# Build the QIR SDK

The following sections explain how to build the QIR SDK.

Warning

It's not recommended to rebuild the QIR SDK, as the build process is complex for non-professionals. Build the QIR SDK ONLY if you understand the process and have the following needs:

- Build an image for the device which doesn't have a prebuilt image, for example, the Qualcomm^®^ IQ-8 Beta Evaluation Kit. For details, see [Supported platforms](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70023-265/topic/introduction.html#section-amr-ck3-5bc).
- Add new features to the QIR SDK.
- Change the content of the target image.
- Fix bugs in the QIR SDK.
- Optimize the performance of the QIR SDK.
- Change the version of certain components.

## Choose the best method for you

To synchronize and build the QIR SDK and robotics image, choose any of the following four options:

- Use the [Qualcomm Software Center (QSC) Launcher GUI](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70023-265/topic/qsc_launcher_gui.html#build-with-the-qsc-launcher).
- Use the [Qualcomm Software Center command line interface (QSC-CLI)](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70023-265/topic/qsc_cli.html#using-qsc-cli-3-1).
- Use the [GitHub workflow](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70023-265/topic/github_workflow.html#section-github-workflow) on your PC. **(Recommended)**
- Use [Docker](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70023-265/topic/docker_workflow.html#section-docker-workflow) for compilation on your PC. **(Recommended)**

To build the robotics image only, use the prebuilt eSDK in [Supported platforms](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70023-265/topic/introduction.html#section-amr-ck3-5bc) using the following method:

> 
> 
> [Build the robotics image with the prebuilt robotics eSDK](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70023-265/topic/esdk_gen_image.html#section-esdk-gen-image)

## Host computer requirements

The following requirements apply to your host computer for compiling the QIR SDK:

| **Hardware** | x86 machine<br><br><br>Quad-core CPU, for example, Intel i7-2600 at 3.4 GHz (equivalent or better)<br><br><br>≥ 450 GB free disk space (swap partition ≥ 32 GB)<br><br><br>≥ 16 GB RAM |
| --- | --- |
| **Software** | Git 1.8.3.1 or later versions<br><br><br>Tar 1.28 or later versions<br><br><br>Python 3.10.2 or later versions<br><br><br>GCC 7.5 or later versions<br><br><br>GNU Make 4.0 or later versions<br><br><br>A sudo permission is required to run a few commands |

Note

To set up a virtual machine (VM) running Ubuntu 22.04 on Microsoft Windows or Apple® macOS®,
see [Qualcomm Linux Virtual Machine Setup Guide](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-70023-41).
Code compilation on a VM is a slow process and may take a few hours. Qualcomm recommends using an Ubuntu host computer for compilation.

Last Published: Dec 29, 2025

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