Qt launch issue

I’ve been trying to build a docker image to push a simple output from opencv but keep experiencing the same error when I launch a docker image;

No protocol specified
qt.qpa.xcb: could not connect to display :0
qt.qpa.plugin: Could not load the Qt platform plugin "xcb" in "/usr/local/lib/python3.8/site-packages/cv2/qt/plugins" even though it was found.
This application failed to start because no Qt platform plugin could be initialized. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.

Available platform plugins are: xcb.

I run cv2,getBuildInformation() before each run but notice no difference between the information pushed back from linux or from the docker image…both seem to be the same;

General configuration for OpenCV 4.5.1 =====================================
  Version control:               4.5.1-dirty

  Platform:
    Timestamp:                   2021-01-02T13:00:02Z
    Host:                        Linux 4.15.0-1077-gcp x86_64
    CMake:                       3.18.4
    CMake generator:             Unix Makefiles
    CMake build tool:            /bin/gmake
    Configuration:               Release

  CPU/HW features:
    Baseline:                    SSE SSE2 SSE3
      requested:                 SSE3
    Dispatched code generation:  SSE4_1 SSE4_2 FP16 AVX AVX2 AVX512_SKX
      requested:                 SSE4_1 SSE4_2 AVX FP16 AVX2 AVX512_SKX
      SSE4_1 (15 files):         + SSSE3 SSE4_1
      SSE4_2 (1 files):          + SSSE3 SSE4_1 POPCNT SSE4_2
      FP16 (0 files):            + SSSE3 SSE4_1 POPCNT SSE4_2 FP16 AVX
      AVX (4 files):             + SSSE3 SSE4_1 POPCNT SSE4_2 AVX
      AVX2 (29 files):           + SSSE3 SSE4_1 POPCNT SSE4_2 FP16 FMA3 AVX AVX2
      AVX512_SKX (4 files):      + SSSE3 SSE4_1 POPCNT SSE4_2 FP16 FMA3 AVX AVX2 AVX_512F AVX512_COMMON AVX512_SKX

  C/C++:
    Built as dynamic libs?:      NO
    C++ standard:                11
    C++ Compiler:                /usr/lib/ccache/compilers/c++  (ver 9.3.1)
    C++ flags (Release):         -Wl,-strip-all   -fsigned-char -W -Wall -Werror=return-type -Werror=non-virtual-dtor -Werror=address -Werror=sequence-point -Wformat -Werror=format-security -Wmissing-declarations -Wundef -Winit-self -Wpointer-arith -Wshadow -Wsign-promo -Wuninitialized -Wsuggest-override -Wno-delete-non-virtual-dtor -Wno-comment -Wimplicit-fallthrough=3 -Wno-strict-overflow -fdiagnostics-show-option -Wno-long-long -pthread -fomit-frame-pointer -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections  -msse -msse2 -msse3 -fvisibility=hidden -fvisibility-inlines-hidden -O3 -DNDEBUG  -DNDEBUG
    C++ flags (Debug):           -Wl,-strip-all   -fsigned-char -W -Wall -Werror=return-type -Werror=non-virtual-dtor -Werror=address -Werror=sequence-point -Wformat -Werror=format-security -Wmissing-declarations -Wundef -Winit-self -Wpointer-arith -Wshadow -Wsign-promo -Wuninitialized -Wsuggest-override -Wno-delete-non-virtual-dtor -Wno-comment -Wimplicit-fallthrough=3 -Wno-strict-overflow -fdiagnostics-show-option -Wno-long-long -pthread -fomit-frame-pointer -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections  -msse -msse2 -msse3 -fvisibility=hidden -fvisibility-inlines-hidden -g  -O0 -DDEBUG -D_DEBUG
    C Compiler:                  /usr/lib/ccache/compilers/cc
    C flags (Release):           -Wl,-strip-all   -fsigned-char -W -Wall -Werror=return-type -Werror=non-virtual-dtor -Werror=address -Werror=sequence-point -Wformat -Werror=format-security -Wmissing-declarations -Wmissing-prototypes -Wstrict-prototypes -Wundef -Winit-self -Wpointer-arith -Wshadow -Wuninitialized -Wno-comment -Wno-strict-overflow -fdiagnostics-show-option -Wno-long-long -pthread -fomit-frame-pointer -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections  -msse -msse2 -msse3 -fvisibility=hidden -O3 -DNDEBUG  -DNDEBUG
    C flags (Debug):             -Wl,-strip-all   -fsigned-char -W -Wall -Werror=return-type -Werror=non-virtual-dtor -Werror=address -Werror=sequence-point -Wformat -Werror=format-security -Wmissing-declarations -Wmissing-prototypes -Wstrict-prototypes -Wundef -Winit-self -Wpointer-arith -Wshadow -Wuninitialized -Wno-comment -Wno-strict-overflow -fdiagnostics-show-option -Wno-long-long -pthread -fomit-frame-pointer -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections  -msse -msse2 -msse3 -fvisibility=hidden -g  -O0 -DDEBUG -D_DEBUG
    Linker flags (Release):      -Wl,--exclude-libs,libippicv.a -Wl,--exclude-libs,libippiw.a -L/root/ffmpeg_build/lib  -Wl,--gc-sections -Wl,--as-needed  
    Linker flags (Debug):        -Wl,--exclude-libs,libippicv.a -Wl,--exclude-libs,libippiw.a -L/root/ffmpeg_build/lib  -Wl,--gc-sections -Wl,--as-needed  
    ccache:                      YES
    Precompiled headers:         NO
    Extra dependencies:          ade Qt5::Core Qt5::Gui Qt5::Widgets Qt5::Test Qt5::Concurrent /lib64/libpng.so /lib64/libz.so dl m pthread rt
    3rdparty dependencies:       ittnotify libprotobuf libjpeg-turbo libwebp libtiff libopenjp2 IlmImf quirc ippiw ippicv

  OpenCV modules:
    To be built:                 calib3d core dnn features2d flann gapi highgui imgcodecs imgproc ml objdetect photo python3 stitching video videoio
    Disabled:                    world
    Disabled by dependency:      -
    Unavailable:                 java python2 ts
    Applications:                -
    Documentation:               NO
    Non-free algorithms:         NO

  GUI: 
    QT:                          YES (ver 5.15.0)
      QT OpenGL support:         NO
    GTK+:                        NO
    VTK support:                 NO

  Media I/O: 
    ZLib:                        /lib64/libz.so (ver 1.2.7)
    JPEG:                        libjpeg-turbo (ver 2.0.6-62)
    WEBP:                        build (ver encoder: 0x020f)
    PNG:                         /lib64/libpng.so (ver 1.5.13)
    TIFF:                        build (ver 42 - 4.0.10)
    JPEG 2000:                   build (ver 2.3.1)
    OpenEXR:                     build (ver 2.3.0)
    HDR:                         YES
    SUNRASTER:                   YES
    PXM:                         YES
    PFM:                         YES

  Video I/O:
    DC1394:                      NO
    FFMPEG:                      YES
      avcodec:                   YES (58.109.100)
      avformat:                  YES (58.61.100)
      avutil:                    YES (56.60.100)
      swscale:                   YES (5.8.100)
      avresample:                NO
    GStreamer:                   NO
    v4l/v4l2:                    YES (linux/videodev2.h)

  Parallel framework:            pthreads

  Trace:                         YES (with Intel ITT)

  Other third-party libraries:
    Intel IPP:                   2020.0.0 Gold [2020.0.0]
           at:                   /tmp/pip-req-build-ms668fyv/_skbuild/linux-x86_64-3.8/cmake-build/3rdparty/ippicv/ippicv_lnx/icv
    Intel IPP IW:                sources (2020.0.0)
              at:                /tmp/pip-req-build-ms668fyv/_skbuild/linux-x86_64-3.8/cmake-build/3rdparty/ippicv/ippicv_lnx/iw
    Lapack:                      NO
    Eigen:                       NO
    Custom HAL:                  NO
    Protobuf:                    build (3.5.1)

  OpenCL:                        YES (no extra features)
    Include path:                /tmp/pip-req-build-ms668fyv/opencv/3rdparty/include/opencl/1.2
    Link libraries:              Dynamic load

  Python 3:
    Interpreter:                 /opt/python/cp38-cp38/bin/python (ver 3.8.6)
    Libraries:                   libpython3.8.a (ver 3.8.6)
    numpy:                       /tmp/pip-build-env-qm375ina/overlay/lib/python3.8/site-packages/numpy/core/include (ver 1.17.3)
    install path:                python

  Python (for build):            /bin/python2.7

  Java:                          
    ant:                         NO
    JNI:                         NO
    Java wrappers:               NO
    Java tests:                  NO

  Install to:                    /tmp/pip-req-build-ms668fyv/_skbuild/linux-x86_64-3.8/cmake-install
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Any ideas? Is anyone out there deploying imshow() with docker? Is x11docker needed? Best.

Seriously, is there no one to solve this issue? even after 2 years, there’s no one with the answer? or people are just ignoring it.

This is the forum for OpenCV.

this appears to be a docker/Qt issue. if you have this same issue, you should figure out how to reproduce it without OpenCV.

docker/Qt issues should be addressed to docker/Qt people.

the “simple fix” is to use opencv-python-headless because that does not depend on any GUI.

official opencv-python packages do not depend on Qt. this one does. I doubt it’s an official package. third party packages are supported by their respective maintainers only.

I happened to stumble across an answer.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/60042568/this-application-failed-to-start-because-no-qt-platform-plugin-could-be-initiali

You have to uninstall opencv-python.

pip uninstall opencv-python

After that, then install opencv-python-headless.

pip install opencv-python-headless

This cleared the error for me.

with the downside of not having ANY gui …
(not sure, if this is a good idea to recommend)

It was either not have any gui or completely scrap the concept. I could not find any support to resolve this issue any where else.

My concept is to have my camera start a preview, run a countdown from 5 to 1, and then save the picture. With just “opencv-python”, I could never get the code to run, was always getting th “xcb” error. The preview window would never open. With “opencv-python-headless”, I am now running the program, just having issues with an OpenGL problem. It will start the preview, show the “5” on the image, and then the program errors out. But that is another issue for another thread.

It may not be the best solution, but it functions, and as Suraj_Patel pointed out, 2 years later and no resolution?