How to specify different Debug/Release output directories in QMake .pro file

Question

I have a Qt project and I would like to output compilation files outside the source tree.

I currently have the following directory structure:

/
|_/build
|_/mylib
  |_/include
  |_/src
  |_/resources

Depending on the configuration (debug/release), I will like to output the resulting files inside the build directory under build/debug or build/release directories.

How can I do that using a .pro file?

Answer 1

To change the directory for target dll/exe, use this in your pro file:

CONFIG(debug, debug|release) {
    DESTDIR = build/debug
} else {
    DESTDIR = build/release
}

You might also want to change directories for other build targets like object files and moc files (check qmake variable reference for details).

Answer 2

For my Qt project, I use this scheme in *.pro file:

HEADERS += src/dialogs.h
SOURCES += src/main.cpp \
           src/dialogs.cpp

Release:DESTDIR = release
Release:OBJECTS_DIR = release/.obj
Release:MOC_DIR = release/.moc
Release:RCC_DIR = release/.rcc
Release:UI_DIR = release/.ui

Debug:DESTDIR = debug
Debug:OBJECTS_DIR = debug/.obj
Debug:MOC_DIR = debug/.moc
Debug:RCC_DIR = debug/.rcc
Debug:UI_DIR = debug/.ui

It`s simple, but nice! :)

Answer 3

I use the same method suggested by chalup,

ParentDirectory = <your directory>

RCC_DIR = "$$ParentDirectory\Build\RCCFiles"
UI_DIR = "$$ParentDirectory\Build\UICFiles"
MOC_DIR = "$$ParentDirectory\Build\MOCFiles"
OBJECTS_DIR = "$$ParentDirectory\Build\ObjFiles"

CONFIG(debug, debug|release) { 
    DESTDIR = "$$ParentDirectory\debug"
}
CONFIG(release, debug|release) { 
    DESTDIR = "$$ParentDirectory\release"
}