This repository contains:

• Up to date natvis files for Qt5 and Qt6
• Command line tool to install or update them in different locations

natvis4qt is a simple command line tool to install or update the natvis files in different locations.

scoop bucket add narnaud https://github.com/narnaud/scoop-bucket
scoop install natvis4qt

1. Go to the Releases page
2. Download the latest natvis-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip file
3. Extract the files from it into a directory.

Just run natvis4qt install on the command line and follow the instructions.

The application is using different commands:

• install Install the natvis files in known directories (MSVC and Qt)
• update Update the natvis files
• set Adjust natvis4qt's settings

Select Visual Studio 2019 and/or Visual Studio 2022 when installing the natvis files.

This will install the natvis files in a central place that is used by Visual Studio. See documentation here: Natvis file locations

Some visulaizers require debug symbols for Qt to be loaded. To load them, add the bin directory of your Qt installation (e.g. C:\Qt\6.8.0\msvc2022_64\bin) to the symbol search path under Options > Debugging > Symbols.

It is possible to visualize QImage and QPixmap using the Image Watch extension from Microsoft.

Install the extension, and click on the "View" button. It will open a new window with the image.

Select VS Code C/C++ Extension when installing the natvis files.

This will install the natvis files in a central place that is used by Visual Studio. See available "documentation" here: Natvis file locations.

Another option is to install the natvis files int eh different Qt directories, and set a visualizerFile to your launch configuration. Edit your launch.json file (or the launch section of your *.code-workspace file) and add something like that:

    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Current Target (VS)",
            "type": "cppvsdbg",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${command:cmake.launchTargetPath}",
            "visualizerFile": "${env:QTDIR}/natvis/qt6.natvis",
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "sourceFileMap": {
                "C:/work/build/qt5_workdir/w/s": "${env:QTDIR}/../Src",
                "Q:/qt5_workdir/w/s": "${env:QTDIR}/../Src",
                "C:/Users/qt/work/install": "${env:QTDIR}/../Src",
                "C:/Users/qt/work/qt": "${env:QTDIR}/../Src"
            },
            "symbolOptions": {
                "searchPaths": ["${env:QTDIR}/bin"],
            }
        }
    ]

If you have installed natvis4qt using scoop, installed Natvis files will be automatically updated when updating via scoop. If you don't want this mechanism, run:

natvis4qt set --autoupdate false

To update them by hand, just run:

natvis4qt update

If you are only interested in natvis files, you can find them here:

• qt5.natvis
• qt6.natvis

You can find the current support of the Natvis file here: SUPPORT.md

The natvis4qt tool is licensed under the MIT license.

The natvis files are also licensed under the MIT license.

qt5.natvis:

• The Qt Company

qt6.natvis:

• The Qt Company
• Klarälvdalens Datakonsult AB (KDAB)
• @nerixyz
• @nholthaus
• @aleksey-nikolaev