Build Instructions

Prerequisites

Common Requirements

• Qt 6.8+ - Use the Qt Installer in the link. Choose the prebuilt components for your compiler under 'Qt'. Cmake, Qt Creator and Ninja are available under 'Tools'.
• CMake
• Ninja
• Git

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

• Other development packages:

  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get install -y libevdev-dev

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository with submodules:

   git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/kitswas/VirtualGamePad-PC.git
   cd VirtualGamePad-PC

2. Configure Qt paths (if needed):
   • Copy the appropriate sample cache file:
     • Windows: Copy cmake_cache_windows.cmake.sample to cmake_cache_windows.cmake
     • Linux: Copy cmake_cache_linux.cmake.sample to cmake_cache_linux.cmake
   • Edit the cache file to match your Qt installation path

3. Configure and Build:

   Windows:

   cmake --preset windows # -C cmake_cache_windows.cmake if needed
   cmake --build build-windows --config Release

   Linux:

   cmake --preset linux # -C cmake_cache_linux.cmake if needed
   cmake --build build-linux --config Release

4. Package for distribution:

   Windows:

   mkdir dist
   cmake --install build-windows --prefix dist --config Release

   Linux:

   mkdir dist
   cmake --install build-linux --prefix $PWD/dist --config Release

Development Builds

For debug builds, replace config Release with Debug in the build commands.

IDE Support

Qt Creator

• Open CMakeLists.txt in Qt Creator
• Configure the project
• Build and run from the IDE

Visual Studio Code

• Install Qt C++ Extension Pack
• Run 'Qt: Register Qt installation' after installing the extension (Ctrl+Shift+P)
• Open the project folder in VS Code

Code Formatting

Format code using clang-format:

cmake --build build --target format

Note: This requires clang-format to be installed and available in the PATH.

Documentation

Generate documentation with Doxygen:

doxygen Doxyfile

Troubleshooting

Windows Issues

The gamepad executor requires administrative privileges and enabling [app sideloading (Developer mode in Windows Settings)](ms-settings:developers).

Linux Permission Issues

If you encounter /dev/uinput permission errors, run:

# Add user to uinput group
sudo groupadd uinput
sudo usermod -a -G uinput $USER
 
# Create udev rule
sudo sh -c 'echo KERNEL=="uinput", SUBSYSTEM=="misc", MODE="0660", GROUP="uinput" > /etc/udev/rules.d/99-uinput.rules'
 
# Reload udev and trigger
sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger /dev/uinput
 
# Log out and back in, or restart

Avoiding Common Issues

• Update the CMake cache files with correct Qt installation paths
• For Windows, ensure MinGW or MSVC compiler matches your Qt installation (or use the bundled Qt MinGW)

Build Artifacts Location

• Windows: ./dist/bin/ contains the executable and dependencies
• Linux: ./dist/ contains the full application structure