CPack IFW Generator — CMake 3.29.1 Documentation

# CPack IFW Generator

New in version 3.1.

Configure and run the Qt Installer Framework to generate a Qt installer.

## Overview

This `cpack generator` generates configuration and meta information for the Qt Installer Framework (QtIFW), and runs QtIFW tools to generate a Qt installer.

QtIFW provides tools and utilities to create installers for the platforms supported by Qt: Linux, Microsoft Windows, and macOS.

To make use of this generator, QtIFW needs to be installed. The `CPackIFW` module looks for the location of the QtIFW command-line utilities, and defines several commands to control the behavior of this generator. See Hints for Finding QtIFW.

## Variables

You can use the following variables to change the behavior of the CPack `IFW` generator.

### Debug

CPACK_IFW_VERBOSE

  New in version 3.3.

  Set to `ON` to enable addition debug output. By default is `OFF`.

### Package

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_TITLE

  Name of the installer as displayed on the title bar. If not specified, it defaults to `CPACK_PACKAGE_DESCRIPTION_SUMMARY`.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_PUBLISHER

  Publisher of the software (as shown in the Windows Control Panel). If not specified, it defaults to `CPACK_PACKAGE_VENDOR`.

CPACK_IFW_PRODUCT_URL

  URL to a page that contains product information on your web site.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_ICON

  Filename for a custom installer icon. It must be an absolute path. This should be a `.icns` file on macOS and a `.ico` file on Windows. It is ignored on other platforms.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WINDOW_ICON

  Filename for a custom window icon in PNG format for the Installer application. It must be an absolute path.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_LOGO

  Filename for a logo image in PNG format, used as `QWizard::LogoPixmap`. It must be an absolute path.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WATERMARK

  New in version 3.8.

  Filename for a watermark image in PNG format, used as `QWizard::WatermarkPixmap`. It must be an absolute path.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_BANNER

  New in version 3.8.

  Filename for a banner image in PNG format, used as `QWizard::BannerPixmap`. It must be an absolute path.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_BACKGROUND

  New in version 3.8.

  Filename for a background image in PNG format, used as `QWizard::BackgroundPixmap` (only used by `MacStyle`). It must be an absolute path.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WIZARD_STYLE

  New in version 3.8.

  Wizard style to be used (`Modern`, `Mac`, `Aero` or `Classic`).

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WIZARD_DEFAULT_WIDTH

  New in version 3.8.

  Default width of the wizard in pixels. Setting a banner image will override this.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WIZARD_DEFAULT_HEIGHT

  New in version 3.8.

  Default height of the wizard in pixels. Setting a watermark image will override this.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_WIZARD_SHOW_PAGE_LIST

  New in version 3.20.

  Set to `OFF` if the widget listing installer pages on the left side of the wizard should not be shown.

  It is `ON` by default, but will only have an effect if using QtIFW 4.0 or later.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_TITLE_COLOR

  New in version 3.8.

  Color of the titles and subtitles (takes an HTML color code, such as `#88FF33`).

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_STYLE_SHEET

  New in version 3.15.

  Filename for a stylesheet. It must be an absolute path.

CPACK_IFW_TARGET_DIRECTORY

  Default target directory for installation. If `CPACK_PACKAGE_INSTALL_DIRECTORY` is set, this defaults to `@ApplicationsDir@/${CPACK_PACKAGE_INSTALL_DIRECTORY}`. If that variable isn't set either, the default used is `@RootDir@/usr/local`. Predefined variables of the form `@...@` are expanded by the QtIFW scripting engine.

CPACK_IFW_ADMIN_TARGET_DIRECTORY

  Default target directory for installation with administrator rights.

  You can use predefined variables.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_REMOVE_TARGET_DIR

  New in version 3.11.

  Set to `OFF` if the target directory should not be deleted when uninstalling.

  Is `ON` by default

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_GROUP

  The group, which will be used to configure the root package.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_NAME

  The root package name, which will be used if the configuration group is not specified.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_START_MENU_DIRECTORY

  New in version 3.3.

  Name of the default program group for the product in the Windows Start menu. If not specified, it defaults to `CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_NAME`.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_MAINTENANCE_TOOL_NAME

  New in version 3.3.

  Filename of the generated maintenance tool. The platform-specific executable file extension will be appended.

  If not specified, QtIFW provides a default name (`maintenancetool`).

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_MAINTENANCE_TOOL_INI_FILE

  New in version 3.3.

  Filename for the configuration of the generated maintenance tool.

  If not specified, QtIFW uses a default file name (`maintenancetool.ini`).

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_ALLOW_NON_ASCII_CHARACTERS

  New in version 3.3.

  Set to `ON` if the installation path can contain non-ASCII characters. Only supported for QtIFW 2.0 and later. Older QtIFW versions will always allow non-ASCII characters.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_ALLOW_SPACE_IN_PATH

  New in version 3.3.

  Set to `OFF` if the installation path cannot contain space characters.

  Is `ON` for QtIFW less 2.0 tools.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_DISABLE_COMMAND_LINE_INTERFACE

  New in version 3.23.

  Set to `ON` if command line interface features should be disabled. It is `OFF` by default and will only have an effect if using QtIFW 4.0 or later.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_CONTROL_SCRIPT

  New in version 3.3.

  Filename for a custom installer control script.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_RESOURCES

  New in version 3.7.

  List of additional resources (`.qrc` files) to include in the installer binary. They should be specified as absolute paths and no two resource files can have the same file name.

  You can use the `cpack_ifw_add_package_resources()` command to resolve relative paths.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_FILE_EXTENSION

  New in version 3.10.

  The target binary extension.

  On Linux, the name of the target binary is automatically extended with `.run`, if you do not specify the extension.

  On Windows, the target is created as an application with the extension `.exe`, which is automatically added, if not supplied.

  On Mac, the target is created as an DMG disk image with the extension `.dmg`, which is automatically added, if not supplied.

CPACK_IFW_REPOSITORIES_ALL

  The list of remote repositories.

  The default value of this variable is computed by CPack and contains all repositories added with `cpack_ifw_add_repository()` or updated with `cpack_ifw_update_repository()`.

CPACK_IFW_DOWNLOAD_ALL

  If this is `ON`, all components will be downloaded. If not set, the behavior is determined by whether `cpack_configure_downloads()` has been called with the `ALL` option or not.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_PRODUCT_IMAGES

  New in version 3.23.

  A list of images to be shown on the `PerformInstallationPage`. These must be absolute paths and the images must be in PNG format.

  This feature is available for QtIFW 4.0.0 and later.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_RUN_PROGRAM

  New in version 3.23.

  Command executed after the installer is finished, if the user accepts the action. Provide the full path to the application, as found when installed. This typically means the path should begin with the QtIFW predefined variable `@TargetDir@`.

  This feature is available for QtIFW 4.0.0 and later.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_RUN_PROGRAM_ARGUMENTS

  New in version 3.23.

  List of arguments passed to the program specified in `CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_RUN_PROGRAM`.

  This feature is available for QtIFW 4.0.0 and later.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_RUN_PROGRAM_DESCRIPTION

  New in version 3.23.

  Text shown next to the check box for running the program after the installation. If `CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_RUN_PROGRAM` is set but no description is provided, QtIFW will use a default message like `Run <Name> now`.

  This feature is available for QtIFW 4.0.0 and later.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGE_SIGNING_IDENTITY

  New in version 3.23.

  Allows specifying a code signing identity to be used for signing the generated app bundle. Only available on macOS, ignored on other platforms.

CPACK_IFW_ARCHIVE_FORMAT

  New in version 3.23.

  Set the format used when packaging new component data archives. If you omit this option, the `7z` format will be used as a default. Supported formats:

  - 7z

  - zip

  - tar.gz

  - tar.bz2

  - tar.xz

  Note

  If the Qt Installer Framework tools were built without libarchive support, only `7z` format is supported.

  This feature is available for QtIFW 4.2.0 and later.

CPACK_IFW_ARCHIVE_COMPRESSION

  New in version 3.23.

  Archive compression level. The allowable values are:

  > - 0 (No compression)

  > - 1 (Fastest compression)

  > - 3 (Fast compression)

  > - 5 (Normal compression)

  > - 7 (Maximum compression)

  > - 9 (Ultra compression)

  If this variable is not set, QtIFW will use a default compression level, which will typically be 5 (Normal compression).

  Note

  Some formats do not support all the possible values. For example `zip` compression only supports values from 1 to 7.

  This feature is available for QtIFW 4.2.0 and later.

### Components

CPACK_IFW_RESOLVE_DUPLICATE_NAMES

  Resolve duplicate names when installing components with groups.

CPACK_IFW_PACKAGES_DIRECTORIES

  Additional prepared packages directories that will be used to resolve dependent components.

CPACK_IFW_REPOSITORIES_DIRECTORIES

  New in version 3.10.

  Additional prepared repository directories that will be used to resolve and repack dependent components.

  This feature is available for QtIFW 3.1 and later.

### QtIFW Tools

CPACK_IFW_FRAMEWORK_VERSION

  New in version 3.3.

  The version of the QtIFW tools that will be used. This variable is set by the `CPackIFW` module.

The following variables provide the locations of the QtIFW command-line tools as discovered by the `CPackIFW` module. These variables are cached, and may be configured if needed.

CPACK_IFW_ARCHIVEGEN_EXECUTABLE

  New in version 3.19.

  The path to `archivegen`.

CPACK_IFW_BINARYCREATOR_EXECUTABLE

  The path to `binarycreator`.

CPACK_IFW_REPOGEN_EXECUTABLE

  The path to `repogen`.

CPACK_IFW_INSTALLERBASE_EXECUTABLE

  The path to `installerbase`.

CPACK_IFW_DEVTOOL_EXECUTABLE

  The path to `devtool`.

### Hints for Finding QtIFW

Generally, the CPack `IFW` generator automatically finds QtIFW tools. The following (in order of precedence) can also be set to augment the locations normally searched by `find_program()`:

CPACK_IFW_ROOT

  New in version 3.9.

  CMake variable

CPACK_IFW_ROOT

  New in version 3.9.

  Environment variable

QTIFWDIR

  CMake variable

QTIFWDIR

  Environment variable

Note

The specified path should not contain `bin` at the end (for example: `D:\\DevTools\\QtIFW2.0.5`).

## Other Settings

### Online installer

By default, this generator generates an offline installer. This means that all packaged files are fully contained in the installer executable.

In contrast, an online installer will download some or all components from a remote server.

The `DOWNLOADED` option in the `cpack_add_component()` command specifies that a component is to be downloaded. Alternatively, the `ALL` option in the `cpack_configure_downloads()` command specifies that all components are to be be downloaded.

The `cpack_ifw_add_repository()` command and the `CPACK_IFW_DOWNLOAD_ALL` variable allow for more specific configuration.

When there are online components, CPack will write them to archive files. The help page of the `CPackComponent` module, especially the section on the `cpack_configure_downloads()` function, explains how to make these files accessible from a download URL.

### Internationalization

New in version 3.9.

Some variables and command arguments support internationalization via CMake script. This is an optional feature.

Installers created by QtIFW tools have built-in support for internationalization and many phrases are localized to many languages, but this does not apply to the description of your components and groups.

Localization of the description of your components and groups is useful for users of your installers.

A localized variable or argument can contain a single default value, and after that a set of pairs with the name of the locale and the localized value.

For example:

    set(LOCALIZABLE_VARIABLE "Default value"
      en "English value"
      en_US "American value"
      en_GB "Great Britain value"
      )

## See Also

Qt Installer Framework Manual:

- Index page: https://doc.qt.io/qtinstallerframework/index.html

- Component Scripting: https://doc.qt.io/qtinstallerframework/scripting.html

- Predefined Variables: https://doc.qt.io/qtinstallerframework/scripting.html#predefined-variables

- Promoting Updates: https://doc.qt.io/qtinstallerframework/ifw-updates.html

Download Qt Installer Framework for your platform from Qt site:

  https://download.qt.io/official_releases/qt-installer-framework