qmake

Some Qt features require additional build steps during the compilation and linking of the project. For example, Meta-Object Compiler (moc), User Interface Compiler (uic), and Resource Compiler (rcc) may need to be executed to handle Qt's C++ extensions and features. For convenience, Qt provides the qmake executable that manages your Qt project and generates files required for building it on the current platform (such as Makefile for the make utility). qmake reads the project's configuration from a project file with the .pro extension. Qt Creator (the IDE that comes with Qt) automatically creates and updates that file, but it can be edited manually to alter the build process.

Alternatively, CMake can be used to organize and build the project. Qt provides CMake plugins for performing all the necessary build actions. Qt Creator also has fairly good support for CMake projects. CMake is more advanced and powerful than qmake, but it's probably not needed for projects with a simple build process.