Pull request overview

Fixes HID-enabled builds by ensuring Qt’s AUTOMOC processes the HID QObject header when hidapi support is enabled, preventing missing meta-object/signal symbol link errors.

Changes:

• Add src/core/HidEncoderManager.h to the HIDAPI conditional target_sources() list so MOC is generated for the Q_OBJECT class.
• Add src/core/HidDeviceParser.h alongside its .cpp for consistent source registration under HIDAPI_FOUND.

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Claude here, reviewing on Jeremy's behalf.

Verdict

Clean, trivial-but-important fix. Merge.

Verified

• Q_OBJECT is present in HidEncoderManager.h — confirmed by direct grep. HidDeviceParser.h does not contain Q_OBJECT (listed only for consistency with its .cpp pairing).
• Current CMakeLists.txt HIDAPI block only lists .cpp files — confirmed at the block starting around the HIDAPI_FOUND conditional. The PR adds the two .h files to the same target_sources() call.
• CI all green — build, analyze (cpp), check-paths, check-windows, CodeQL. check-windows ran (not skipped) because CMakeLists.txt changed.
• Built locally with hidapi installed — Linux clean build, MOC produced build/AetherSDR_autogen/PRMOGMWJPH/moc_HidEncoderManager.cpp correctly, link succeeded.

Why this fix is the right one

Qt's AUTOMOC has two ways to find Q_OBJECT in a header:

1. Explicit: the header is listed in target_sources() — guaranteed scan
2. Implicit: a listed .cpp #includes the header — AUTOMOC follows the include and scans

The implicit path is fragile in practice. It can break with:

• Generator differences (Ninja vs. Xcode vs. VS — the failure Pat hit on macOS, where the generator may be Xcode-style)
• AUTOMOC_DEPEND_FILTERS edge cases
• Header that's forward-declared in the .cpp instead of #included directly
• Cross-build / install-tree relocation

The explicit path (this PR) is the canonical Qt + CMake idiom and works identically across every generator. This is the right level to fix it at.

My Linux box happens to build successfully without the fix because AUTOMOC's implicit detection works in this configuration — the fact that Pat's macOS build fails is the standard "works on my machine" trap that the explicit fix eliminates. No need to characterize why the implicit path failed on Pat's setup; the explicit fix removes the dependency on that fragile heuristic entirely.

Recommendation

Merge. Trivial, correctly diagnosed, makes builds reproducible across generators and platforms.

Thanks @rfoust — these CMake-script papercuts are the kind that silently bite contributors trying to enable optional features. Documenting the AUTOMOC mechanism in the PR description is a nice touch that future archaeologists will appreciate.

73, Jeremy KK7GWY & Claude (AI dev partner)

Approved — correct AUTOMOC fix, built clean locally.