GeoProcessor / Development Environment / QGIS

The GeoProcessor is developed for QGIS 3.x or later, with consistency at the Python level. For example, QGIS 3.10 uses Python 3.7 (on Windows, see C:\Program Files\apps\Python37\). The Python version used with QGIS will be updated over time, and GeoProcessor will be updated accordingly. The following resources explain how to install QGIS. 64-bit QGIS is recommended and is the focus of development. See the GeoProcessor / QGIS / Python Versions table for a software version compatibility information.

• Install QGIS
• QGIS Configuration Scripts
• QGIS Folder Structure
  • QGIS Python Distribution
  • QGIS Python Modules
  • QGIS Supporting Programs

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Install QGIS

Multiple versions of standalone QGIS can be installed, including latest release and long term release. Important naming conventions help development environment tools use the correct versions.

To install QGIS, follow instructions in the OWF / Learn QGIS documentation.

Additional installation steps, such as configuring the PyCharm virtual environment, and installing additional Python packages, are discussed in other sections of the documentation.

QGIS Configuration Scripts

This information is provided as background.

Several QGIS configuration batch files (Windows) or scripts (Linux) are critical when configuring an environment to use QGIS Python tools, such as the GeoProcessor. These scripts are called by GeoProcessor build-util/run-pycharm-ce-for-qgis.bat, scripts/gpdev and scripts/gp scripts to configure development and operational environments. The following table lists the configuration batch files and scripts.

QGIS Environment Configuration Scripts

Windows Batch File2i	Linux Script	Comments
o4w_env.bat	?	Configures QGIS core environment variables.
py3_nv.bat	?	Configures Python 3 environment variables including PYTHONHOME, which indicates the location of Python software.
qt_env.bat	?	Configures Qt environment variables, for graphical user interface.

QGIS Folder Structure

This information is provided as background.

It is important to understand the QGIS folder structure in order to integrate with the development environment and other applications. The following sections discuss important information.

QGIS Python Distribution

The QGIS Python distribution version will vary depending on QGIS install type and version. The location of Python distribution is needed to configure virtual environments and to run Python. The following table summarizes Python distribution location information.

QGIS Python Distribution Information (for Windows)

QGIS Install Type	Python Distribution Folder	Comments
OSGeo4W	C:\OSGeo4W64\apps\Python37	The python.exe executable is in the distribution folder and also in C:\OSGeo4W64\bin. An older python version such as Python27 may be included if the release includes long-term release archive.
Standalone	C:\Program Files\QGIS 3.10\apps\Python37	The python.exe executable is in the distribution folder and also in C:\Program Files\QGIS 3.10\bin.

Note that for a full Python distribution as in the above table, the Python executable is located in the main distribution folder, for example for Windows:

C:\Program Files\QGIS 3.10\apps\Python37\python.exe

However, for a Python virtual environment, the executable location is similar to:

C:\...\venv-folder\Scripts\python.exe

QGIS Python Modules

The Python QGIS (PyQGIS) modules that are used by Python applications must be added to the PYTHONPATH environment variable. The following table summarizes location information.

QGIS Python Module Location

QGIS Installer	Location	Comments
Standalone Latest Release	apps/qgis/python
Standalone Long Term Release	apps/qgis-ltr/python	The apps/qgis/python folder may also exist but is typically empty. Configuration scripts should check for qgis-ltr before gqis to check for long term release.

QGIS Supporting Programs

The QGIS desktop software is supported by various other software tools. On Windows, the C:\Program Files\QGIS 3.10\apps\ (or similar) folder lists major components, for example QGIS itself. To facilitate use of programs, executable program files are copied to the bin/ folder, which can be added to the PATH environment variable.