RedBear-OS/local/docs/QT6-PORT-STATUS.md

Qt6 Port — Red Bear OS

Last updated: 2026-04-14 Qt version: 6.11.0 Target: x86_64-unknown-redox (cross-compiled from Linux x86_64 host) Phase 1 status: ✅ COMPLETE — Qt6 core stack + OpenGL/EGL + D-Bus + Wayland Phase 2 status: ✅ COMPLETE — All 32 KF6 frameworks built Phase 3 status: 🔄 IN PROGRESS — KWin + KDE Plasma build

Current Status Summary

Component	Status	Details
qtbase	✅	13 libs incl. OpenGL, EGL, DBus, WaylandClient
qtdeclarative	✅	11 libs, QML JIT disabled
qtsvg	✅	2 libs
qtwayland	✅	Wayland client + compositor
Mesa EGL+GBM	✅	libEGL, libgbm, libGLESv2, swrast DRI
libdrm	✅	libdrm + libdrm_amdgpu
libinput	✅	1.30.2 with comprehensive redox.patch
D-Bus	✅	1.16.2, libdbus-1.so
KF6 Frameworks	✅ 32/32	All frameworks built
KWin	🔄	Recipe ready, now using real libxcvt, but still blocked by remaining shimmed/stubbed deps and incomplete runtime path
Hardware acceleration	❌	Requires kernel DMA-BUF (future work)

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Scope Definition

Phase 1 scope: qtbase, qtdeclarative, qtsvg — the foundational Qt6 stack. Qt6 consists of many modules — each is a separate source package. Phase 2 (qtwayland + KF6 Tier 1) follows in the next step.

User-agreed scope constraints:

• OpenGL: software/shm only, no EGL — get Qt compiling first
• Disabled features: process, sharedmemory, systemsemaphore, testlib, sql, printsupport
• Iterative approach: enable modules incrementally, re-enable disabled features later

Build Status

qtbase — Enabled Modules (7 libraries built)

Module	Library	Size	Description
QtCore	libQt6Core.so.6.11.0	13 MB	Core non-GUI: event loop, IO, threads, plugins
QtConcurrent	libQt6Concurrent.so.6.11.0	26 KB	High-level multi-threading without locks
QtXml	libQt6Xml.so.6.11.0	212 KB	XML stream reader/writer (SAX/DOM)
QtGui	libQt6Gui.so.6.11.0	12 MB	GUI infra: images, painting, text, input, windowing
QtWidgets	libQt6Widgets.so.6.11.0	9.4 MB	Widget toolkit: buttons, layouts, dialogs
QtWaylandClient	libQt6WaylandClient.so.6.11.0	—	Wayland client integration
QtWlShellIntegration	libQt6WlShellIntegration.so.6.11.0	—	Wayland Shell integration

qtbase — Plugins (12 plugin libraries)

Plugin	File	Type
redox	libqredox.so	QPA platform
offscreen	libqoffscreen.so	QPA platform
minimal	libqminimal.so	QPA platform
wayland-bsoft-integration	libqwayland-bsoft-integration.so	Wayland integration
gif	libqgif.so	Image format
ico	libqico.so	Image format
jpeg	libqjpeg.so	Image format
png	libqpng.so	Image format
svg	libqsvg.so	Image format
iconengines	libqsvgicon.so	Icon engine
text	libqtext.so	Text platform
xkb	libqxkb.so	XKB support

qtdeclarative — Built Successfully (build 15)

Library	Description
libQt6Qml.so.6.11.0	QML core
libQt6QmlModels.so.6.11.0	Models (ListModel, etc.)
libQt6Quick.so.6.11.0	QtQuick UI framework
libQt6QmlCore.so.6.11.0	QML internals
libQt6QmlCompiler.so.6.11.0	QML JIT compiler
libQt6QmlWorkerScript.so.6.11.0	Worker script runtime
libQt6QmlMeta.so.6.11.0	QML meta-object
libQt6QmlXmlListModel.so.6.11.0	XML ListModel
libQt6LabsFolderListModel.so.6.11.0	Folder list model
libQt6LabsQmlModels.so.6.11.0	Lab models
libQt6LabsSettings.so.6.11.0	Settings
libQt6LabsSynchronizer.so.6.11.0	Synchronizer

Plus: QML debug plugins, QtQuick/QML modules staged.

Note: QML JIT (QT_FEATURE_qml_jit) does not compile for Redox — disabled.

qtsvg — Built Successfully

Component	File
libQt6Svg.so.6.11.0	SVG rendering
libQt6SvgWidgets.so.6.11.0	SVG widget integration
qsvg icon engine	libqsvgicon.so
qsvg image format	libqsvg.so

Disabled Modules — Full Blocker Analysis

Module	Blocker	Root Cause	Re-enable Path
QtNetwork	Runtime validation still pending	the relibc header/ioctl surface is now present in-tree, but downstream QtNetwork behavior still needs end-to-end validation on Redox	Validate QtNetwork against the updated relibc networking surface
QtOpenGL	No EGL, no GPU driver runtime validation	amdgpu/intel DRM drivers compile but haven't been validated on hardware; no Mesa EGL build	Validate GPU drivers on HW → build Mesa with EGL → enable QtOpenGL
QtOpenGLWidgets	Gated by QT_FEATURE_opengl	Same as QtOpenGL	Same as QtOpenGL
QtDBus	D-Bus IPC system not ported to Redox	No D-Bus daemon or libdbus on Redox	Port libdbus → enable QtDBus
QtSql	User-agreed scope exclusion	Not needed for initial GUI	Add sqlite/odbc recipe → enable QtSql
QtPrintSupport	User-agreed scope exclusion	No printing subsystem on Redox	Port cups/filters → enable QtPrintSupport

Disabled Features — Full Blocker Analysis

Feature	CMake Flag	Blocker	Re-enable Path
OpenGL	-DFEATURE_opengl=OFF	No EGL, no GPU runtime validation	Validate GPU drivers → Mesa EGL → enable
EGL	-DFEATURE_egl=OFF	No libEGL from Mesa	Mesa EGL build → enable
XCB/Xlib	-DFEATURE_xcb=OFF -DFEATURE_xlib=OFF	No X11 on Redox	Not applicable — Redox uses Wayland
Vulkan	-DFEATURE_vulkan=OFF	No Vulkan runtime	Port Mesa Vulkan ICD → enable
OpenSSL	-DFEATURE_openssl=OFF	OpenSSL3 port in WIP but not validated	Validate openssl3 recipe → enable
D-Bus	-DFEATURE_dbus=OFF	No D-Bus on Redox	Port libdbus → enable
Process	-DFEATURE_process=ON	relibc now provides a bounded waitid() path and qtbase configures, builds, and stages with process support enabled	Validate QProcess on Redox
Shared Memory	-DFEATURE_sharedmemory=ON	relibc now provides shm_open() plus bounded SysV shared-memory surfaces and qtbase configures, builds, and stages with shared memory enabled	Validate QSharedMemory on Redox
System Semaphore	-DFEATURE_systemsemaphore=ON	relibc now provides sem_open()/sem_close()/sem_unlink() and qtbase configures, builds, and stages with system semaphore support enabled	Validate QSystemSemaphore on Redox
qmake	-DFEATURE_qmake=OFF	Build tool, not needed with CMake	Enable if downstream needs qmake
SQL	-DFEATURE_sql=OFF	User-agreed scope exclusion	Add sqlite/odbc → enable
Print Support	-DFEATURE_printsupport=OFF	User-agreed scope exclusion	Port cups → enable
QML JIT	-DFEATURE_qml_jit=OFF	Does not compile for Redox	Fix in upstream or disable permanently

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New Discoveries (Builds 8–17)

#	Discovery	Fix
8	qtwaylandscanner is a host tool, needs FEATURE_qtwaylandscanner=ON in both host and target builds	Enable feature in both cmake configs
9	wayland-scanner must be host binary — use -DWaylandScanner_EXECUTABLE=/usr/bin/wayland-scanner	Pass explicit path to host wayland-scanner
10	OpenGL guards needed in Wayland code (#if QT_CONFIG(opengl))	Add guard in qtbase patch
11	cmake --install produces relocatable cmake files — replaced manual cmake copy	Use cmake install instead of manual sed
12	QT_MKSPECS_DIR must point to staged mkspecs — conditional in toolchain file	Add conditional logic in redox-toolchain.cmake
13	QtNetwork features leak into downstream — pass QT_FEATURE_ssl=OFF etc.	Explicitly disable in downstream cmake
14	SBOM generation fails — use -DQT_GENERATE_SBOM=OFF	Disable SBOM generation
15	Sysroot path mismatch — cookbook only symlinks bin/include/lib/share, need manual symlinks for plugins/mkspecs/metatypes/modules	Add manual symlinks in recipe
16	masm CheckedArithmetic.h missing ArithmeticOperations<unsigned,long> for LP64	Add missing arithmetic operation to masm
17	QML JIT (QT_FEATURE_qml_jit) doesn't compile for Redox — disabled	Disable feature, works without JIT
56	plasma-wayland-protocols is a required separate package — kf6-kwayland needs PLASMA_WAYLAND_PROTOCOLS_DIR pointing to protocol XMLs	Created recipe that installs XML files + symlink for naming mismatch (org-kde-plasma-virtual-desktop.xml → plasma-virtual-desktop.xml)
57	kf6-kcmutils requires Qt6Quick unconditionally upstream	Strip Quick/QML/kcmshell from CMakeLists via Python-based source patching — produces libKF6KCMUtils.so + libKF6KCMUtilsCore.so (widget-only build)
58	kf6-kwayland fails with get_filename_component called with incorrect number of arguments when PLASMA_WAYLAND_PROTOCOLS_DIR is unset	Fix: create plasma-wayland-protocols package + point the cmake variable to the installed XMLs
59	seatd now builds as a standalone runtime package for Redox and is wired into the KDE runtime config; keep it out of KWin compile deps until DRM-lease/runtime validation exists	Runtime dependency only

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Build Iteration History

#	Issue	Fix
1-7	Patch format, byteswap.h, forwarding headers	Patch structure
8	qtwaylandscanner is host tool	FEATURE_qtwaylandscanner=ON in host+target
9	wayland-scanner must be host binary	-DWaylandScanner_EXECUTABLE=/usr/bin/wayland-scanner
10	OpenGL guards in Wayland code	#if QT_CONFIG(opengl) guard
11	cmake --install relocatable	Use cmake install over manual copy
12	QT_MKSPECS_DIR mismatch	Conditional in toolchain file
13	QtNetwork feature leak	Pass explicit QT_FEATURE_* flags
14	SBOM generation fails	-DQT_GENERATE_SBOM=OFF
15	Sysroot path mismatch (plugins/mkspecs/metatypes/modules)	Manual symlinks
16	masm CheckedArithmetic.h missing LP64 operation	Add ArithmeticOperations
17	QML JIT doesn't compile for Redox	Disable QT_FEATURE_qml_jit
Phase 1	qtbase + qtdeclarative + qtsvg complete	✅ Core stack built

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relibc Gaps — Complete Inventory

Resolved (workarounds in recipe/patch)

Gap	Workaround	Location
sys/statfs.h missing	Wrapper → sys/statvfs.h (typedef, #define)	recipe.toml heredoc
ELFMAG string missing from elf.h	#define ELFMAG "\177ELF" prepended to source	recipe.toml printf
resolv.h availability	Minimal relibc header now exists in-tree	verify downstream consumers against the generated header
unlinkat()/linkat() missing	Inline stubs with AT_FDCWD	redox.patch
byteswap.h missing	Skip include on Redox	redox.patch (brg_endian.h)
Float16 soft-fp (__truncsfhf2 etc.)	Custom IEEE 754 C implementation	redox.patch (qt_float16_shims.c)
Half-float comparison (__eqhf2 etc.)	Custom IEEE 754 C implementation	redox.patch (same file)
openat() not available	#ifdef Q_OS_REDOX guard	redox.patch (qcore_unix_p.h)

Networking Surface — Now Present, Still Needs Runtime Validation

Gap	Impact	relibc File to Modify
resolv.h	Present in relibc as a minimal source-visible header	recipes/core/relibc/source/src/header/resolv/
in6_pktinfo / ipv6_mreq	Present in relibc	recipes/core/relibc/source/src/header/netinet_in/mod.rs
SIOCGIF* ioctls	Present for the current Redox eth0 model	recipes/core/relibc/source/src/header/sys_ioctl/redox/mod.rs
::ioctl path	Present in relibc Redox ioctl implementation	recipes/core/relibc/source/src/header/sys_ioctl/
ifreq / ifconf / ifaddrs	Present for the current Redox eth0 model	recipes/core/relibc/source/src/header/net_if/mod.rs, recipes/core/relibc/source/src/header/ifaddrs/mod.rs

Unresolved — Blocks Other Qt Modules/Features

Gap	Impact	Module Blocked
D-Bus IPC	QtDBus, KDE components	QtDBus
GPU display validation	Hardware-accelerated rendering	QtOpenGL
broader shared-memory validation beyond the existing shm_open() path	Shared memory	QSharedMemory
broader semaphore/system-IPC validation beyond the new sem_open() path	POSIX semaphores	QSystemSemaphore
process/runtime validation beyond the new bounded waitid() path	QProcess internals	QProcess

Recent relibc implementation progress in this repo now also includes:

• source-visible signalfd, timerfd, eventfd, open_memstream, F_DUPFD_CLOEXEC, and MSG_NOSIGNAL
• a bounded waitid() path in relibc, replacing the old Qt-side waitid stub workaround
• a bounded eth0-backed net_if / ifaddrs path in relibc
• a minimal source-visible resolv.h surface in relibc
• bounded sys/ipc.h / sys/shm.h surfaces for the IPC_PRIVATE shared-memory workflow

Current downstream build proof in this repo now includes:

• libwayland cooking successfully against the updated relibc surfaces
• qtbase configuring, building, and staging with process, sharedmemory, and systemsemaphore enabled | Fontconfig | Advanced font selection | QtGui (bundled FreeType works for basic) |

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Next Steps

Phase 2a — qtbase D-Bus Enablement (✅ COMPLETE)

• qtbase rebuilt with -DFEATURE_dbus=ON in both host and target builds
• libQt6DBus.so + Qt6DBusConfig.cmake + Qt6DBus.pc staged to sysroot
• D-Bus 1.16.2 already built (24-line redox.patch for epoll + socketpair)
• Unblocks: kf6-kdbusaddons, kf6-kservice, kf6-kpackage, kf6-kglobalaccel

Phase 2b — qtwayland Module (🔄 Building)

• Recipe at recipes/wip/qt/qtwayland/recipe.toml
• Uses redox-toolchain.cmake + host Qt build pattern
• Wayland compositor disabled, client-only build
• OpenGL guards applied for software rendering

Phase 2c — Input Stack (✅ COMPLETE)

• linux-input-headers: ✅ Built — provides linux/input.h + linux/types.h + _CNT macros
• libevdev 1.13.2: ✅ Built — uinput stubs + input.h redox guard
• libinput 1.30.2: ✅ Built — comprehensive redox.patch:
  • SYS_pidfd_open meson guard (cc.has_header check)
  • Non-udev shim (libudev stub for HAVE_UDEV=0)
  • Vendored Linux input.h selection for redox
  • strtod_l() fallback
  • timerfd fallback (tracks expiry without timerfd fd)
  • Linux-only tool binaries skipped on Redox

Phase 3 — KF6 Frameworks (✅ ALL 32 BUILT)

All KF6 frameworks built and staged:

ecm, kcoreaddons, kwidgetsaddons, kconfig, ki18n, kcodecs, kguiaddons, kcolorscheme, kauth, kwindowsystem, knotifications, kjobwidgets, kconfigwidgets, karchive, sonnet, kcompletion, kitemviews, kitemmodels, solid, kdbusaddons, kservice, kpackage, kcrash, ktextwidgets, kiconthemes, kglobalaccel, kdeclarative, kxmlgui, kbookmarks, kidletime, kio, kcmutils

Additional KDE packages:

• kdecoration ✅ BUILT (KDecoration3 window decoration library)
• kirigami ✅ STUB ONLY (dependency-resolution package, not a real runtime-ready Kirigami build)
• kf6-kwayland ✅ BUILT
• kf6-kcmutils ✅ BUILT (widget-only, Quick/QML/kcmshell stripped)
• plasma-wayland-protocols ✅ BUILT (protocol XMLs for kf6-kwayland)

Graphics stack (PRIMARY DELIVERABLE):

• Mesa EGL+GBM ✅ BUILT (libEGL.so, libgbm.so, libGLESv2.so, swrast_dri.so)
• libdrm amdgpu ✅ BUILT (libdrm_amdgpu.so, /scheme/drm/ paths)
• Qt6 OpenGL ✅ BUILT (libQt6OpenGL.so, libQt6EglFSDeviceIntegration.so, GLES 2.0)
• D-Bus ✅ BUILT (libdbus-1.so.3.38.3, dbus-daemon)
• libinput ✅ BUILT (libinput.so.10.13.0, comprehensive redox.patch)
• libevdev ✅ BUILT (libevdev.so.2.3.0, uinput stubs)

KWin recipe updated with 40 dependencies (all KF6 + Mesa + libdrm + libinput + qtwayland). plasma-workspace, plasma-desktop recipes created.

Phase 4 — Graphics Stack (✅ build-side complete, 🚧 runtime incomplete)

Mesa EGL+GBM+GLES2 built:

• libEGL.so (225KB) — platforms: redox, surfaceless, drm
• libgbm.so (68KB) — Generic Buffer Manager for compositor buffer allocation
• libGLESv2.so — OpenGL ES 2.0 (software via LLVMpipe)
• libGLESv1_CM.so — OpenGL ES 1.1
• swrast_dri.so + kms_swrast_dri.so — LLVMpipe software DRI drivers
• pkgconfig: egl.pc, gbm.pc, osmesa.pc, glesv2.pc, dri.pc

libdrm amdgpu enabled:

• libdrm_amdgpu.so (48KB) — AMD GPU DRM API
• Device paths: /scheme/drm/cardN, /scheme/drm/renderD

Qt6 OpenGL enabled:

• libQt6OpenGL.so (716KB) — Qt OpenGL module (GLES 2.0 path)
• libQt6OpenGLWidgets.so — Qt OpenGL widgets
• libQt6EglFSDeviceIntegration.so — EGLFS platform integration
• EGLFS KMS plugin for direct DRM/KMS rendering

Current truth for Phase 4:

• the graphics stack now builds end to end: Mesa EGL+GBM+GLES2, libdrm amdgpu, Qt6 OpenGL/EGL, and qtwayland all stage successfully
• the current redbear-wayland validation profile is still a bounded smallvil-first runtime path, not proof of a hardware-accelerated desktop session
• the current QEMU validation harness is still software-rendered (llvmpipe) and should be treated as a bounded regression/test path, not as the final acceleration proof target
• the in-repo Phase 4 runtime check currently still fails in qt6-bootstrap-check during early Qt startup, so even the bounded software-path runtime proof remains incomplete
• true hardware-accelerated desktop readiness still requires kernel DMA-BUF fd passing plus real AMD/Intel hardware validation through the DRM → GBM/EGL → compositor → Qt client path

Phase 4b — Qt6 OpenGL Enablement (✅ build-side complete, 🚧 runtime incomplete)

qtbase rebuilt with -DFEATURE_opengl=ON -DINPUT_opengl=es2 -DFEATURE_egl=ON Qt cmake summary: EGL=yes, OpenGL=yes, "OpenGL ES 2.0=yes, EGLFS GBM=yes"

Phase 5 — KDE Plasma / desktop-session layer (🔄 IN PROGRESS)

KDE Plasma packages built:

• kf6-kwayland ✅ BUILT
• kf6-kcmutils ✅ BUILT (widget-only, Quick/QML/kcmshell stripped)
• kirigami ✅ STUB ONLY (dependency-resolution package, not a real runtime-ready Kirigami build)
• plasma-wayland-protocols ✅ BUILT (protocol XMLs for kf6-kwayland)
• kdecoration ✅ BUILT (KDecoration3 window decoration library)

KWin recipe updated with dependencies (all KF6 + Mesa + libdrm + libinput + qtwayland):

• All KF6 deps built (kconfigwidgets, kxmlgui, kglobalaccel, kidletime, kio, etc.)
• Mesa EGL+GBM ✅
• libinput ✅
• libdrm ✅
• kf6-kwayland ✅
• seatd builds separately (runtime dependency, not needed for compilation)

Phase 6 — KWin (🔄 BUILDING)

Dependency Graph

Phase 1 ✅ (qtbase + qtdeclarative + qtsvg)
    └── Phase 2a ✅ (D-Bus daemon + qtbase D-Bus enablement)
    └── Phase 2b ✅ (qtwayland built)
    └── Phase 2c ✅ (libevdev + libinput built)
    └── Phase 3 ✅ (KF6 — ALL 32 frameworks built)
    └── Phase 4 ✅ build-side / 🚧 runtime (Mesa EGL+GBM+GLES2, Qt6 OpenGL+EGL, libdrm amdgpu)
    └── Phase 5 🔄 (kdecoration ✅, kf6-kwayland ✅, kirigami stub-only, KWin still blocked on shimmed/scaffolded deps)

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Known Issues

1. QML JIT disabled — QT_FEATURE_qml_jit does not compile for Redox. QML still works via the interpreter path, just without JIT acceleration. Non-blocking for basic QML apps.

2. QtNetwork disabled — relibc now exposes bounded resolver compatibility (resolv.h, arpa/nameser.h, res_query, res_search), but DNS/runtime semantics and IPv6 multicast coverage are still incomplete. HTTP/WebSocket remain unavailable until relibc networking is validated more broadly. QML network access is also affected.

3. No GPU hardware acceleration — Qt6 OpenGL/EGL and Mesa EGL+GBM now build, but they are still validated only on the software/LLVMpipe path. True hardware acceleration (radeonsi or equivalent) still requires kernel DMA-BUF fd passing and real hardware validation.

4. relibc / graphics surface still incomplete for runtime — the build-side open_memstream and Wayland-facing header export path now work, but DMA-BUF ioctls, sync objects, and broader graphics runtime validation are still unavailable.

5. KDE Plasma does NOT compile or run end-to-end — KWin, plasma-workspace, plasma-desktop recipes exist, but are still blocked on shimmed/stubbed dependencies, runtime integration, and compositor validation.

Honest Status Assessment

The Qt6/KF6 build stack is substantially further along than the earlier "~50%" estimate implied:

• Qt6, QtWayland, Mesa EGL+GBM, Qt6 OpenGL, libdrm amdgpu, and all 32 KF6 frameworks now build
• the remaining blockers are concentrated in KWin/Plasma runtime integration and in the still-shimmed or stub-only packages such as Kirigami, libepoxy, libudev, lcms2, and libdisplay-info
• hardware acceleration still requires kernel DMA-BUF work and real hardware validation
• a successful build stack is not yet the same thing as a working KDE Plasma session

(Updated 2026-04-14 — status reconciled after relibc/libwayland bridge fixes; build-side progress is real, runtime remains incomplete)