icon on QPushButton does not show when running the application (Qt Widgets, CMake, .qrc) on Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:06:51 GMT]]>@CheeseLatte
I think you have not added it correctly to CMakeLists.txt? For the .qrc I think you need qt_add_resources()?

I don't know, but do you need to do this editing of the CMakeLists.txt manually? I don't use resources, but I assume Creator would sort out the CMakeLists.txt for you if you add a resource from inside it?

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/834537https://forum.qt.io/post/834537Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:06:51 GMT