From cd22b704e02e80e9299f9a767960c8b94a6b261e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: ReenigneArcher <42013603+ReenigneArcher@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:26:23 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] build(windows): default to qt6-static

---
 .github/workflows/ci-windows.yml |  4 +---
 CMakeLists.txt                   |  1 +
 cmake/prep/options.cmake         |  2 +-
 cmake/prep/static_qt.cmake       | 34 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 docs/building.md                 | 12 +++++------
 5 files changed, 43 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)
 create mode 100644 cmake/prep/static_qt.cmake

diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-windows.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-windows.yml
index 7544807d6f4..941fd6b0b19 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci-windows.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-windows.yml
@@ -240,12 +240,10 @@ jobs:
             -S . \
             -DBUILD_WERROR=ON \
             -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo \
-            -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="${MINGW_PREFIX}/qt6-static" \
             -DSUNSHINE_ASSETS_DIR=assets \
             -DSUNSHINE_PUBLISHER_NAME="${GITHUB_REPOSITORY_OWNER}" \
             -DSUNSHINE_PUBLISHER_WEBSITE="https://app.lizardbyte.dev" \
-            -DSUNSHINE_PUBLISHER_ISSUE_URL="https://app.lizardbyte.dev/support" \
-            -DSUNSHINE_USE_STATIC_QT=ON
+            -DSUNSHINE_PUBLISHER_ISSUE_URL="https://app.lizardbyte.dev/support"
           echo "::add-matcher::.github/matchers/gcc.json"
           ninja -C build
           echo "::remove-matcher owner=gcc::"
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 9ad1ef27327..f6019b50180 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ include(${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}/prep/build_version.cmake)
 
 # cmake build flags
 include(${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}/prep/options.cmake)
+include(${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}/prep/static_qt.cmake)
 
 # initial prep
 include(${CMAKE_MODULE_PATH}/prep/init.cmake)
diff --git a/cmake/prep/options.cmake b/cmake/prep/options.cmake
index ac20de4a644..4b2455bf295 100644
--- a/cmake/prep/options.cmake
+++ b/cmake/prep/options.cmake
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ option(SUNSHINE_ENABLE_TRAY "Enable system tray icon." ON)
 
 if(WIN32)
     option(SUNSHINE_USE_STATIC_QT
-            "Require static Qt libraries and their static third-party dependencies." OFF)
+            "Require static Qt libraries and their static third-party dependencies." ON)
 endif()
 
 option(SUNSHINE_SYSTEM_VULKAN_HEADERS "Use system installation of vulkan-headers rather than the submodule." OFF)
diff --git a/cmake/prep/static_qt.cmake b/cmake/prep/static_qt.cmake
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9a2c61396ae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmake/prep/static_qt.cmake
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# Configure the standard MSYS2 static Qt prefix automatically for Windows builds.
+
+if(WIN32 AND SUNSHINE_ENABLE_TRAY AND SUNSHINE_USE_STATIC_QT AND NOT Qt6_DIR)
+    set(_sunshine_static_qt_prefix "")
+
+    # Prefer the prefix exported by an interactive MSYS2 environment.
+    if(DEFINED ENV{MINGW_PREFIX} AND NOT "$ENV{MINGW_PREFIX}" STREQUAL "")  # cmake-lint: disable=W0106
+        file(TO_CMAKE_PATH "$ENV{MINGW_PREFIX}/qt6-static" _sunshine_static_qt_candidate)
+        if(EXISTS "${_sunshine_static_qt_candidate}/lib/cmake/Qt6/Qt6Config.cmake")
+            set(_sunshine_static_qt_prefix "${_sunshine_static_qt_candidate}")
+        endif()
+    endif()
+
+    # IDEs may not inherit MINGW_PREFIX, so derive the toolchain root from the compiler path.
+    if(NOT _sunshine_static_qt_prefix)
+        get_filename_component(_sunshine_compiler_bin_dir "${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}" DIRECTORY)
+        get_filename_component(_sunshine_compiler_prefix "${_sunshine_compiler_bin_dir}" DIRECTORY)
+        set(_sunshine_static_qt_candidate "${_sunshine_compiler_prefix}/qt6-static")
+        if(EXISTS "${_sunshine_static_qt_candidate}/lib/cmake/Qt6/Qt6Config.cmake")
+            set(_sunshine_static_qt_prefix "${_sunshine_static_qt_candidate}")
+        endif()
+    endif()
+
+    if(_sunshine_static_qt_prefix)
+        list(APPEND CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH "${_sunshine_static_qt_prefix}")
+        list(REMOVE_DUPLICATES CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH)
+        message(STATUS "Using static Qt prefix: ${_sunshine_static_qt_prefix}")
+    endif()
+
+    unset(_sunshine_compiler_bin_dir)
+    unset(_sunshine_compiler_prefix)
+    unset(_sunshine_static_qt_candidate)
+    unset(_sunshine_static_qt_prefix)
+endif()
diff --git a/docs/building.md b/docs/building.md
index b9b551d2a52..5420906553d 100644
--- a/docs/building.md
+++ b/docs/building.md
@@ -189,13 +189,13 @@ fi
 pacman -S "${dependencies[@]}"
 ```
 
-The static Qt package is installed under a separate prefix. Add the following options when configuring a Windows
-build so Sunshine and Qt's third-party dependencies are linked statically:
+Static Qt is enabled by default on Windows. Sunshine automatically adds the MSYS2 static Qt prefix at
+`${MINGW_PREFIX}/qt6-static` when that package is installed. If an IDE does not inherit `MINGW_PREFIX`, Sunshine
+derives the same prefix from the selected compiler. If static Qt is installed in a custom location, specify it with
+`-DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/path/to/qt6-static`.
 
-```bash
--DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="${MINGW_PREFIX}/qt6-static" \
--DSUNSHINE_USE_STATIC_QT=ON
-```
+To use dynamic Qt instead, configure with `-DSUNSHINE_USE_STATIC_QT=OFF` and ensure the dynamic Qt package is
+available through the normal toolchain prefix.
 
 To create a WiX installer, you also need to install [.NET](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download).