Installing QT6 and PySide6 on Jetson Orin Nano

Issue Overview

Users have reported difficulties in installing QT6 and PySide6 on the Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano, particularly when transitioning from QT5. The main symptoms include:

• Incompatibility between layouts designed in QT Designer 6 and the pre-installed QT5 on the Orin Nano.
• Users have experienced the need to build QT6 from source, which has proven time-consuming and complex.
• Specific errors arise during installation attempts, particularly with PyQt6, which users have found challenging to resolve.

The issue typically occurs during the setup of QT for HMI application design. Users have noted that without building from source, they cannot utilize QT Designer effectively. The problem appears to be consistent among various users attempting similar installations, significantly impacting their development workflow.

Possible Causes

Several potential causes for the installation difficulties have been identified:

• Hardware Incompatibilities: The Jetson Orin Nano may not fully support certain plugins or features required by QT6.
• Software Bugs: There may be unresolved bugs in either the QT6 or PySide6 installations that lead to installation failures.
• Configuration Errors: Incorrect configuration options during the build process can result in missing essential components, such as the xcb plugin.
• Driver Issues: Incompatibilities with existing drivers may hinder proper installation and functionality of QT applications.
• User Misconfigurations: Users may overlook necessary dependencies or steps during installation, leading to incomplete setups.

Troubleshooting Steps, Solutions & Fixes

To address the installation issues of QT6 and PySide6 on the Jetson Orin Nano, follow these comprehensive troubleshooting steps:

1. Extract the Source Code:

   • Open a terminal and run:

     tar -xvf /home/{user}/Downloads/qt-everywhere-src-6.6.1.tar.xz -C /home/{user}/Downloads/
     

2. Install Required Dependencies:

   • Ensure all necessary dependencies for building QT are installed:

     sudo apt-get install build-essential libfontconfig1-dev libdbus-1-dev libfreetype6-dev libicu-dev libinput-dev libxkbcommon-dev libsqlite3-dev libssl-dev libpng-dev libjpeg-dev libglib2.0-dev libpulse-dev libasound2-dev libcups2-dev libegl1-mesa-dev libxcb1-dev libx11-xcb-dev libglu1-mesa-dev libxrender-dev libxi-dev '^libxcb.*-dev'
     

3. Configure the Build:

   • Navigate to the extracted directory and run the configuration script with necessary options:

     cd /home/{user}/Downloads/qt-everywhere-src-6.6.1
     ./configure -platform linux-g++ -xcb -opensource -confirm-license
     

4. Build and Install:

   • Compile and install QT:

     make
     sudo make install
     

   • Note that this process may take a significant amount of time depending on hardware capabilities.

5. Testing Installation:

   • After installation, test if QT Designer is functioning correctly by creating a simple project.

6. Recommended Fixes:

   • If issues persist with PyQt6, consider using PySide6 as an alternative since users have reported success with it after multiple attempts.

7. Documentation & Updates:

   • Regularly check for updates on NVIDIA’s developer forums or official documentation related to QT and Jetson platforms for any patches or additional support.

8. Best Practices:

   • Ensure that all commands are executed with appropriate permissions (using sudo where necessary).
   • Keep your system updated to minimize compatibility issues.

By following these steps, users should be able to successfully install QT6 and PySide6 on their Jetson Orin Nano devices while minimizing potential errors encountered during the process.