To install your project, specify the necessary information in the project file:

Application {
    Group {
        name: "Runtime resources"
        files: "*.qml"
        qbs.install: true
        qbs.installDir: "share/myproject"
    }
    Group {
        name: "The App itself"
        fileTagsFilter: "application"
        qbs.install: true
        qbs.installDir: "bin"
    }
}

In this example, we want to install a couple of QML files and an executable.

When building, Qbs installs artifacts into the default root folder, namely <build root>/install-root. The qbs.installPrefix and qbs.installDir properties are appended to the root folder.

qbs build qbs.installPrefix:/usr

In this example, the executable will be installed into the <build root>/install-root/usr/bin folder and the QML files will be installed into the <build root>/install-root/usr/share/myproject folder.

To skip installation during the build, use the --no-install option.

To override the default location, use the --install-root option of the qbs install command:

qbs build --no-install qbs.installPrefix:/usr
sudo qbs install --no-build --install-root /

In this example, artifacts will be installed directly into the /usr folder. Since the qbs install command implies build, we use the --no-build parameter to ensure that we do not accidentally rebuild the project, thereby changing the artifacts' owner to root.

Sometimes, it makes sense to install the application into a temporary root folder, keeping the same folder structure within that root folder as in the examples above; for instance, when building a Linux package such as deb or rmp. To install the application into the /tmp/myProjectRoot folder, use the following command:

$ qbs install --install-root /tmp/myProjectRoot

In this example, the executable will be installed into the /tmp/myProjectRoot/usr/bin folder and QML files will be installed into the /tmp/myProjectRoot/usr/share/myproject folder.

To remove all files from the install root prior to installing, use the --clean-install-root parameter:

qbs install --clean-install-root --install-root /tmp/myProjectRoot

For more information about how the installation path is constructed, see Installation Properties.