Resource Compiler (rcc)

The rcc tool is used to embed resources into a Qt application during the build process. It works by generating a C++ source file containing data specified in a Qt resource (.qrc) file.

Usage:

 rcc [options] <inputs>

RCC accepts the following command line options:

OptionArgumentDescription
-ofileWrite output to file rather than to stdout.
-g, --generator<cpp|python|python2>Select generator.
-namenameCreate an external initialization function with name.
-thresholdlevelSpecifies a threshold level (as a percentage) to use when deciding whether to compress a file. If the reduction in the file size is greater than the threshold level, it is compressed; otherwise, the uncompressed data is stored instead. The default threshold level is 70%, meaning that compressed files which are 30% or less of their original size are stored as compressed data.
-compress-algoalgorithmThe algorithm to compress files with. Supported algorithms are zstd, zlib, and none, which respectively mean to compress the content using the Zstandard library, zlib library, and no compression. The default is zstd if that library was found at compile time, zlib if not.
-compresslevelCompress input files to the given compression level, which is algorithm-dependent. If the algorithm is zstd, the valid levels are 1 to 19, with the special values of 0 and -1 meaning libzstd's and rcc's default compressions. If the algorithm is zlib, the level is an integer in the range 1 to 9. For both algorithms, level 1 does the least compression but is fastest. Levels 9 or 19 do the most compression but are slowest. To turn off compression, use -no-compress. The default value for level is -1.
-rootpathPrefix the resource access path with path. The default is no prefix.
-no-compressDisable compression.
--pass<number>Pass number for big resources
-binaryOutput a binary file for use as a dynamic resource.
-versionDisplay version information.
-helpDisplay usage information.
-t, --temp <file>Use temporary <file> for big resources.
--namespaceTurn off namespace macros.
--verboseEnable verbose mode.
--listOnly list .qrc file entries, do not generate code.
--list-mappingOnly output a mapping of resource paths to file system paths defined in the .qrc file, do not generate code.
-d, --depfile<file>Write a depfile with the .qrc dependencies to <file>.
-projectOutput a resource file containing all files from the current directory.
--format-version<number>The RCC format version to write.

See also The Qt Resource System for more information about embedding resources in Qt applications.