PocketBook Qt6 app monorepo

Build Qt Quick apps for PocketBook using fstanis/pocketbook-sdk-qt6. The current target is InkPad 4 (PB743G), firmware U743g.6.11.1683. That firmware contains Qt 6.10.3, the pocketbook2 platform plugin and com.pocketbook.controls. We compile against the upstream Qt 6.8.2 toolchain. Other devices, including Verse Pro, need separate validation.

• Hello is a small Qt Quick example using PocketBook controls.
• Readest Sync browses PocketBook and Readest books, downloads/uploads EPUBs, and synchronizes native-reader progress, highlights and attached notes. The current Qt6 app is device-validated on the target above. See the illustrated user guide for screenshots captured with the simulator's mock cloud.

Build

With Docker and Compose running, from the repository root:

docker compose build qt6
docker compose run --rm qt6 make                    # All apps
docker compose run --rm qt6 make APP=readest-sync    # One app
docker compose run --rm qt6 make check              # Build and check all apps
docker compose run --rm qt6 make APP=hello check

Each app produces build/<name>/<name>.app. CMake objects and dependencies live in build/<name>/qt6, so apps cannot overwrite one another's objects. QML is compiled into the ELF resource; the device supplies Qt and PocketBook controls. No Qt runtime or firmware files are installed with an app.

The qt6 image supports the host architecture, including Apple Silicon. It pins the upstream builder image digest, CMake helper commit and SDK commit in Dockerfile.qt6. Only the necessary SDK headers/link libraries are fetched. The older sdk service is retained for firmware/probe inspection; it is not the build environment for the migrated apps.

make check verifies ARM softfp, the loader, Qt/InkView linkage, no rpath or zstd resource dependency, and symbol-version ceilings for the inspected firmware. These checks do not replace launching the app on the reader.

Run

For Hello, copy build/hello/hello.app to the reader's applications directory, safely eject, disconnect USB and launch Hello from Applications.

For Readest Sync, build a two-file package:

python3 apps/readest-sync/tools/package_app.py

Use its documented backup-and-verify installer with the observed hash of the installed app. The installer preserves sessions, app state, EPUBs and native reading databases. See Readest Sync's instructions.

Add an app

cp -R apps/hello apps/my-app
docker compose run --rm qt6 make APP=my-app check

Hello's CMake file derives the target name from its directory. Edit src/main.cpp and qml/Main.qml; list additional sources/resources in CMakeLists.txt and the QRC file. The root Makefile discovers apps/*/Makefile. Names may contain letters, digits, hyphens and underscores, without spaces.

apps/<name>/
  Makefile                 # Includes mk/qt6-app.mk
  CMakeLists.txt           # Uses pocketbook_add_app
  src/                     # C++ controller/device integration
  qml/                     # Qt Quick screens and compiled QRC
mk/pocketbook-qt6.cmake     # Loads the pinned upstream SDK
mk/qt6-app.mk               # Shared per-app build/check commands

Keep InkView calls in a small device adapter; its global macros collide with Qt headers. Initialize InkView with TASK_MAKEACTIVE before QGuiApplication, select Qt's software renderer, add /ebrmain/qml, and use explicit screen geometry. Hello demonstrates this startup sequence.

docker compose run --rm qt6 make list
docker compose run --rm qt6 make APP=hello clean     # Only this app's outputs
docker compose run --rm qt6 sh tests/monorepo.sh     # Isolated build checks

Qt UI checks and previews

For the shared PocketBook simulator in your browser:

docker compose up -d --build simulator

Open http://localhost:6080/vnc.html?autoconnect=true&resize=scale after the initial build. Choose Sign in to demo account, then Refresh library. Select Mock cloud for local fixtures or Real Readest to use your account. Run another integrated app with SIMULATOR_APP=hello docker compose up -d simulator. The shared tooling runs desktop app builds without firmware. See the simulator guide for controls, conflict scenarios, persistent state and automated checks.

docker compose run --rm qt6 sh apps/readest-sync/tests/test_qt.sh

This builds a native desktop test executable, runs the real controller/QML against temporary local fixtures, and renders portrait/landscape previews under build/readest-sync/qt6-preview-*.png. A small test-only PocketBook controls shim replaces the ARM firmware plugin on the desktop. Its appearance and input method are approximations; device keyboard, e-ink updates, reader handoff and live networking must be checked on InkPad.

The core tests and optional firmware-export comparison are documented in the app README. Readest uses dynamically linked OpenSSL 3 for book hashes and the firmware libcurl for HTTPS; no crypto or Qt runtime is installed on the reader.

License

Original code and documentation in this repository are licensed under the MIT License, including hello, readest-sync, and shared build and simulator tooling. Third-party code retains its own copyrights and licenses; see dependency notices. The root license does not relicense SDKs, firmware libraries, or other external components.