ℹ️ Note: Version 15 has not been released yet. These instructions describe the installation from version 15 on and apply once it is available.

Requirements

From version 15 the Linux package ships its own Java runtime. Installing Java or the openjfx package is no longer required.

• 64-bit Linux with systemd and glibc. Tested on Debian, Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit). Alpine Linux is not supported, not even as a base for containers.
• root privileges or sudo.
• For the graphical Runtime Manager (qhmiRM -rg) a desktop environment or X forwarding. The console Runtime Manager works without either.

First check the architecture of the operating system:

uname -m

The expected output is x86_64 or aarch64. If the command reports armv7l, a 32-bit operating system is running even though the hardware may support 64-bit. This is common on the Raspberry Pi. In that case install a 64-bit operating system first. See also the system requirements.

Setting up the package source (recommended)

Set up the QuickHMI package source once, and from then on you install and update the runtime like any other program on your system. There is nothing left to download by hand, and your system verifies the authenticity and integrity of every package it installs.

sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo wget -O /etc/apt/keyrings/quickhmi-archive-keyring.gpg https://www.indi-an.com/linux/apt/quickhmi-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/quickhmi-archive-keyring.gpg] https://www.indi-an.com/linux/apt stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/quickhmi.list
sudo apt update

After that, a single command installs the runtime. Your system picks the matching architecture on its own, you do not have to specify it.

sudo apt install quickhmi-Version_M

The key you download is the public half of our signing key; it lets your system recognise that the packages come from us and have not been altered on the way. If you want to check it, the following command shows its fingerprint. It must read: 7013 57CF EB09 75E1 1464 C0C6 30F0 32E5 BDA3 3B1F.

gpg --show-keys /etc/apt/keyrings/quickhmi-archive-keyring.gpg

The package source contains the QuickHMI runtime and nothing else. The rest of your system is unaffected, and automatic system updates leave the runtime alone: updating it is always a deliberate decision. How to update later is described on the Updating page.

Without the package source: downloading the package

If the system has no access to our server, or if you prefer not to add the package source, download the matching package once and install it from the file. The following sections describe that route.

Choosing the package

On Debian, Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi OS the .deb package is the standard way. For other distributions with systemd there is the archive (.tar.gz) with an installation script. Both set up the same installation.

Output of uname -m	.deb package	Archive
x86_64	quickhmi-Version_M_amd64.deb	quickhmi-Version_M-linux-x64.tar.gz
aarch64	quickhmi-Version_M_arm64.deb	quickhmi-Version_M-linux-aarch64.tar.gz

The file names carry no version number and always provide the current release. Each file comes with a checksum file ending in .sha256. You can also find the packages on the download page. Only the current release is provided; older versions are not offered for download.

Installation with the .deb package

The following commands download the package and its checksum, verify the file and install it. The example is for x86_64; on aarch64 replace amd64 with arm64.

wget https://www.indi-an.com/linux/Version_M/quickhmi-Version_M_amd64.deb
wget https://www.indi-an.com/linux/Version_M/quickhmi-Version_M_amd64.deb.sha256
sha256sum -c quickhmi-Version_M_amd64.deb.sha256
sudo apt install ./quickhmi-Version_M_amd64.deb

The ./ in front of the file name is required, otherwise apt looks for the package in the package sources instead of the current directory. Instead of wget you can also download the files on another computer and copy them to the Linux system.

Installation with the archive

The example is for x86_64; on aarch64 replace x64 with aarch64.

wget https://www.indi-an.com/linux/Version_M/quickhmi-Version_M-linux-x64.tar.gz
wget https://www.indi-an.com/linux/Version_M/quickhmi-Version_M-linux-x64.tar.gz.sha256
sha256sum -c quickhmi-Version_M-linux-x64.tar.gz.sha256
mkdir quickhmi-Version_M
tar xzf quickhmi-Version_M-linux-x64.tar.gz -C quickhmi-Version_M --strip-components=1
cd quickhmi-Version_M
sudo ./install.sh

The installation script checks the architecture, creates the service account, registers the service and finally reports the installed version, the Java version and the paths.

What the installation creates

Location	Content
/opt/quickhmi/Version_M	Program and Java runtime. Replaced on every update, do not make changes here.
/var/lib/quickhmi/Version_M	Instances, projects, server.cfg, certificates and your own JDBC drivers under jdbc_driver/user. Preserved on updates.
/var/log/quickhmi/Version_M	Log files of the instances.
Service quickhmi-Version_M	systemd service that starts all instances with autostart enabled at boot. Each instance runs as its own service quickhmi-Version_M@<ID>.
Account quickhmi	System account without password and without shell under which the instances run.
/usr/bin/qhmiRM	The qhmiRM command, available from any directory.

An existing installation of QuickHMI Lynx is left untouched and keeps running in parallel. Projects are not migrated: export the project again with the editor for version 15 and import it as described below. To remove Lynx see Uninstallation.

First steps

Transfer the project export (.qexp) from the editor to the Linux system, for example with scp or WinSCP, and import it into an instance:

sudo qhmiRM -i Testproject1.qexp -instance=1

Without -instance= the import asks for the instance ID. There are no further prompts; new security definitions (users and groups) from the export are applied. Afterwards the instance runs as service quickhmi-Version_M@1 and is reachable on the port configured in the project. To check the state:

systemctl status quickhmi-Version_M@1

qhmiRM commands

All commands require root privileges, run them with sudo. Called without an argument, the command prints an overview:

sudo qhmiRM

Command	Effect
-r	Starts the console Runtime Manager.
-rg	Starts the graphical Runtime Manager.
-rd	Starts the service and with it all instances with autostart enabled.
-sd	Stops the service and with it all instances.
-i <file.qexp>	Imports a project export. Optionally with -instance=<ID> for a specific instance.
-v	Shows package version, revision and Java version.
-u	Applies a pending update from a project export again.
-start -instance=<ID>	Starts a single instance.
-stop -instance=<ID>	Stops a single instance and disables its autostart.

The graphical Runtime Manager is described under The QuickHMI Runtime Manager.