<![CDATA[Malformed Qt Creator macOS app bundle]]>Hi,

I am trying to build both Qt and Qt Creator from source on macOS.

I use this script:

#!/usr/bin/env zsh
set -euo pipefail

cd /Users/valentingorelov/Projects/qt

# Cleanup
rm -rf build_qt install_qt build_qtcreator install_qtcreator

# Configure the repositories. Qt is cloned to qt6, Qt Creator is cloned to qtcreator
cd qt6
git checkout origin/6.12
./init-repository -f
cd ../qtcreator
git checkout origin/master
git submodule update --init --recursive
cd ..

# Build and install Qt
mkdir build_qt
mkdir install_qt
cd build_qt
../qt6/configure -prefix ../install_qt
cmake --build . --parallel
cmake --install .
cd ..

# Build and install Qt Creator
mkdir build_qtcreator
mkdir install_qtcreator
cd build_qtcreator
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=../install_qtcreator -G Ninja "-DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=../install_qt;../libclang" ../qtcreator
cmake --build . --parallel
cmake --install .

The script terminates without errors, but when I try to launch the resulting app bundle from the build_qtcreator directory I get this error:


Date/Time:           2026-10-11 14:40:43.2431 +0200
Launch Time:         2026-10-11 14:40:43.1895 +0200
Hardware Model:      MacBookAir10,1
OS Version:          macOS 26.7.1 (25G241)
Release Type:        User

Crash Reporter Key:  0980C452-E1C7-0B4E-507F-6794A52967DE
Incident Identifier: 3DAD80B4-19A8-464E-8CA8-D6F9EEFD361C

Sleep/Wake UUID:       A15FBBB5-E6C1-45CA-9870-E4EA8EF1C5D3

Time Awake Since Boot: 490000 seconds
Time Since Wake:       4155 seconds

System Integrity Protection: disabled

Triggered by Thread: 0

Exception Type:    EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT)
Exception Codes:   0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000

Termination Reason:  Namespace DYLD, Code 1, Library missing
Library not loaded: @rpath/QtPrintSupport.framework/Versions/A/QtPrintSupport
Referenced from: <F520E49F-D6CA-3AF2-8788-C895E0BFAA6D> /Users/USER/*/Qt Creator.app/Contents/MacOS/Qt Creator
Reason: tried: '/Users/valentingorelov/Projects/qt/install_qtcreator/Qt Creator.app/Contents/Frameworks/QtPrintSupport.framework/Versions/A/QtPrintSupport' (no such file), '/Users/valentingorelov/Projects/qt/install_qtcreator/Qt Creator.app/Contents/PlugIns/qtcreator/QtPrintSupport.framework/Versions/A/QtPrintSupport' (no such file), '/Users/valentingorelov/Projects/qt/install_qtcreator/Qt Creator.app/Contents/Frameworks/QtPrintSupport.framework/Versions/A/QtPrintSupport' (no such file), '/Users/valentingorelov/Projects/qt/install_qtcreator/Qt Creator.app/Contents/PlugIns/qtcreator/QtPrintSupport.framework/Versions/A/QtPrintSupport' (no such file)
(terminated at launch; ignore backtrace)

Apparently, Qt frameworks are not included into the bundle for some reason.

]]>https://forum.qt.io/topic/165161/malformed-qt-creator-macos-app-bundleRSS for NodeMon, 12 Oct 2026 11:04:06 GMTSun, 11 Oct 2026 12:47:08 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Malformed Qt Creator macOS app bundle on Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:22:01 GMT]]>This is becoming interesting :-) The output shows that deployment is only partially failing. The Qt Creator libraries are copied into Contents/Frameworks, but none of the Qt shared libraries are.

Since otool -L reports the executable linked against Qt 6.12.1 frameworks, CMake is definitely finding your self-built Qt. That rules out CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH or Ninja forwarding as the issue.

It looks like the deployment logic is unable to locate any Qt libs for copying into the bundle. The fact that Homebrew Qt works and your self-built Qt does not suggests there is a difference in the installation layout seen by the deployment step.

Could you please compare:

ls -ld /opt/homebrew/Cellar/qt/6.11.2/Frameworks
ls -ld /Users/valentingorelov/Projects/qt/install_qt/Frameworks

and also:

find /opt/homebrew/Cellar/qt/6.11.2 -name QtCore.framework
find /Users/valentingorelov/Projects/qt/install_qt -name QtCore.framework

I'd specifically like to understand whether the Qt Creator deployment code expects a top-level Frameworks directory and your self-built Qt only installs frameworks under lib/.

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/840448https://forum.qt.io/post/840448Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:22:01 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Malformed Qt Creator macOS app bundle on Mon, 12 Oct 2026 06:51:05 GMT]]>valentingorelov@Valentins-MacBook-Air Frameworks % ls -la total 248112 drwxr-xr-x 89 valentingorelov staff 2848 Oct 11 14:40 . drwxr-xr-x 7 valentingorelov staff 224 Oct 11 14:40 .. -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 8977096 Oct 11 14:40 libAcpLib.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 23 Oct 11 14:40 libAcpLib.21.dylib -> libAcpLib.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 18 Oct 11 14:40 libAcpLib.dylib -> libAcpLib.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 1897944 Oct 11 14:40 libAdvancedDockingSystem.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 38 Oct 11 14:40 libAdvancedDockingSystem.21.dylib -> libAdvancedDockingSystem.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 33 Oct 11 14:40 libAdvancedDockingSystem.dylib -> libAdvancedDockingSystem.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 1153080 Oct 11 14:40 libCMakeLang.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 26 Oct 11 14:40 libCMakeLang.21.dylib -> libCMakeLang.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 21 Oct 11 14:40 libCMakeLang.dylib -> libCMakeLang.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 4369848 Oct 11 14:40 libCPlusPlus.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 26 Oct 11 14:40 libCPlusPlus.21.dylib -> libCPlusPlus.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 21 Oct 11 14:40 libCPlusPlus.dylib -> libCPlusPlus.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 2634992 Oct 11 14:40 libCmdBridgeClient.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 32 Oct 11 14:40 libCmdBridgeClient.21.dylib -> libCmdBridgeClient.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 27 Oct 11 14:40 libCmdBridgeClient.dylib -> libCmdBridgeClient.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 2413104 Oct 11 14:40 libCommonTraceFormat.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 34 Oct 11 14:40 libCommonTraceFormat.21.dylib -> libCommonTraceFormat.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 29 Oct 11 14:40 libCommonTraceFormat.dylib -> libCommonTraceFormat.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 4913360 Oct 11 14:40 libDevContainer.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 29 Oct 11 14:40 libDevContainer.21.dylib -> libDevContainer.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 24 Oct 11 14:40 libDevContainer.dylib -> libDevContainer.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 1742416 Oct 11 14:40 libExtensionSystem.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 32 Oct 11 14:40 libExtensionSystem.21.dylib -> libExtensionSystem.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 27 Oct 11 14:40 libExtensionSystem.dylib -> libExtensionSystem.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 800824 Oct 11 14:40 libGLSL.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 21 Oct 11 14:40 libGLSL.21.dylib -> libGLSL.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 16 Oct 11 14:40 libGLSL.dylib -> libGLSL.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 1614360 Oct 11 14:40 libKSyntaxHighlighting.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 36 Oct 11 14:40 libKSyntaxHighlighting.21.dylib -> libKSyntaxHighlighting.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 31 Oct 11 14:40 libKSyntaxHighlighting.dylib -> libKSyntaxHighlighting.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 14093288 Oct 11 14:40 libLanguageServerProtocol.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 39 Oct 11 14:40 libLanguageServerProtocol.21.dylib -> libLanguageServerProtocol.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 34 Oct 11 14:40 libLanguageServerProtocol.dylib -> libLanguageServerProtocol.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 253344 Oct 11 14:40 libLanguageUtils.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 30 Oct 11 14:40 libLanguageUtils.21.dylib -> libLanguageUtils.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 25 Oct 11 14:40 libLanguageUtils.dylib -> libLanguageUtils.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 17544448 Oct 11 14:40 libMcpServerLib.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 29 Oct 11 14:40 libMcpServerLib.21.dylib -> libMcpServerLib.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 24 Oct 11 14:40 libMcpServerLib.dylib -> libMcpServerLib.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 6609128 Oct 11 14:40 libModeling.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 25 Oct 11 14:40 libModeling.21.dylib -> libModeling.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 20 Oct 11 14:40 libModeling.dylib -> libModeling.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 539848 Oct 11 14:40 libNanotrace.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 26 Oct 11 14:40 libNanotrace.21.dylib -> libNanotrace.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 21 Oct 11 14:40 libNanotrace.dylib -> libNanotrace.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 120216 Oct 11 14:40 libParsing.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 24 Oct 11 14:40 libParsing.21.dylib -> libParsing.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 19 Oct 11 14:40 libParsing.dylib -> libParsing.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 1622600 Oct 11 14:40 libProParser.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 26 Oct 11 14:40 libProParser.21.dylib -> libProParser.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 21 Oct 11 14:40 libProParser.dylib -> libProParser.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 1019208 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlDebug.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 25 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlDebug.21.dylib -> libQmlDebug.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 20 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlDebug.dylib -> libQmlDebug.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 14112576 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlDesignerCore.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 32 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlDesignerCore.21.dylib -> libQmlDesignerCore.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 27 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlDesignerCore.dylib -> libQmlDesignerCore.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 1044128 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlEditorWidgets.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 33 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlEditorWidgets.21.dylib -> libQmlEditorWidgets.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 28 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlEditorWidgets.dylib -> libQmlEditorWidgets.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 5921672 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlJS.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 22 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlJS.21.dylib -> libQmlJS.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 17 Oct 11 14:40 libQmlJS.dylib -> libQmlJS.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 551528 Oct 11 14:40 libRstLang.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 24 Oct 11 14:40 libRstLang.21.dylib -> libRstLang.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 19 Oct 11 14:40 libRstLang.dylib -> libRstLang.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 2454376 Oct 11 14:40 libSqlite.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 23 Oct 11 14:40 libSqlite.21.dylib -> libSqlite.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 18 Oct 11 14:40 libSqlite.dylib -> libSqlite.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 1011232 Oct 11 14:40 libTerminalLib.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 28 Oct 11 14:40 libTerminalLib.21.dylib -> libTerminalLib.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 23 Oct 11 14:40 libTerminalLib.dylib -> libTerminalLib.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 1929592 Oct 11 14:40 libTracing.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 24 Oct 11 14:40 libTracing.21.dylib -> libTracing.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 19 Oct 11 14:40 libTracing.dylib -> libTracing.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 21028840 Oct 11 14:40 libUtils.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 22 Oct 11 14:40 libUtils.21.dylib -> libUtils.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 17 Oct 11 14:40 libUtils.dylib -> libUtils.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 5458136 Oct 11 14:40 libqlitehtml.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 26 Oct 11 14:40 libqlitehtml.21.dylib -> libqlitehtml.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 21 Oct 11 14:40 libqlitehtml.dylib -> libqlitehtml.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 155800 Oct 11 14:40 libqtkeychain.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 27 Oct 11 14:40 libqtkeychain.21.dylib -> libqtkeychain.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 22 Oct 11 14:40 libqtkeychain.dylib -> libqtkeychain.21.dylib -rwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 989256 Oct 11 14:32 libyaml-cpp.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 25 Oct 11 14:40 libyaml-cpp.21.dylib -> libyaml-cpp.21.0.82.dylib lrwxr-xr-x 1 valentingorelov staff 20 Oct 11 14:40 libyaml-cpp.dylib -> libyaml-cpp.21.dylib 
valentingorelov@Valentins-MacBook-Air install_qtcreator % otool -L Qt\ Creator.app/Contents/MacOS/Qt\ Creator
Qt Creator.app/Contents/MacOS/Qt Creator:
	@rpath/libExtensionSystem.21.dylib (compatibility version 21.0.82, current version 21.0.82)
	@rpath/libUtils.21.dylib (compatibility version 21.0.82, current version 21.0.82)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/Foundation.framework/Versions/C/Foundation (compatibility version 300.0.0, current version 5027.0.69)
	@rpath/QtPrintSupport.framework/Versions/A/QtPrintSupport (compatibility version 6.0.0, current version 6.12.1)
	/usr/lib/libcups.2.dylib (compatibility version 2.0.0, current version 2.14.0)
	@rpath/QtTaskTree.framework/Versions/A/QtTaskTree (compatibility version 6.0.0, current version 6.12.1)
	@rpath/QtConcurrent.framework/Versions/A/QtConcurrent (compatibility version 6.0.0, current version 6.12.1)
	@rpath/libNanotrace.21.dylib (compatibility version 21.0.82, current version 21.0.82)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/ApplicationServices (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 66.0.0)
	@rpath/QtWidgets.framework/Versions/A/QtWidgets (compatibility version 6.0.0, current version 6.12.1)
	@rpath/QtGui.framework/Versions/A/QtGui (compatibility version 6.0.0, current version 6.12.1)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/AppKit.framework/Versions/C/AppKit (compatibility version 45.0.0, current version 2775.10.103)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/OpenGL.framework/Versions/A/OpenGL (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1.0.0)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/ImageIO.framework/Versions/A/ImageIO (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1.0.0)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/Metal.framework/Versions/A/Metal (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 382.5.3)
	@rpath/QtNetwork.framework/Versions/A/QtNetwork (compatibility version 6.0.0, current version 6.12.1)
	@rpath/QtCore.framework/Versions/A/QtCore (compatibility version 6.0.0, current version 6.12.1)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/IOKit.framework/Versions/A/IOKit (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 275.0.0)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/DiskArbitration.framework/Versions/A/DiskArbitration (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1.0.0)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/UniformTypeIdentifiers.framework/Versions/A/UniformTypeIdentifiers (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 709.0.0)
	/usr/lib/libc++.1.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 2200.27.0)
	/usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 1359.0.0)
	/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/Versions/A/CoreFoundation (compatibility version 150.0.0, current version 5027.0.69)
	/usr/lib/libobjc.A.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 228.0.0)
]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/840445https://forum.qt.io/post/840445Mon, 12 Oct 2026 06:51:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Malformed Qt Creator macOS app bundle on Mon, 12 Oct 2026 06:39:30 GMT]]>Since Qt Creator compiles successfully against your self-built Qt, CMake is clearly finding that installation. The more interesting question is why cmake --install . is not deploying the Qt frameworks into Qt Creator.app/Contents/Frameworks. Please can you show the contents of that directory? And the output of:

otool -L Qt\ Creator.app/Contents/MacOS/Qt\ Creator

Those should tell us whether the issue is discovery of Qt or the deployment step.

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/840444https://forum.qt.io/post/840444Mon, 12 Oct 2026 06:39:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Malformed Qt Creator macOS app bundle on Sun, 11 Oct 2026 20:57:30 GMT]]>@SGaist said in Malformed Qt Creator macOS app bundle:

Hi,

Do you have a debug build of Qt ?

The script uses

../qt6/configure -prefix ../install_qt

command to configure the Qt build. I am following the instructions from this page: https://doc.qt.io/qt-6/macos-building.html

I suppose the default is the Release build since I see these messages:

-- Configuring submodule 'qtbase'
-- [QtBase] Setting build type to 'Release' as none was specified.
]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/840442https://forum.qt.io/post/840442Sun, 11 Oct 2026 20:57:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Malformed Qt Creator macOS app bundle on Sun, 11 Oct 2026 18:45:11 GMT]]>Hi,

Do you have a debug build of Qt ?

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/840440https://forum.qt.io/post/840440Sun, 11 Oct 2026 18:45:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Malformed Qt Creator macOS app bundle on Sun, 11 Oct 2026 13:03:50 GMT]]>It is built and installed here:
/Users/valentingorelov/Projects/qt/install_qt/lib/QtPrintSupport.framework

But this framework is not the only problem. If I copy it manually into the app bundle, I start to get errors about other frameworks.

I tried to build Qt Creator with the Qt from homebrew
/opt/homebrew/Cellar/qt/6.11.2/
and it worked.

The homebrew version of Qt has a /opt/homebrew/Cellar/qt/6.11.2/Frameworks/ dir, but the version built from source does not (there is no /Users/valentingorelov/Projects/qt/install_qt/Frameworks).

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/840434https://forum.qt.io/post/840434Sun, 11 Oct 2026 13:03:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Malformed Qt Creator macOS app bundle on Sun, 11 Oct 2026 12:57:33 GMT]]>The app bundle is missing QtPrintSupport.framework, so deployment/bundling didn't succeed. Can you please verify that QtPrintSupport.framework was actually built and installed into install_qt. If it exists?

]]>https://forum.qt.io/post/840433https://forum.qt.io/post/840433Sun, 11 Oct 2026 12:57:33 GMT