Since Qt 5.6 Qmake has supported the (undocumented) file_copies function. Moving to an OS independent version is superior for obvious reasons. Use in https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3984104/qmake-how-to-copy-a-file-to-the-output/54162789#54162789 Uses the same interface as the INSTALLS function described here https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qmake-advanced-usage.html#installing-files Implemented in the file_copies.prf file found here https://code.qt.io/cgit/qt/qtbase.git/log/mkspecs/features/file_copies.prf