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The Qt folder in your home holds every Qt version you ever installed

The Qt online installer puts each version with its modules in ~/Qt, several GB each. How to see which are there and remove old ones properly.

4 min read

Qt's online installer keeps each Qt version separately in ~/Qt, with its modules and documentation. Installing a new version does not remove the old one, and each can be several GB.

du -sh ~/Qt ~/Qt/* 2>/dev/null | sort -h

Remove old versions properly

Use the Qt Maintenance Tool in ~/Qt. Choose Add or remove components and untick old versions. Deleting folders by hand works, but leaves the tool confused about what is installed.

Other Qt installs

brew list --versions qt qt@5 2>/dev/null

Homebrew may have its own copy. If you build with the Qt installer's version, the Homebrew one may be unused. See Homebrew packages taking up space.

Common questions

Where does Qt install on a Mac?

The online installer uses ~/Qt, with one folder per version.

How do I remove old Qt versions?

Open the Qt Maintenance Tool in ~/Qt, choose Add or remove components, and untick old versions.

Can I have Qt from Homebrew and the Qt installer?

Yes, but that is two copies. Remove whichever your projects do not use.

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