For most development builds, unless you are working on packaging issues, it is recommended to use ``CUTTER_USE_BUNDLED_RIZIN=ON`` Cmake option. It is the easiest way to ensure that a compatible Rizin version is used, and helps you deal with different versions of Rizin when working with multiple Cutter branches. On Linux, in case you have multiple Rizin versions without ``CUTTER_USE_BUNDLED_RIZIN``, the ``PKG_CONFIG_PATH`` environment variable can be used to select the desired Rizin installation.
While `Qt Creator`_ has a builtin visual form and widget editor, not having it in other IDEs is not a major problem. It is also available as a standalone tool called Qt Designer and you can configure the file associations so that ``.ui`` files are opened using it. Depending on the ``.ui`` file and changes you want to make, it is sometimes easier to perform them by editing the ``.ui`` file as a text file. Essentially, ``.ui`` files are XML files. Most code editors should have some support for XML highlighting and possibly block folding.
The following instructions and recommendations assume that you have already download Cutter source and obtained required dependencies as described in :doc:`/building`.
On a rolling-release distribution or a somewhat recent version of traditional distributions like Ubuntu 18.04, it should be possible to get all the dependencies from the official repository. There might be some problems with PySide2 and Shiboken2 but it can be easily disabled and isn't necessary for most work on Cutter. Don't try to install PySide using pip.
Windows
-------
Assuming you have a sufficiently powerful computer, a nice way of getting and configuring Qt for Cutter is to use `vcpkg <https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg>`_.
For a quick test, the exact versions of libraries used by Cutter release packages can be obtained from `cutter-deps <https://github.com/rizinorg/cutter-deps/releases>`_ but they don't contain debug
- Enter ``CUTTER_USE_BUNDLED_RIZIN`` as a key name and change the value to ON. In earlier Qt Creator versions it is necessary to do this during the initial kit selection and configuration step.
To configure ``clang-format`` for formatting a file you will need to use the built-in Beautifier plugin. `Follow the instructions <https://doc.qt.io/qtcreator/creator-beautifier.html>`_ on Qt Creator's website to enable the plugin and configure it to run ``clang-format`` when saving a file. In the clang-format options page choose "Use predefined style: File".
Click on the "Projects" button on the left side of the screen and then select "Build". All the project CMake options are listed and can be edited there in a graphical editor.
Double-clicking a ``.ui`` file in a file list opens it inside a visual editor. If you want to make changes that are easier to do by editing ``.ui`` file as text - right-click the file and select :menuselection:`Open With --> Plain Text Editor`. Switching from visual form editor back to code editor mode will open the ``.ui`` file in read-only mode with the following warning "This file can only be edited in Design mode". To edit use the same steps as described before.
-`C/C++ <https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode.cpptools>`_ - The official C++ support plugin made by Microsoft
-`CMake Tools <https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-vscode.cmake-tools>`_ - Provides CMake project integration. Originally developed by vector-of-bool and currently maintained by Microsoft.
-`CMake <https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=twxs.cmake>`_ - CMake language support when editing CMake files. Does not replace the previous CMake plugin. They provide non-overlapping functionality and should be used together.
-:menuselection:`File --> Open Folder...` and select the folder in which you cloned Cutter
- Install the recommended plugins.
- Once the `CMake Tools` plugin is installed, in the corner you will see a popup asking you "Would you like to configure project 'cutter'? Source: CMake Tools (Extension)". Click Yes.
- In the kit selection popup, choose :guilabel:`[Unspecified]` unless you have more specific needs.
- If you initially dismissed the configuration window or didn't have the plugins installed yet - open command-palette using :kbd:`Ctrl-Shift-P` and select :guilabel:`Cmake: Configure`
After the first configuration :kbd:`Ctrl-Shift-P`/:guilabel:`CMake: Edit CMake Cache` opens a text editor with all CMake options. Cutter specific ones mostly start with "CUTTER".
``CUTTER_USE_BUNDLED_RIZIN`` option is also defined in ``.vscode/settings.json`` file and it will be overridden from there. It is set to ``ON`` by default as it is recommended during development.
The C/C++ extension we recommended earlier supports source code formatting using clang-format which is included with the extension. Use :kbd:`Ctrl-Shift-I` to format the document or :kbd:`Ctrl-K Ctrl-F` to only format the selection. We recommend to configure auto-formatting via the settings. `Follow the instructions <https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/cpp-ide#_code-formatting>`_ on VS Code's website.
Build and running commands are available in the status bar at the bottom and in the Command Palette menu (:kbd:`Ctrl-Shift-P`) named ``CMake: Build F7``, ``CMake: Run Without Debugging Shift+F5``, and ``CMake Debug Ctrl + F5``.
executable by creating a ``.vscode/launch.json`` configuration. Read the `documentation <https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/launch-json-reference>`_ for more information. Instead of creating :file:`launch.json` manually it can be created from template: :kbd:`Ctrl-Shift-P`/:menuselection:`Debug: Select and Start Debugging --> Add configuration.. --> C,C++: (gdb) Launch`.
To setup gdb pretty printers for Qt types on Linux, download the scripts from `Kdevelop <https://github.com/KDE/kdevelop/tree/master/plugins/gdb/printers>`_. In the :file:`~/.gdbinit` file add the following code:
`CLion <https://www.jetbrains.com/clion/>`_ is a C and C++ IDE from the popular software development tool maker - JetBrains.
Pros and Cons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Medium amount of plugins, many first-party plugins made by JetBrains for their IntelliJ based IDE family
- There is no free version
- Takes some time to analyze the files after opening a project. Switching between .cpp and corresponding .h file may for the first time may take a few seconds.
Project setup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Go to :menuselection:`File --> Open` and select the folder in which you cloned Cutter
- Go to :menuselection:`File --> Settings --> Build, Execution, Deployment --> CMake`. In the :guilabel:`CMake Options` field enter ``-DCUTTER_USE_BUNDLED_RIZIN=ON``
Go to :menuselection:`File --> Settings --> Build,Execution,Deployment --> CMake`. CMake options are specified the same way as on command-line ``-DOPTION_NAME=VALUE``.
Clion provides you with an easy way to format files with ``clang-format``. Follow the `documentation <https://www.jetbrains.com/help/clion/clangformat-as-alternative-formatter.html>`_ on their website to learn how to enable formatting with ``clang-format``.
Follow the `Clion documentation <https://www.jetbrains.com/help/clion/qt-tutorial.html#debug-renderers>`_ for how to configure Qt type debugger renderers. If you are using the MSVC toolchain
it can use :file:`qt5.natvis`. In rest of the cases you can use ``.gdbinit`` or ``..ldbinit`` based approach similar to one described for :ref:`VSCode setup<vscode-debug-setup>`
Default CLion behavior for opening .ui files is `somewhat buggy <https://youtrack.jetbrains.com/issue/CPP-17197>`_. Double-clicking the file does nothing, but it can be opened by dragging it to the text editor side.
This can be somewhat improved by changing `file association <https://www.jetbrains.com/help/clion/creating-and-registering-file-types.html>`_. Open :menuselection:`File --> Settings --> Editor --> File Types` and change type association of \*.ui files from :guilabel:`Qt UI Designer Form` to either "XML" or :guilabel:`Files Opened in Associated Applications`.
Visual Studio Community edition is available for free and can be used for contributing to open source projects.
It is recommended to use the latest Visual Studio version 2019 because it has the best CMake integration.
Older VS versions can be used but CMake integration isn't as good. With those, it might be better to generate Visual Studio
project from CMake project using the command-line or :command:`cmake-gui` and opening the generated Visual Studio project instead of opening the
CMake project directly.
Visual Studio supports many different languages and use-cases. Full installation takes a lot of space. To keep the size minimal during installation
select only component called "Desktop development with C++". Don't worry too much about missing something.
Additional components can be later added or removed through the VS installer which also serves as an updater and package manager for Visual Studio components.
Pros and Cons
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- good debugger
- medium amount of plugins
- completely closed source
- Windows only
Project setup
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Open folder in which you cloned Cutter source using Visual Studio
- Open CMake settings configurator using either :menuselection:`Project --> CMake Settings` or by clicking :guilabel:`Open the CMake Settings Editor` in the overview page.
- If you are using vcpkg, Visual Studio should detect it automatically. The list of CMake options in the configurator should have some referring to vcpkg. If they are not there, specify the path to vcpkg toolchain file in the :guilabel:`CMake toolchain file` field.
- If you are not using vcpkg, configure the path to Qt as mentioned in :ref:`windows CMake instructions<building:Building on Windows>`. You can specify the CMake flag in :guilabel:`CMake command arguments:` field.
- To Ensure that VS debugger can display Qt types in a readable way, it is recommended to install `Qt Visual Studio Tools <https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=TheQtCompany.QtVisualStudioTools2019>`_ plugin. It will create a :file:`Documents/Visual Studio 2019/Visualizers/qt5.natvis` file. Once :file:`qt5.natvis` has been created you can uninstall the plugin.
Open :menuselection:`Project --> CMake Settings`. CMake options can be modified either in graphical table editor, as a command-line flag or by switching to the JSON view.
Visual Studio supports ``clang-format`` by default so you should not do anything special. It will simple use the existing ``_clang-format`` file from Cutter's root directory. If you wish to configure how and when Visual Studio will use ``clang-format``, you can do this from :menuselection:`Tools --> Options --> Text Editor --> C/C++ --> Formatting`.
By default Visual Studio will open ``.ui`` files as XML text documents. You can configure to open it using Qt Designer by right-clicking and selecting :guilabel:`Open With...`.
There is a Qt plugin for Visual Studio from Qt. It isn't very useful for Cutter development since it is aimed more at helping with Qt integration into Visual Studio projects.
It doesn't do much for CMake based projects. The biggest benefit is that it automatically installs :file:`qt5.natvis` file for more readable displaying of Qt types in the debugger.
