n9

Build and deploy Qt projects for the Nokia N9.

What this is

A single bash script that handles the full build-and-deploy loop for N9 apps:

• Builds armel .deb packages from Qt projects
• Auto-detects whether a local Qt SDK is installed (uses it if so) or falls back to the mpwsh/n9-build Docker image
• Deploys to a phone over SSH using a dedicated dev key
• Same script works on your host and inside the Docker image — no separate builder tool

Install

sudo install -m 0755 n9.sh /usr/local/bin/n9

Requires bash, docker (or a local Qt SDK at /opt/QtSDK), ssh, scp, ssh-keygen, ssh-copy-id. All commonly preinstalled on Linux/macOS.

First-time setup

1. Enable Developer Mode on the phone:

   • Settings → Security → Developer mode → ON
   • Note the password under "SDK Connection"
   • Note the phone's IP (USB: usually 192.168.2.15; WiFi: varies)

2. Copy your dev key to the phone:

   n9 setup --device 192.168.2.15

   Generates ~/.ssh/n9-developer if needed, then prompts once for the developer-mode password to install it.

Daily use

# Build .deb (auto-detects local Qt vs Docker)
n9 build --path .

# Build + scp + install on the phone
n9 send --path . --device 192.168.2.15

# Build + install + auto-launch
n9 run --path . --device 192.168.2.15

# Quick shell to the phone
n9 ssh --device 192.168.2.15

devel-su will still prompt for the developer password each send/run — that's the privilege-escalation step on the phone, separate from SSH auth.

Build mode auto-detection

Condition	Build mode
/opt/QtSDK/Madde/bin/mad is executable	Local
Otherwise	Docker
N9_FORCE_DOCKER=1 in env	Docker

The same script runs inside the mpwsh/n9-build image, where it picks the local path because the SDK is installed at /opt/QtSDK inside the container.

Project structure expected

your-project/
├── your-project.pro
├── main.cpp
├── ... source files ...
└── qtc_packaging/
    └── debian_harmattan/
        ├── control          # Package metadata
        ├── changelog        # Version (the .deb's version comes from here)
        ├── rules            # debhelper rules
        ├── compat
        ├── copyright
        ├── manifest.aegis   # Aegis caps the app requests
        └── your-app.desktop # Launcher entry

The .deb lands in build/<app>_<version>_armel.deb.

Use in CI

GitHub Actions can drive this with no host-side install — just pull the image and call the same script:

- name: Build .deb
  run: |
    docker run --rm \
      -v "$PWD:/work" \
      -w /work \
      mpwsh/n9-build \
      n9 build --path /work

See n9-sensorscope for a complete release workflow.

Aegis caveat

Apps requesting Aegis capabilities (sensors, location, network, cellular) install cleanly on phones with Aegis Open Mode enabled but won't fully install on stock firmware. See the Aegis Installer guide for setup.

License

MIT.