This tutorial explains how to create the MySQL driver for Qt5 on Windows using MinGW. If you are looking for the tutorial to do this with Qt4, click here.

Step 1

Download all the needed software.

• Qt (libraries and source code)
  This are two separate files! E.g. qt-windows-opensource-5.0.1-mingw47_32-x86-offline.exe and qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.0.1.zip
• MySQL Community Server (E.g. mysql-5.5.30-win32.msi)
  I didn't use version 5.6 because the .msi only allowed me to install the 64-bit version of the Client C API Library, which apparently gives errors later in the tutorial. So make sure you get the 32-bit verison! If you really want version 5.6, an option might be to download the 32-bit version of the source files and use those. Note that I didn't test this option, so I can't help you with that.

Step 2

Install the downloaded software.

• Install Qt, the components I installed are the default ones. (See image 1)
• Install MySQL, you only need to install the Client C API Library the other components are optional for this tutorial. (See image 2)
  

  I installed it under C:\Program Files (x86)\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.5. Since the path contains spaces, you should use C:\PROGRA~2\MySQL\MYSQLS~1.5, else it won't work. ¹

• Extract the Qt Sources to a folder of your choosing. I placed it in the folder Qt was installed into. (C:\Qt\Qt5.0.1)
  I also renamed the extracted folder to Sources instead of the long qt-everywhere-opensource-src-5.0.1 name.

Image 1: Install Qt

Image 2: Install MySQL

Step 3

Open the Qt Command Prompt. (See image 3)
Start > All Programs > Qt 5.0.1 > 5.0.1 > MinGW 4.7 > Qt 5.0.1 for Desktop (MinGW 4.7)

Image 3: Qt
Command Prompt

Step 4

Run the following commands (change them according to your environment):

Step 5

Copy qsqlmysql.dll and qsqlmysqld.dll from C:\Qt\Qt5.0.1\Sources\qtbase\plugins\sqldrivers to C:\Qt\Qt5.0.1\5.0.1\mingw47_32\plugins\sqldrivers.

Step 6

Copy libmysql.dll from %mysql%\lib to C:\Windows

Finished

That's all, but don't forget to add QT += sql to your project file, else it won't work. To check which drivers are available run this program. You can also download the code as a Qt project in the attachments.

¹ Note: For 32-bit systems the install path of MySQL will be C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.5 and the path without spaces will be C:\PROGRA~1\MySQL\MYSQLS~1.5.To determine a custom path without spaces, use the dir /x command on each of the folders.