Files
bitcoin/src/qt
Ryan Ofsky 735b1cf431 Merge bitcoin/bitcoin#34806: refactor: logging: Various API improvements
02b2c41103 logging: use util/log.h where possible (Anthony Towns)
57d7495fe5 IWYU fixes (Anthony Towns)
611878b46f scripted-diff: logging: Drop LogAcceptCategory (Anthony Towns)
34332dba2f util/log, logging: Provide ShouldDebugLog and ShouldTraceLog instead of a generic ShouldLog (Anthony Towns)
abea304dd6 logging: Move GetLogCategory into Logger class (Anthony Towns)
58113e5833 util/log: Rename LogPrintLevel_ into detail_ namespace (Anthony Towns)
f69d1ae56d util/log: Provide util::log::NO_RATE_LIMIT to avoid rate limits (Anthony Towns)
72e92d67df logging: Protect ShrinkDebugFile by m_cs (Anthony Towns)
904c0d07bb util/stdmutex: Drop StdLockGuard (Anthony Towns)

Pull request description:

  `ShrinkDebugFile` now takes the logging mutex for its entire run; though it's only called in init so shouldn't have any races in the first place.

  Adds a `NO_RATE_LIMIT` tag that can be used with info/warning/error logs to avoid rate-limiting. This allows `LogPrintLevel_` to be restricted to being an internal API.

  The `GetLogCategory` function is moved out of the global namespace.

  `ShouldLog` is split into separate `ShouldDebugLog` and `ShouldTraceLog` so that filtering checks are somewhat more enforced via function signature checks.

  Redundant `LogAcceptCategory` function is removed.

  More files are pointed at util/log.h instead of logging.h.

ACKs for top commit:
  maflcko:
    review ACK 02b2c41103 📅
  sedited:
    Re-ACK 02b2c41103
  l0rinc:
    untested ACK 02b2c41103
  ryanofsky:
    Code review ACK 02b2c41103435d8dbaa77a526e484066471b2b8c! Overall a lot of nice improvements here.

Tree-SHA512: 3bffdca91afbe5c45a522815fe82e6f4cfa96529a4a243b29aad21234650502d6cac780126b584ee3e7ec129d8fdd50670d8a05036cc5c36e586b8c4c3563970
2026-05-21 23:01:09 -04:00
..
2026-05-13 20:46:32 +02:00
2026-03-10 08:39:17 +00:00
2026-05-13 20:46:32 +02:00
2026-05-13 20:46:32 +02:00

This directory contains the source code for the Bitcoin Core graphical user interface (GUI). It uses the Qt cross-platform framework.

The current precise version for Qt is specified in qt_details.mk.

Compile and run

See build instructions: Unix, macOS, Windows, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD

When following your systems build instructions, make sure to install the Qt dependencies.

To run:

./build/bin/bitcoin-qt

Files and Directories

forms/

  • A directory that contains Designer UI files. These files specify the characteristics of form elements in XML. Qt UI files can be edited with Qt Creator or using any text editor.

locale/

  • Contains translations. They are periodically updated and an effort is made to support as many languages as possible. The process of contributing translations is described in doc/translation_process.md.

res/

  • Contains graphical resources used to enhance the UI experience.

test/

  • Functional tests used to ensure proper functionality of the GUI. Significant changes to the GUI code normally require new or updated tests.

bitcoingui.(h/cpp)

  • Represents the main window of the Bitcoin UI.

*model.(h/cpp)

  • The model. When it has a corresponding controller, it generally inherits from QAbstractTableModel. Models that are used by controllers as helpers inherit from other Qt classes like QValidator.
  • ClientModel is used by the main application bitcoingui and several models like peertablemodel.

*page.(h/cpp)

  • A controller. :NAMEpage.cpp generally includes :NAMEmodel.h and forms/:NAME.page.ui with a similar :NAME.

*dialog.(h/cpp)

  • Various dialogs, e.g. to open a URL. Inherit from QDialog.

paymentserver.(h/cpp)

  • (Deprecated) Used to process BIP21 payment URI requests. Also handles URI-based application switching (e.g. when following a bitcoin:... link from a browser).

walletview.(h/cpp)

  • Represents the view to a single wallet.

Other .h/cpp files

  • UI elements like BitcoinAmountField, which inherit from QWidget.
  • bitcoinstrings.cpp: automatically generated
  • bitcoinunits.(h/cpp): BTC / mBTC / etc. handling
  • callback.h
  • guiconstants.h: UI colors, app name, etc.
  • guiutil.h: several helper functions
  • macdockiconhandler.(h/mm): macOS dock icon handler
  • macnotificationhandler.(h/mm): display notifications in macOS

Contribute

See CONTRIBUTING.md for general guidelines.

Note: Do not change local/bitcoin_en.ts. It is updated automatically.

Using Qt Creator as an IDE

Qt Creator is a powerful tool which packages a UI designer tool (Qt Designer) and a C++ IDE into one application. This is especially useful if you want to change the UI layout.

Download Qt Creator

On Unix and macOS, Qt Creator can be installed through your package manager. Alternatively, you can download a binary from the Qt Website.

Note: If installing from a binary grabbed from the Qt Website: During the installation process, uncheck everything except for Qt Creator.

macOS
brew install qt-creator
Ubuntu & Debian
sudo apt-get install qtcreator

Setup Qt Creator

  1. Make sure you've installed all dependencies specified in your systems build instructions
  2. Follow the compile instructions for your system, adding the -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug build flag
  3. Start Qt Creator. At the start page, do: New -> Import Project -> Import Existing Project
  4. Enter bitcoin-qt as the Project Name and enter the absolute path to src/qt as Location
  5. Check over the file selection, you may need to select the forms directory (necessary if you intend to edit *.ui files)
  6. Confirm the Summary page
  7. In the Projects tab, select Manage Kits...

macOS

  • Under Kits: select the default "Desktop" kit
  • Under Compilers: select "Clang (x86 64bit in /usr/bin)"
  • Under Debuggers: select "LLDB" as debugger (you might need to set the path to your LLDB installation)

Ubuntu & Debian

Note: Some of these options may already be set

  • Under Kits: select the default "Desktop" kit
  • Under Compilers: select "GCC (x86 64bit in /usr/bin)"
  • Under Debuggers: select "GDB" as debugger
  1. While in the Projects tab, ensure that you have the bitcoin-qt executable specified under Run
  • If the executable is not specified: click "Choose...", navigate to build/bin, and select bitcoin-qt
  1. You're all set! Start developing, building, and debugging the Bitcoin Core GUI