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Building from source

One CMake tree builds the Qt-free backend, the Qt desktop client and LexiconServer. The web client needs no build; the Android app has its own Gradle project.

Prerequisites

Debian 13 one-liner:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y build-essential cmake ninja-build qt6-base-dev libgl-dev libsqlite3-dev libssl-dev

Desktop client

git clone https://github.com/robertvokac/lexicon.git
cd lexicon
cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --target Lexicon -j
./build/Lexicon

Server, web and Android clients

LexiconServer needs no Qt. Without Qt installed, configure with -DLEXICON_BUILD_DESKTOP=OFF:

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DLEXICON_BUILD_DESKTOP=OFF
cmake --build build --target LexiconServer -j
./build/LexiconServer auth set-user --database ~/lexicon/lexicon.db
./build/LexiconServer --database ~/lexicon/lexicon.db --allowed-origin http://127.0.0.1:8080
# or let the server serve the client too, on its own port:
./build/LexiconServer --database ~/lexicon/lexicon.db --web-dir lexicon-web

Server-side Blob maintenance is local CLI functionality, not REST: use LexiconServer blobs scan --database PATH for a structural check, blobs verify to recalculate every SHA-256, and blobs collect to verify and delete only unused canonical files.

The web client in lexicon-web/ is static files: serve them with any web server, or locally with python3 tools/serve-web.py --port 8080. The Android app builds with ./gradlew assembleDebug in lexicon-android/. docs/server.md, lexicon-web/README.md and lexicon-android/README.md cover deployment, TLS, backups and signing.

Tests

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_TESTING=ON
cmake --build build -j
QT_QPA_PLATFORM=offscreen ctest --test-dir build --output-on-failure
node --test lexicon-web/tests/*.test.mjs
python3 tools/web-e2e.py --server build/LexiconServer
cd lexicon-android && LEXICON_SERVER_BINARY=../build/LexiconServer ./gradlew test lint

The C++ suites cover the backend, the REST server over real sockets, backups, old databases, and the desktop dialogs offscreen, including Mass Insert recovery after a partial failure. tools/web-e2e.py drives the web client in headless Chrome against a fresh server and checks a resumable typed Mass Insert worksheet. The Android tests run the Compose screens under Robolectric, some of them against a real LexiconServer. GitHub Actions runs all of it on every push.

Build configurations

If CMake cannot find Qt, point it at your installation:

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/path/to/Qt/6.x.y/gcc_64

Platform notes

Linux

• Distribution Qt packages work when they are recent enough (see Prerequisites); no vendor SDK needed.
• The lexicon.desktop file in the repository can be installed for menu integration.

Windows

• The desktop target is declared WIN32_EXECUTABLE, so Release builds start without a console window.
• Use the Qt Online Installer and configure with -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=C:\Qt\6.x.y\msvc2019_64.
• With multi-config generators (Visual Studio), pass --config Release to cmake --build.
• Run windeployqt on the built executable to gather the required Qt DLLs for distribution.
• An application icon resource (resources.rc) is included in the repository.

macOS

• Install Qt via Homebrew (brew install qt@6) and pass -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$(brew --prefix qt@6)".

IDE setup

• Qt Creator — open CMakeLists.txt directly; kits handle Qt discovery for you.
• CLion — open the project root; set CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH in Settings → Build → CMake if Qt isn't found.
• VS Code — use the CMake Tools extension; select a kit with your C++23 compiler and add the Qt path to cmake.configureSettings.
• Android Studio — open lexicon-android/ as its own project.