All Modules

Qt Essentials

Qt essentials define the foundation of Qt on all platforms. They are available on all supported development platforms and on the tested target platforms. They will remain source and binary compatible during Qt 5.

Essential modules are general and useful for a majority of Qt applications. A module that is used for a special purpose is considered an add-on module even if it is available on all supported platforms.

The following table lists the Qt essentials:

ModuleDescription
Qt CoreCore non-graphical classes used by other modules.
Qt GUIBase classes for graphical user interface (GUI) components. Includes OpenGL.
Qt MultimediaClasses for audio, video, radio and camera functionality.
Qt Multimedia WidgetsWidget-based classes for implementing multimedia functionality.
Qt NetworkClasses to make network programming easier and more portable.
Qt QMLClasses for QML and JavaScript languages.
Qt QuickA declarative framework for building highly dynamic applications with custom user interfaces.
Qt Quick ControlsReusable Qt Quick based UI controls to create classic desktop-style user interfaces.
Qt Quick DialogsTypes for creating and interacting with system dialogs from a Qt Quick application.
Qt Quick LayoutsLayouts are items that are used to arrange Qt Quick 2 based items in the user interface.
Qt SQLClasses for database integration using SQL.
Qt TestClasses for unit testing Qt applications and libraries.
Qt WidgetsClasses to extend Qt GUI with C++ widgets.

If you use qmake to build your projects, the Qt Core and Qt GUI modules are included by default. To link only against Qt Core, add the following line to your .pro file:


  QT -= gui

On Windows, if you do not use qmake or other build tools such as CMake, you also need to link against the qtmain library.

Qt Add-Ons

Qt Add-On modules bring additional value for specific purposes. These modules may only be available on some development platform. Many add-on modules are either feature-complete and exist for backwards compatibility, or are only applicable to certain platforms. Each add-on module specifies its compatibility promise separately.

The Qt installers include the option of downloading the add-ons. For more information, visit the Getting Started with Qt page.

The following table lists the Qt add-ons:

ModuleDevelopment PlatformsTarget PlatformsDescription
Active QtWindowsClasses for applications which use ActiveX and COM
Qt 3DAllFunctionality for near-realtime simulation systems with support for 2D and 3D rendering.
Enginio (Deprecated)AllAllA Backend-as-a-Service solution to ease the backend development for connected and data-driven applications.
Qt Android ExtrasAllAndroidProvides platform-specific APIs for Android.
Qt BluetoothAllAndroid, iOS, Linux and macOSProvides access to Bluetooth hardware.
Qt Canvas 3DAllEnables OpenGL-like 3D drawing calls from Qt Quick applications using JavaScript.
Qt ConcurrentClasses for writing multi-threaded programs without using low-level threading primitives.
Qt D-BusAllClasses for inter-process communication over the D-Bus protocol.
Qt Graphical EffectsAllGraphical effects for use with Qt Quick 2.
Qt Image FormatsAllPlugins for additional image formats: TIFF, MNG, TGA, WBMP.
Qt LocationAllAllDisplays map, navigation, and place content in a QML application.
Qt Mac ExtrasAllmacOSProvides platform-specific APIs for macOS.
Qt NFCAllAndroid and LinuxProvides access to Near-Field communication (NFC) hardware.
Qt OpenGL (Deprecated)OpenGL support classes. Deprecated in favor of the QOpenGL* classes in the Qt GUI module.
Qt Platform HeadersProvides classes that encapsulate platform-specific information, tied to a given runtime configuration of a platform plugin.
Qt PositioningAllAndroid, iOS, macOS, Linux, WinRT.Provides access to position, satellite and area monitoring classes.
Qt Print SupportAllClasses to make printing easier and more portable.
Qt PurchasingAndroid, iOS, and OS X.Enables in-app purchase of products in Qt applications.
Qt Quick Controls 2AllProvides lightweight QML types for creating performant user interfaces for embedded and mobile devices. These controls achieve improved efficiency by employing a simplified styling architecture when compared to Qt Quick Controls. These types work in conjunction with Qt Quick and Qt Quick Layouts.
Qt Quick ExtrasAllProvides a specialized set of controls that can be used to build interfaces in Qt Quick.
Qt Quick WidgetsAllProvides a C++ widget class for displaying a Qt Quick user interface.
Qt Script (Deprecated)AllClasses for making Qt applications scriptable. Deprecated in favor of the QJS* classes in the Qt QML module.
Qt Script Tools (Deprecated)AllAdditional components for applications that use Qt Script.
Qt SensorsAllAndroid, Qt for iOS, WinRT and Mer.Provides access to sensor hardware and motion gesture recognition.
Qt Serial PortAllWindows, Linux, and macOS.Provides access to hardware and virtual serial ports.
Qt SVGAllClasses for displaying the contents of SVG files. Supports a subset of the SVG 1.2 Tiny standard.
Qt WebChannelAllAllProvides access to QObject or QML objects from HTML clients for seamless integration of Qt applications with HTML/JavaScript clients.
Qt WebEngineAllWindows, Linux, and macOS.Classes and functions for embedding web content in applications using the Chromium browser project.
Qt WebSocketsAllAllProvides WebSocket communication compliant with RFC 6455.
Qt WebViewAllPlatforms with a native web engine.Displays web content in a QML application by using APIs native to the platform, without the need to include a full web browser stack.
Qt Windows ExtrasAllWindowsProvides platform-specific APIs for Windows.
Qt X11 ExtrasAllLinux/X11Provides platform-specific APIs for X11.
Qt XMLC++ implementations of SAX and DOM.

Note: This module is not required to use QXmlStreamReader and QXmlStreamWriter. They are already part of Qt Core.

Qt XML PatternsSupport for XPath, XQuery, XSLT and XML schema validation.
Add-ons available under GPLv3 license
Qt ChartsAllUI Components for displaying visually pleasing charts, driven by static or dynamic data models.
Qt Data VisualizationUI Components for creating stunning 3D data visualizations.
Qt Virtual KeyboardLinux and Windows desktop, and Boot to Qt targets.A framework for implementing different input methods as well as a QML virtual keyboard. Supports localized keyboard layouts and custom visual themes.
Qt Quick 2D RendererAllEnables the use of Qt Quick UI on devices without OpenGL capability.

Value-Add Modules

In addition to the modules released as part of Qt 5, the following modules and tooling build on top of the Qt libraries to provide additional value. They have their own release schedule, and are available under the commercial license.

FeatureDescription
Qt for Device CreationTools for fast, easy, and fully-integrated embedded device application development. Includes most other Value-Add features.
Qt Quick CompilerEnables compiling .qml source files into application binaries, improving load times and security for code assets.

Technology Preview Modules

The following modules are still in development but are available as technology previews.

ModuleDescription
Qt GamepadEnables Qt applications to support the use of gamepad hardware.
Qt Serial BusProvides access to serial industrial bus interface. Currently the module supports the CAN bus and Modbus protocols.
Qt Wayland CompositorProvides a framework to develop a Wayland compositor.
Qt SCXMLProvides functionality to create state machines from SCXML files.

Qt Tools

Qt Tools run on all the supported development platforms and facilitate the development and design of applications.

The following table lists the Qt tools:

ToolDescription
Qt DesignerClasses for extending Qt Designer.
Qt HelpClasses for integrating online documentation into applications, similar to Qt Assistant.
Qt UI ToolsClasses to handle the forms created in Qt Designer.

Where to Go from Here

We invite you to explore the rest of Qt. We prepared overviews which help you decide which APIs to use and our examples demonstrate how to use our API.