The tool qt-gui offers a graphical interface for users of Elektra. It allows users to create, manage, edit, and delete keys stored in the global key database (KDB).

In order to compile and use the new qt-gui there are a few dependencies which must be installed.

• qt5.3 or greater
• libdrm-dev
• libdiscount (libmarkdown2-dev)
• the following qt5 modules: quickcontrols declarative (qtdeclarative5-dev)
• Alternatively, you may need sudo apt-get install qml-module-qt-labs-folderlistmodel and sudo apt-get install qml-module-qt-labs-settings

Optional dependencies are (are automatically deactivated if dependencies are not found):

• Qt5Svg for SVG icon themes (sudo apt-get install libqt5svg5-dev)
• Qt5DBus so that qt-gui will be notified on changes.

On Ubuntu (tested on 14.10 and 20.04) you can install the dependencies with

sudo apt-get install \
    qt5-default \
    qml-module-qtquick-controls \
    qml-module-qtquick-dialogs \
    qml-module-qtquick-layouts \
    qml-module-qtgraphicaleffects \
    libdrm-dev \
    libmarkdown2-dev \
    libqt5svg5-dev

It is recommended to use the viewer mode if DBus notifications are expected. Use "Settings -> Viewermode" to activate the viewermode.

To publish changes to KDB via DBus use:

kdb global-mount dbus

qt-gui also subscribes to DBus notifications and automatically synchronizes the configuration when notified.

Known Issue: On reload the current element in the tree view gets unselected, you need to click on the element of interest again.

Compile Elektra as normal as per the COMPILE document making sure to include the qt-gui tool using the -DTOOLS flag.

For instance: -DTOOLS=ALL or -DTOOLS=qt-gui

Note: If you install qt5 manually, you must either:

• make sure the qt5 libraries are included in LD_LIBRARY_PATH
• OR make sure to specify -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/opt/Qt5.3.0/5.3/gcc_64/lib/cmake

You can now install Elektra as you normally would or as described in the install documentation. The package is called elektra-qt-gui.

The following command will launch the Qt-GUI:

kdb qt-gui

After that a window will open that looks something like that:

You can mount a backend by going to Database --> Mount Backend...

This will open the mounting wizard where you can add a path:

Next you can browse through the available backends and read their documentation.

After you are done reading the documentation you can close the window again.

If you want to add a new key to the database you can choose a namespace in the left panel then click on Edit --> New --> Key. This will open a new window that looks like this:

After entering the key information, you can view it in the list view. Just click on the namespace you chose and select the key.