Where to add "make install" in Qt Creator?

Question

Does it make a difference (and if so, what difference) where I add the make install step?

In some posts they say to add it under Build like in the first screenshot. Others say it needs to go under Run/Deployment like in the 2nd.

Are both ways equivalent?

Answer 1

If it is part of Build Settings, it will be done every time you do a build under Qt Creator (assuming previous steps succeeded).

If it is part of Run Settings, it will only be run when you actually run the app under Qt Creator.

It depends on the case, which on you want. If it is part of Run Settings, then logically it should be configured to run the installed/deployed binary. If it is just for checking that make install succeeds, as part of the build, even though it will run the application from build directory when you run it under Qt Creator, then it should be part of build.

In your case, it sounds like make install is needed for running the app, so maybe it could be part of Run settings, to make normal builds just a bit faster.